Sir, I first realised I was looking a little older at a recent dental trade show. A salesman was explaining the function of the app he was promoting. Clearly frustrated by my apparent lack of understanding, he closed the conversation with 'You could always get your kids to download it for you, sir'.
Plangger et al.1 in their recent paper in the BDJ, state that 'smart mobile device apps ...are important tools to add to the dental patient experience'. However, my age group, described as baby boomers, have been shown to be slow to take up smartphone technology. Only 40% of us own a smartphone and around 33% of those has never used it to connect to the Internet or download an app2. We are also the heavy metal generation who will be prolific users of dental services over the next few decades.
I do not deny the importance of technological innovation in dental practice management. However, I suggest that the presence of a patient-facing app is unlikely to be the deal sealer for my generation when selecting a dental practice, not least because our children may well be living in Kathmandu or Cape Town.
References
Plangger K, Bredican J, Mills A J, Armstrong J . Smart dental practice: capitalising on smart mobile technology. Br Dent J 2015; 219: 135–138.
Deloitte. The state of the global mobileconsumer (2013). Available online at http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Technology-Media-Telecommunications/dttl_TMT-GMCS_January%202014.pdf (accessed September 2015).
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Hellyer, P. Technology: Generation theory in practice. Br Dent J 219, 245 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2015.715
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2015.715