The Impact of the Electronic Media on Primary Dental Care in the 21st Century

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Abstract
This paper attempts to predict how electronic media will impact on primary dental care in the twenty-first century. The predictions for the next 10 years are based on developments currently in train or on the premise that equipment and techniques, which have been recently introduced and are at present used by relatively few, will be used by many by 2010. During this decade, the impact of electronic media is considered in the areas of patient support, diagnosis, treatment planning, provision of treatment and its maintenance, quality control and practice management. The paper then speculates briefly about how dentists in primary dental care might practise in the year 2100. It concludes that although electronic media are likely to play an increasingly important role, a clinician's skills, knowledge and ability to communicate with patients will remain the keys to successful practice for the foreseeable future.