Dental RAT foot controlled perio input

[Rickliftig]

I was at Yankee Dental Congress this weekend and was feeling rich. I plunked down $1200 on a Dental RAT. This is a foot control device that is used to enter in perio probings. In an earlier post, i had mentioned that I was buying an inexpensive wireless keypad for the same purpose and realized that it had its limitations - both in wireless range and difficulty of probing and entering at the same time (you really need to hold the mirror in your non-probing hand).

So - back to the RAT. I am anticipating no problems with it and since my hygienists do not often have assistance, I think it will work great.

After i got back to the hotel, I had my usual, post purchase evaluation with myself (ie did I really need it, did I overspend) and I had an epiphany. If this can be used for perio entry, then I should be able to design, hire out, maybe even write a plug-in for hands-free charting.

I had a great chat with Becky Logue (hygienist and developer) and her husband Mert about this. She has been pushing to get this into dental schools and has had some success. Anyway, a heads up to you Jordan; she grew up in Salem and I suggested that she give a call just to get acquainted.

To sum: There area some really interesting possibilities here to develop a hands-free interface that is not user dependent (like voice recognition) and is customizable.

I'll keep everyone posted as I work on this. i think the first and last thing that I wrote in C was "Hello World!"

[enamelrod]

so it needs some programing to work with open dental?

[Rickliftig]

I doubt that it will need much of any programming in the perio mode. Open Dental is really easy to input to. What I was thinking was an 'off-label' use if you will - adapting the pedal for general charting.

[Rickliftig]

Dental RAT arrived at 3pm. Installed starting at 5:00, charting at 5:05. very slick - extremely good fit with OD. It's expensive, but I'm already sold. Makes perio charting a breeze. Now - give me the 323 template and I'll be in general dentist heaven. Perio heaven will need the 545 template.

More to come on this one.

[jclaydds]

Rick,

I'll be interested to hear your feedback as well as your hygienist's feedback on the Dental RAT. I will be interested to hear your thoughts on the learning curve and ease of use with Open Dental. How hard is it to go back and mark bleeding points, etc in Open Dental with the Dental RAT? I realize that you just got it installed so I'll be patient and let your office use it for a few days/weeks to hear your input.

In your original post, you mentioned the $1,200 cost. This is likely the dental meeting discount since they are listing $1,395 on their website. I have three full time hygienists (2 doctor practice). Do you have more than one hygienist? I expect that I would cause a feud if this works as expected and I only purchase one unit. I will likely need to think of cost of Dental RAT multiplied by 3 for my situation. After your hygienists use the Dental Rat for a few days, I'll be interested to know if you foresee purchasing additional units assuming you have more than one hygienist.

I know you are contemplating the application of using the Dental RAT for hands free tooth (not perio) charting as well. I am personally more interested at this point in using the Dental RAT in the hygiene ops for perio charting. I guess we all have to crawl before we can walk or run. When you start thinking of the Dental RAT as a foot operated mouse, the possibilities are endless.

Thanks,

Jeff

[Rickliftig]

Hi Jeff- good news, the latest version of the RAT uses a wireless dongle (or wired if you like). It can easilybe moved between rooms.

Yes, this was a meeting discount, but I have found that, "once a meeting discount, always a meeting discount" - you'd have to negotiate this with your supply house rep.

I have one hygiene op and five part-timers (we never get tired of one another). My feeling on the RAT would be to first do probings in the usual manner, then reset the cursor and do three at a time recession areas or bleeding points (the three at a time feature works really well).

Also, the RAT has audio feedback - pretty wild to hear "three-two-three" as you swing about the arch.

As far as the cost, it is very steep. My thoughts are this: it saves assistant time (lots of it, too); keeps the hygienists excited about their work; provides incentive to get those numbers in the chart (everyone was slacking). When I was at the meeting and spoke with Becky Logue (the hygienist who developed it), she said they could have shaved a few bucks (but not that much) by going to a Chinese supplier, but decided to keep it 'made in America' . Also, the older, clunkier version is still available for $795 (it is very big and probably a little tough on small feet).

If everyone starts using it, I think I will be very happy with the purchase - as I implied in the first post, I'm a tough sell. I love technology, but hate wasting money. I want every piece of equipment to pay for itself in saved time or convenience.

My guess is that if they can get these pedals into dental schools, production will ramp up and prices will go down. (I hope they use a different supplier for the pedals than Toyota (10!10!10!))

[jrpappy]

Any updates on your dental rat, Rick? How has it been going? Still feel it's worth it?

[Rickliftig]

What timing!

It has been collecting dust - it works fine, but I never got it integrated into my office workfiow - heck - I can barely get my hygienists to record their probings! Once again - works exactly as advertised. Downside is that you need to have a screen in front of you to confirm the cursor position - one error will throw off all of the probings. So now I use another person recording the probings on a tablet OR I'll use a voice recorder and then transcribe the probings after the appointments.computer.

So I just sold it to Jeff Clay and he will give it a try. If it doesn't work for his office, I'm sure he'll be glad to sell it to you.

This might become the Open Dental version of a 'fruitcake' <G>

best,

Rick

PS. Just kidding Jeff - I hope that your hugienists love it and it increases your productivity! With new gadgets - ya gotta make it a point to use them all the time.

[jrpappy]

Ha! Only difference is that tech becomes obsolete. Fruitcakes last forever!

Thanks for the update, Rick!

John

[alyosha]

thanks for this info on Dental Rat,..I just saw it at the Madow Bro's seminar in Vegas,..I was almost sold, thinking about the $ savings in not having an assistant writing down the probe depth numbers. The lady who demo'd it obviously had her 10,000hrs of practice, and made the inputs look easy. However, the cursor movement was clumsy,..which gave me pause. I am thinking Google Glass would be a cool hands-free alternative,..they have the voice recognition down pat. Someone call Sergey and see if he can make Google Loop.

[Hersheydmd]

We have been using the Florida Probe for many years and I am very happy with it.
I also finally have a hygienist who understands the value and importance of probing patients. As with all new devices there is a learning curve, but she has picked it up remarkably quickly.
It is expensive, ~$5K, but I strongly feel it is worth the cost.

[Jay]

We have been using the Florida Probe for many years and I am very happy with it...It is expensive, ~$5K, but I strongly feel it is worth the cost.

Do you use the GO probe system or the Computerized Probe? They seem to have a Voice version too.

[Hersheydmd]

We have been using the Florida Probe for many years and I am very happy with it...It is expensive, ~$5K, but I strongly feel it is worth the cost.

Do you use the GO probe system or the Computerized Probe? They seem to have a Voice version too.

They have everything. Nice to have choices. We use the original FP handpiece. I like it very much. Takes about a dozen sessions to become proficient and comfortable with it.
I have a new hygienist, who has been practicing hygiene for about 30 years, and she took to it in no time. I thought it would be difficult for her but I was wrong.