Improve patient education with dual monitors

Patient education is an important part of any successful dental practice.


Front and center

Patients like to be involved in the treatment process. Nothing is more stressful than feeling 100% out of the loop while the dentist is examining X-rays or photos behind the chair.

Instead of leaving the patient wondering, “What are they looking at?” Show them. Simply hang a second monitor and link the input to your computer. They see what you see.


Allowing patients to see the clinical images and follow along with the prognosis in real time reinforces your assessment and helps patients understand exactly what’s wrong, why it’s important to fix it and how your treatment recommendation can get the job done.

Use language the patient will understand

It’s easy to get lost in dental jargon when charting a patient’s mouth on the screen. Do your best to remember that your patients didn’t go to dental school. Speak like a layman as much as possible.

A diversionary tactic

Installing a second monitor in front of the chair offers the additional advantage of providing entertainment while you’re working.

A Netflix or Hulu subscription will provide plenty of content inexpensively.

  • Distract younger patients with children’s programming. Keep their focus on the screen, not on what’s happening in their mouth.
  • Provide a more relaxing environment for patients who must endure long procedures.

You’ll impress your patients and boost the wow factor of your practice.

Setting it all up

You can even setup the dual monitor yourself. The Dental Startup Academy wrote a article with step-by-step instructions for installation, including a list of the cables and gadgets you’ll need to make it work.