The staff benefited from the expansion with additional business office space, a larger breakroom, and an improved workflow thanks to the added operatories. But the expansion was also a chance to continue to offer more to the practice's patients.

Hood had long been an early adopter of technology, and years before the expansion brought CEREC into his practice, he taught himself to use it. Later, he realized he wasn't using it as well as he could, and he started to take courses, one after the next, until he had an expert knowledge of CEREC. He only started to appreciate it more. Shortly after the expansion, he upgraded his CEREC to Omnicam, and brought in a second machine and milling unit.

“Of all the changes we saw – and there were a lot – the biggest change in my practice was upgrading the CEREC to get more efficient and do that the same day,” Hood said. “We have a TV commercial about same-day dentistry and people come here specifically for that when they know they need a crown. Lots of them see other dentists, but when they know they need a crown and they don't want to go the second time, they come here specifically for that.”

Hood also saw the value in using CEREC alongside Sirona GALILEOS 3D imaging. At a 3D Summit in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., he saw the potential for carrying out more stress-free surgical procedures; he wouldn't be calculating and looking for angles but instead using the 3D scan from the GALILEOS as a guide.

“With those technologies and the way they integrate together, I just knew how valuable a tool it would be,” Hood said. “To be able to integrate those two technologies together and essentially design the crown and plan the implant based on the prosthetics that you're going to do, to where you could essentially have the crown made before you even do the surgery, that's pretty space-age to me.”

Same-day treatment is an important element of Hood Dental Care's expansion. Whether it's CEREC or an emergency case or just a last-minute request, the new office allows Hood and his team to reach more patients. When it comes to Hood's approach to dentistry, reaching patients is about as important as it gets.

“A lot of people say, ‘Every dentist should have one chair that nobody ever sits in,'” Hood said. “Then you know you never turn a patient away because you don't have the space to accommodate them. There is a cost to investing in equipment, but it costs more to have to turn people away.”