As patients walk down the hall toward the operatories they see the A-dec sterilization center to their right through a row of windows. “I fell in love with the sterilization center in Oregon,” Howland said. “I loved how it worked. It's as hands-free as it could possibly be. I really wanted to design the office so you could see what's going on in there.” Howland's commitment to best practices is evident by his choice to make this critical area visible to all patients.

Another unique aspect to the design was the decision to place the CEREC MC XL milling unit in a special display in the reception area so patients could see the machine in action. “I want people in the waiting room to see what's going on with CEREC, and maybe have them ask questions,” Howland said. “Many times, I walk my patients out there so they can watch their new crown, inlay or onlay get milled there. And they are absolutely flabbergasted.”

Putting the CEREC MC XL milling unit in view of the waiting room was an early concept, Clister said. “Howland thought it was a nonthreatening way of talking about CEREC restorations with patients,” he said. “And with his new Omnicam, he's using the MC XL more than ever.”

Howland used CEREC in his previous building and has since upgraded the unit to Omnicam. “The CEREC Omnicam has been absolutely practice-changing for me,” he said. “I went from eight per month to 30 per month with Omnicam. I can image things better. I can get subgingival margins with Omnicam. And the tools that you use to modify the virtual restorations on the screen are much more efficient.”

Early on in their relationship, Howland's Patterson team discussed the possibility of moving the practice to Eaglesoft practice management software. As the plan for the office expansion took shape, Howland decided to implement Eaglesoft in November 2012, while still in the old office.

Patterson provided the staff with two days of in-office training in addition to on-demand tech help from the Patterson Technology Center (PTC) staff. Howland says he'd never go back to his previous practice management software and he's very appreciative of the PTC staff, whom he calls brilliant, polite and patient.

“Now we're going beyond the tip of the iceberg with Eaglesoft,” he said. He added that Eaglesoft's integration with the Schick digital radiography system, and the fact that patient information is seamlessly integrated, makes Eaglesoft a step above the rest.