The best antidote for fear is knowledge and nowhere is this more useful than at the dentist, where fear has been known to reign supreme for many patients.

Touch panel displays, including the iPad, can go a long way in overcoming the challenges of visual education and easing anxieties. The device allows dentists to discuss treatments with patients while showing them, through animation and photos, exactly what a process entails or why it is the best treatment option.

New products like those developed by Orasphere, contain 3D graphics of hundreds of procedures. The offerings also encourage patients to actively participate in the process by letting them intuitively move pieces of information with their fingertips.

Companies are using OEM touch panels for the dental industry that include NEMA standards and antimicrobial coatings that keep them from becoming damaged or a haven for bacteria.

Touch panels can also play customized loops to entertain patients in downtime between X-rays, exams and cleanings. These multimedia loops can promote services offered at the office, dentist bios and sometimes complimentary advertisements subsidized by vendors or pharmaceutical companies. With many offices already using this type of system in the lobby for patient entertainment, the cost to replicate the content at the chair is minimal.

Related: Healthcare with a High-Tech Twist

In the old days, PC-based touch panels at each chair would have been cost-prohibitive. But in today’s world of high-tech dentistry, PC-based examination rooms are becoming the norm. The incremental cost of turning the traditional PC monitor into a touch panel display has a much quicker path to ROI.

Touch panel-based patient education systems can overcome many obstacles to selling services in today’s dental office environment. The devices can decrease anxiety during treatment, promote complimentary services and products and entertain patients during downtime.

Most importantly, touch panel displays help eliminate fear of the unknown by educating patients visually, providing a clear path to profits, repeat visits, and word of mouth referrals that ultimately help grow practices.