Software engineering & oral surgery

[BEngDMD]

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Hi there,

I'm a dentist and a software engineer. Currently completing a general practice residency, I am looking for ideas for combining/integrating oral surgery and software engineering. My main area of interest would be in 3D-imaging and implants. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

Thanks,

BEngDMD

 

[Locutus of Borg]

Hi there BEngDMD,

Would you mind sharing with us why you chose to switch from software engineering to dentistry in the first place?

 

[BEngDMD]

I never "switched". I simply like both fields and so went for both ;-). Who said you have to limit yourself to one profession???

 

[Locutus of Borg]

I never "switched". I simply like both fields and so went for both ;-). Who said you have to limit yourself to one profession???

I apologize if I may have unintentionally offended you, doctor.

By "switch", I merely meant that you intended on and mentally prepared yourself for a lifetime of primarily using your DDS degree, rather than your BEng degree, to make a living after finishing your dental education. Of course, it could be the case that you may already have plans to work 9 to 5 developing software and moonlighting on weekends at dental clinics, making an extra 2k/month, to make use of your DMD degree that cost $150k+ and 4 years of lost income. Or, you simply planned on using your $150k and 4 years of lost income DMD degree just to be able to describe yourself as "both an engineer and a dentist" at parties and family BBQs. Well ... uh um ... not that I'm saying there is anything wrong with any of these scenarios ... uh um ... at least your are (sort of) not limiting yourself to either profession in the last two scenarios.

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

I apologize if I may have unintentionally offended you, doctor.

By "switch", I merely meant that you intended on and mentally prepared yourself for a lifetime of primarily using your DDS degree, rather than your BEng degree, to make a living after finishing your dental education. Of course, it could be the case that you may already have plans to work 9 to 5 developing software and moonlighting on weekends at dental clinics, making an extra 2k/month, to make use of your DMD degree that cost $150k+ and 4 years of lost income. Or, you simply planned on using your $150k and 4 years of lost income DMD degree just to be able to describe yourself as "both an engineer and a dentist" at parties and family BBQs. Well ... uh um ... not that I'm saying there is anything wrong with any of these scenarios ... uh um ... at least your are (sort of) not limiting yourself to either profession in the last two scenarios.

Or she is an ingenius person who with the right idea will develop a product that combines her engineering knowledge with her dental knowledge making herself MILLIONS! Actually, a brilliant move potentially if she can find her little niche in the dental market.

((((((( IS THIS BETTER BEngDMD ?))))))))🙂

 

[Locutus of Borg]

Good hunting, BEngDMD!

 

[BEngDMD]

Thanks NavyDDS2010. BTW, it's SHE, not he ;-).

Locutus, I can smell your jealousy. Not a healthy nor a professional attitude. FYI, I was too nice to even answer your rude question. My original question was not aimed at narrow-minded people like you.

BEngDMD

 

[Locutus of Borg]

Thanks NavyDDS2010. BTW, it's SHE, not he ;-).

Locutus, I can smell your jealousy. Not a healthy nor a professional attitude. FYI, I was too nice to even answer your rude question. My original question was not aimed at narrow-minded people like you.

BEngDMD

Doctor,

Would you care to explain what you mean by "jealousy"? Also, how was my original question rude?

I am truly sorry if you were offended. However:
I am a pragmatist. I give pragmatic opinions. Out of my dedication to be an honest individual, I don't advise someone with a lottery ticket that s/he should expect to win anything. But I do wish her/him, with all sincerity, good luck. And if this person somehow manages to win a prize, then I would congratulate.

Sincerely,

Locutus

 

[NAVY DDS 2010]

Thanks NavyDDS2010. BTW, it's SHE, not he ;-).

Locutus, I can smell your jealousy. Not a healthy nor a professional attitude. FYI, I was too nice to even answer your rude question. My original question was not aimed at narrow-minded people like you.

BEngDMD

OOPS ... my bad. 😛

 

[seaweed719]

Why did jealousy even get into the conversation? There is nothing to be jealous of a bachelor of engineering.

In response to the OP's question, I know there is an international company in Taiwan and China that is developing and marketing this kind of computer imaging plus implant combo system. They use CAT scan, a laser scanning device along with CAD/CAM software technology and directly fabricate dental prosthesis made of zirconium dioxide with a milling machine. Simply put: Your idea isn't anything new.

http://www.ubestdental.com/system.html

 

[gd152]

Find a need, and fill it.

After practicing awhile, something could become obvious to you. Most really good ideas aren't given away by other people. So you are just going to have to use your own creativity, and then research the market to see if it has potential.

 

[BirkChick]

Before dental school, I spent 5 years writing software for medical imaging systems. Developing new features for these systems is incredibly complicated and usually involves hardware as well as software. Developing a system from scratch is NOT a one person job and would be incredibly expensive.

My suggestion to you is to find an oral surgery program that has a research agreement with one of the big medical imaging companies (GE, Siemens, Philips, Hitachi, Toshiba, etc). Often, access to the code base (either partial or complete) comes along with a research agreement. And, the company may be willing to help you develop hardware that you may need.

Did you work in industry before dental school?

 

[david594]

If you have any ideas, please let me know.

Thanks,

Practice management software?

You know what a dentist needs. You know how to write the software. Not very glamorous but it fits.

This coming from a guy with his BS in computer science who will be starting on his DVM in the fall.

 

[setdoc7]

I never "switched". I simply like both fields and so went for both ;-). Who said you have to limit yourself to one profession???

Improve the dental school sim labs. I have seen some new technology which looks promising but needs improvement. Can teach you to hold a high speed perfectly in one afternoon. Always a perfect prep.

 

[shabu2]

The original post asked about software and OMFS. I will suggest one. How about CAD/CAM or virtual surgery software for recon/ortho surg. I don't know how many hours I spent pouring up multiple copies of models so chiefs could do their model surgeries. That would save a lot of an intern's life and even make the chiefs lives easier.

 

[CanuckDDS]

👍

The original post asked about software and OMFS. I will suggest one. How about CAD/CAM or virtual surgery software for recon/ortho surg. I don't know how many hours I spent pouring up multiple copies of models so chiefs could do their model surgeries. That would save a lot of an intern's life and even make the chiefs lives easier.

 

[WannaB2]

getting back to the question at hand...
there are a lot of software currently on the market for implants...i have worked a little with SimPlant. You can play with that and see what you think is lacking.

Sorry cant help on OS . . but I see a lot of companies picking up on the radiology side . .

 

[Juggernaut1912]

Hi there,

I'm a dentist and a software engineer. Currently completing a general practice residency, I am looking for ideas for combining/integrating oral surgery and software engineering. My main area of interest would be in 3D-imaging and implants. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

Thanks,

BEngDMD

Don't know too much on this particular subject but there was an OMFS at my university that used his mechanical engineering degree to create a type of metal (sorry, can't be more technical) support system for the people with fractured jaws, that is supposedly (key word being 'supposedly') more flexible, durable, and cost efficient than whatever they use now. But, in order to do structural analysis to prove its capabilities. Most of this work was done by programmers as far as I know.

I think being able to write software is an awesome skill to have. I'm generalizing of course, but most modern technologies have a computer chip which requires some sort of integrated software to be functional and/or easy to use.

I'm not sure making another CAD software would be too practical. There are already many on the market that are extremely advanced, and the code for these are easily in the millions of lines.

You stated that you like medical imaging...seems like you've already answered you're own question. If you're really into this idea, and this is something you would like to pursue after residency... you can probably find a graduate level class in an electrical or computer engineering department about this subject specifically. That would probably give you huge head start on where the technology is headed and how to take advantage of it. Though, that could probably be a major headache for some people.

Also, check out dental bioinformatics... that may interest you. Honestly, throughout your day just ask yourself if there is a possibility that something you do or use could be automated or simplified, and if it would be practical to do so. Then go from there on how to implement it. Just my two cents.