WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Dental patients at the University of Manitoba can let their orthodontists know they have arrived for their appointment by using a scanner of fingerprints.
Patients don't have to speak to a receptionist -- they can simply touch a fingerprint keypad at the front desk, which is connected through the computer network and sends a message directly to a computer at an orthodontic resident's work station, noting that the patient is waiting.
Upgrades to the clinic this summer have equipped each orthodontic resident's dental station with a chair-side computer to receive the biometric data sent when patients arrive.
"If a patient waits for more than 15 minutes, the computer will flag that the patient has been waiting a long time," says Dr. Billy Wiltshire, head of orthodontics.
In addition to the fingerprint sign-in, the orthodontic residents will be able to access dental records without having to refer to traditional paper charts and eventually access digital dental X-rays.
