Patient Positioning
Planmeca says that the ProMax unit eliminates
patient positioning obstructions, allowing for fullview
patient positioning. According to the manufacturer,
the side entry and open design minimize errors
caused by incorrect patient positioning. The open
design also makes the unit comfortable for the
patient. For instance, patients can easily see what’s
going on in the room, and children can see an
accompanying parent.
When the dentist evaluators were asked to rate
the ProMax on simplicity of patient positioning, 4
rated it as excellent and 2 rated it as very good. One
evaluator commented that everyone in the practice
finds the unit easy to use and that patients find it
very comfortable.
Noise Level
According to the manufacturer, the ProMax unit’s
Microstep motors provide smooth, quiet movement.
When the evaluators were asked to rate the machine’s
operational noise level, 3 rated it as excellent and 3
rated it as very good. One evaluator
said that his patients were particularly
happy with the quietness of the
machine.
Versatility
According to the manufacturer, the
ProMax is upgradeable from filmbased
panoramic to digital and from
film-based panoramic/cephalometric to
digital with 1 or 2 sensors. In addition,
tomography software upgrades are
available, and the unit can be upgraded
to cone beam volumetric tomography
in the office. Planmeca says that this
ability to upgrade the machine without
buying a new one eliminates staff
retraining.
Three of the evaluators rated unit
versatility for this machine as excellent
and 3 rated it as very good. One evaluator
said, “The versatility…is wonderful.
I take traditional panoramic images
and cephalograms on all orthodontic
patients and utilize the 3D on any
patients with potential implant needs,
impacted teeth, or signs of pathology.”
Diagnostic Value
Planmeca says that in addition to
general panoramic radiography, the
ProMax unit offers enhanced imaging
programs to detect caries and periodontal
disease, and for the diagnosis of
temporomandibular joint disorders.
When the dentist evaluators were
asked to rate the ProMax on the diagnostic
value of its images, 3 rated it as
excellent and 3 rated it as very good.
One evaluator said that with his 3D
upgrade, he has discovered “4 different
bone pathologies…in only 5 months.”
The same evaluator also praised the
clarity of pathology borders, bone density,
and boney expansion.
Overall Satisfaction
When the 6 dentists who participated
in this evaluation were asked if they
would recommend the ProMax to their
colleagues in the dental profession, all 6
evaluators said definitely. Likewise,
when asked if they would purchase a
ProMax unit in the future, 4 said definitely
and 2 said probably.
At the end of the evaluation the dentists
were asked to rate the ProMax digital
panoramic x-ray unit on overall satisfaction.
Three rated it as excellent and 3
rated it as very good. One evaluator said,
“It only takes a minute to convert from
traditional digital pan to the 3D scan.
This flexibility and ease of set up are terrific
assets for the machine.” In discussing
the 3D upgrade on his ProMax
unit, this same dentist said, “Both my
referring dentists and oral surgeons are
very impressed with the quality of the
image and ease of manipulation.”
