It is more important now than ever before to have the ability to stay connected to your patients. More and more patients rely on their computers and smart phone technology to plan their days and communicate with others. In order to take advantage of these technology advances, it is important for the dental practice to upgrade to practice software that will contact patients on these devices. If you have not already purchased an external practice management system to run your recall system, email and text your patient’s, reactivate patients and do marketing for you, now is the time to seriously consider this type of software. Assign someone on your team (not the dentist) to research the ins and outs of what these software programs can do for you. Set preferences properly and create a plan to take advantage of the inexpensive web and direct mail marketing available with many systems.