Technology innovation.
Technology is the way dentistry is practiced--the materials and methods, characteristics of the dentist and staff, and nature and values of patients. Innovation is a conscious process of improving that technology. Dentists, not researchers or manufacturers, are the source of most innovation in dentistry. Characteristics such a innate curiosity, sophistication, discretionary income, and practice isolation contribute to innovativeness. Innovation diffusion has a characteristic S-shape, with few early and late adopters and a rapid spread in the middle phase. Much is known regarding the personality and behavior of early and late adopters and those types of innovations that are likely to diffusion rapidly.
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D003815:Dentists / Q000523:psychology; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D006801:Humans; D008389:Marketing of Health Services; D018581:Technology Transfer; D013674:Technology, Dental / Q000191:economics