The Story Behind the Innovation
Beckmer Products was founded to solve a persistent clinical problem: how to document periodontal charting efficiently and accurately without tying up clinical staff, risking cross-contamination, or relying on unreliable technology. The company was founded by dental professionals with deep experience in dental offices and teaching environments. It specializes in hands free data input devices that change how clinicians interact with a computer during clinical procedures.
The Dental R.A.T. is short for Remote Access Terminal. It is a foot-operated input device designed specifically for the dental operatory. Instead of asking clinicians to enter data by hand or depend on voice recognition, it puts computer control at the clinician's feet.
Why Perio Charting Needed a Better Tool
A full periodontal chart is data-heavy. Each tooth is probed at multiple sites, and each reading must be recorded alongside findings such as bleeding and recession. For a full dentition that adds up to well over a hundred individual entries in a single visit. Whoever records them needs a steady, accurate way to get numbers into the software.
Traditionally that meant one of three compromises:
- Chart alone by hand. The hygienist switches between the probe and the keyboard or mouse. This forces de-gloving and re-gloving, or it risks transferring contaminants to shared surfaces.
- Pull in an assistant. A second staff member sits and records, which takes them away from other duties and adds stress to the schedule.
- Use alternative technology. Voice recognition can struggle with accuracy in a busy, noisy operatory. Automated digital probes can be expensive and difficult to integrate.
Dental R.A.T. was created to address these pain points directly. It keeps the clinician's hands on the patient, works with the charting software the office already runs, and does not require a new platform or retraining staff on complicated systems.
How the Dental R.A.T. 2.0 Is Designed
The design is deliberately simple. The Dental R.A.T. 2.0 is a foot-operated mouse that gives hands free access to perio charting, intraoral cameras and digital X-rays. It plugs into a USB port, and the computer treats it as input hardware, so no additional software is needed for the mouse and charting functions. The controls divide the work as follows:
- Toe button: moves the arrow on the screen, like a regular mouse.
- Four input buttons: enter charting numbers 1 through 8 and provide the right click.
- Heel button: works as the left click.
- Audio feedback: repeats each number aloud through computer speakers or a headset as it is entered.
The 2.0 can be wireless or wired. Audio feedback adds a second benefit beyond data entry. When the software says each number aloud, the clinician can confirm values without looking away from the patient, and the patient hears the findings, which supports patient education during hygiene visits.
What Makes Dental RAT Different
Four characteristics set the Dental R.A.T. apart from other approaches to perio charting:
- Plug-and-play simplicity. It works with existing practice management and charting software, including Dentrix, EagleSoft, SoftDent, PerioExec, Open Dental, MacPractice and more, with minimal setup and no monthly fees.
- Dual functionality. Because it is a fully functional foot-operated mouse, it also controls intraoral cameras, digital X-rays and other operatory software features.
- Hygiene and efficiency. Hands free operation sharply reduces how often a clinician must de-glove and re-glove between patient care and computer entry. That lowers cross-contamination risk and supports infection-control protocols.
- Return on investment. The device can often pay for itself. One person can do a job that previously took two staff members, and complete periodontal documentation supports accurate billing and a defensible record.
Our Commitment to the Dental Community and Dental Schools
Beckmer Products continues to develop and support hands free technologies for clinicians. Support is free, and the company provides instructional videos, including software-specific training for commonly requested periodontal software brands. It also provides downloads such as the user manual and audio feedback software. The company describes the Dental R.A.T. as a tool engineered by clinicians, for clinicians.
That commitment extends to education. Dental and hygiene schools are an important part of the company's mission. Its goal is for students to gain experience with the perio charting technology they will meet in practice, which makes them more employable and makes the school more attractive to prospective students. Kathleen Hodges, RDH, MS, Professor and Department Chair at Idaho State University, has said students learn to incorporate the R.A.T. into clinical care quickly, sometimes faster than seasoned faculty, and that it helps student clinicians maintain the chain of asepsis in the operatory.
Beyond Perio Charting: The Wider Hands Free Family
The company's work is not limited to the Dental R.A.T. Boomer the Foot Mouse is a wireless, fully functional foot mouse without the numbers, intended for doctors' operatories. The Blue Boa® high volume suction adapter provides hands free suctioning for saliva and water control during ultrasonic scaling and for isolation during sealant placement. Each product follows the same principle: keep the clinician's hands on the patient and let the rest of the operatory work around them.
Talk With the Team
If you would like to learn more about the company or see the device in action, the team is available by phone at 877-278-0061 or by email at bky.logue@gmail.com. Business hours are Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm, and the office is closed Saturday and Sunday. Demonstrations of a Dental RAT foot mouse are available for free.