In recent years, there has been a growing demand for less frequent visits to the dental practice. A recent BBC article looking at how patients were using risky direct-to-consumer aligners (DTC) highlighted this trend, as patients seek more convenient and efficient ways to receive dental care. 3Dental offers a solution to this problem by reducing the number of required appointments and allowing patients to spend less time at the dental practice by including Dental Monitoring in its premium aligner packages, allowing patients to visit their dental practice only when necessary.
Dental monitoring is changing the way aligner therapy is performed. It gives dentists more control over the treatment process, leading to better results for patients. The technology allows dentists to remotely monitor a patient's progress and make precise adjustments to the aligners as needed. This new approach to aligner therapy is transforming the field and offering a more convenient and effective solution for both dentists and patients.
Not only is dental monitoring more convenient for patients, but it also saves time for the dentist. The real-time monitoring and remote adjustment capabilities of dental monitoring allow dentists to be proactive in their treatment planning and avoid common issues that arise during aligner therapy, such as relapse or the need for additional procedures. With the added benefit of 3Dental also monitoring the treatment, there is the option of mid-treatment refinements that will be picked up as early as possible, creating the most streamlined aligner treatment possible.
The benefits of dental monitoring go beyond just convenience and time-saving. It offers a safer alternative to direct-to-consumer treatments, which have become increasingly popular due to the growing demand for less frequent visits to the dental practice. Dental monitoring offers a level of professional oversight and control that is not possible with direct-to-consumer treatments, resulting in better outcomes for patients.
In a study on aligner treatments the results showed a reduction in chair time by 70.8% with in chair appointments reducing from an average of 7.2 visits to 2.1 visits when using the technology. The dental professional can then make an informed decision around how frequently the patient should visit allowing for a more personalised accurate treatment and resulting in a better outcome for both the patient and the dentist.
The Dental Monitoring system also allows for accurate tracking of treatment progress and outcomes, which can be used to communicate with patients about how their treatment is going and the effectiveness of previous scans. This reduces nonconformance from the patient and results in getting to the result quicker and reduces the rate of refinement. In the study on aligner treatments, it was found that using Dental monitoring reduced refinements by 77.1% and patients using it had a refinement rate of 13.9% in comparison to the patients that did not which had 91.0%.
One of the key advantages of dental monitoring is the ability to make real-time adjustments to the aligner treatment based on the patient's progress. For example, if the patient is set to scan every 10 days and is constantly getting cleared to move onto the next stage, there is the option to reduce the time in between scans, allowing the patient to move through the treatment quicker if it is suitable. This has resulted in being able to reduce the average treatment time down by over 6 months, from 17.3 months to 10.6 months.
Its clear that Dental monitoring is a valuable tool for dentists, but it is also very important for 3Dental as a manufacturer to have access when looking to provide the patient with the best possible service. If a patient unknowingly tears or cracks an aligner, its important to get this picked us as soon as possible so it does not affect the treatment. Due to 3Dental monitoring the scans taken by the patient they would be able to see this, manufacture the replacement while notifying the dentist and issue either directly to the patient, or to the dentist.
A dentist providing their patients with the 3Dental premium aligner package has seen a 160% increase in case starts and a decrease in appointment numbers allowing them to do more with less.
Overall, 3Dentals premium aligner package alongside Dental Monitoring can improve patient experience, engagement in treatment, and make practices more efficient by optimizing workflows to be able to deal with more patients and become more profitable.