Australasian Dentist Issue 92

CATEGORY 18 AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST Vegan and Herbal.... GRAPEFRUIT + BERGAMOT CURAPROX CURAPROX AUSTRALIA | www.curaprox.com.au | 08 7079 3779 Grapefruit banner.indd 1 8/02/2022 3:39:27 PM driven and tailored to work best for each practice and patient. Plus, the highly-rated DentalMonitoring App enables secure two- way communication between doctors and patients via the instant messaging platform. What are the main benefits? The most obvious benefit of DentalMonitoring is the ability to reduce unnecessary in-practice appointments and optimise chair time, it also allows for greater efficiencies when patients do come for in-person appointments. The ability to track treatment as frequently as you decide in-between physical appointments means there are less surprises, and practices are better-able to anticipate what will be needed at the next in-person appointment. This is a win/win for both practices and patients, who are increasingly expecting smooth and efficient treatments. Clinical researchintoDentalMonitoring and teledentistry has provided encouraging results, including “improved clinical outcomes, highest patient satisfaction, as well as cost savings”.* Other key findings have shown that teledentistry technology, like DentalMon­ itoring, can improve both patient compliance and confidence in treatment. For example: u 87% of surveyed patients were keen to use an app to support their orthodontic treatment u 89% strongly agreed that their oral health could be improved with inter­ active dental care.* Why practices have to implement remote monitoring A surprising silver lining to emerge from the past few years has been an increase in demand for clear aligner treatments. Driven by what has been dubbed the “zoom effect”, there have been a growing number of consumers looking to improve their appearance after spending a significant amount of time viewing themselves on virtual video calls. Combined with a reduction in discretionary spending on travel and hospitality, this has resulted in an invaluable opportunity for clear aligner providers — assuming they have the right systems in place to capitalise on this demand. This increase in patient demand for clear aligner treatment has also brought with it a rise in competition amongst providers. A key challenge for many dentists offering clear aligner treatments is the rise of direct-to-consumer aligner companies. These companies have been aggressively marketing to consumers who are increasingly valuing convenience and instant gratification. This is backed up with recent research finding that 82% of surveyed patients would prefer to use the most advanced technology available.* This means there’s now limited room in the clear aligner market for practices that don’t offer similar convenience and those relying on traditional workflows risk being left behind. Embarking on learning the world of clear aligner therapy, mastering complex cases over time and setting up aligner cases What are practices saying about DentalMonitoring “Thankfully, when the Covid-19 lock-down happened we were already monitoring nearly 500 patients with the DentalMonitoring solution, so we were able to keep our patients safe and monitor their treatments closely. [Patients] are embracing the digital interactions and they like having even more access to me with less interference in their own lives. We would never go back to the old ways again.” Dr Theo Baisi, The Ortho Practice “Patients have become more demanding [throughout the pandemic]! This means that they don’t want to waste time waiting for their appointments. Using DentalMonitoring and SmileMate has helped us fast track these patients and manage their expectations.” Victoria Viti, Aesthetik Dental “The ability to closely monitor treatment means we pick up non-compliance very quickly and can get patients back on track to finishing their treatment sooner. It also means that we can pick up things like oral hygiene issues early, which is an added bonus.” Belinda Brauman, Warragul Dental Care is a steep learning curve. DentalMonitoring provides an opportunity to monitor new cases far more regularly than physical visits, providing the clinician comfort on tracking goals. While this may seem daunting at first, it presents an exciting opportunity for practices to innovate and bring the best of both worlds to your patients. By pairing up the convenience of remote monitoring with your quality and expertise, you can remain current and adaptable. u Learn more about how DentalMonitoring can future-proof your practice by visiting www.dental-monitoring.com Reference * A Knowledge-Based Algorithm for Automatic Monitoring of Orthodontic Treatment: The Dental Monitoring System. Sensors 2021, 21, 1856. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21051856 PRODUCT BACKGROUND