How Will You Solve This Problem?

It was recently suggested that 5 years from now remote monitoring will be offered by 90% of Orthodontic practices. What are your thoughts on this prediction? If you are cynical then it may be worth considering the impact of clear aligners when they came in and disrupted the market. Fixed braces are still a fantastic modality and used very frequently across Orthodontics but no-one can deny patient demand for clear aligners changed the field significantly. In my opinion no private only practice will thrive unless they are at least offering aligners as part of their offering.

In the UK I hear lots of clinicians talking negatively about NHS contracts and how life is much easier making the switch to being a private practice. This is a trend we are seeing, it is also interesting that DSOs appear to be far more interested in boosting their private Orthodontic uptake and not so bothered about potential improvements and efficiencies to be gained on their NHS contracts.

We are doing some interesting things on the NHS aspect but I will save these updates for future posts. For now I want to focus on the private aspect and preparing yourself for what will inevitably be part of the treatment journey in the future. So what do patients want?

Before aligners came along patients didn't really have a choice, it was most likely a fixed brace (potentially lingual in some cases). Then when a certain aligner brand came to the market and patients had a choice things got interesting. I believe there will be more choices coming in the future with custom braces LightForce and companies like InBrace doing some interesting things in the US. How about choice when it comes to monitoring and the patient experience?

DentalMonitoring is expanding and becoming more widely adopted, as a result patients are talking between themselves, patients that see their friends or family are utilising DM are wondering why they are not being offered it, we have heard people say they feel like their Orthodontist isn't giving them the same level of service without it. My own experience of one nephew with DM and one without has shone a light on how different the experience is:

1) Harry gets weekly touch points and progress videos of his teeth - Will has no touch points aside from when he and my sister drive 50 minutes to their appointments every 6-8 weeks.

2) Harry has been alerted to an open clip, the practice messaged him with instructions to close it through the app. Will has no idea, nor does his practice about whether everything with the brace is as it should be.

3)Harry sees the practice when something needs doing at the right time, they know when his archwires are passive and can book him in with the right amount of time for the relevant appointment. Will goes in 6-8 weeks - the practice don't know if the wires are still active or not (they likely are from the data we see) so this is an inefficient appointment and also less convenient for Will and my sister.

The points above are for braces so you can imagine how it works for aligners. The truth is that right now many patients aren't even aware that there's an option to use remote monitoring. They take the intervals and journey that you offer as that is their only option at your practice. What if they knew that they could use DM and message you directly via the app, they could have weekly progress and reassurance touch points. They wouldn't have to come in every 6 weeks for a 15 minute app just to say yes it is good or no you are off track? Not everyone will want it but I guarantee if you at least offer as a choice many will want it and will take it.

So, how will you solve the problem, if in 5 years time you are continuing to offer one appliance, one patient journey and others are giving patients choice and convenience? Why wait for 5 years to implement this change, others are getting ahead of the curve, I fear late adopters and laggards will suffer from reduced interest and uptake from patients - it doesn't have to be this way.

*thoughts are my own*