Orthotown May 2013 - (Page 46)

technology // feature by Pamela Waterman Your website’s Meet the Orthodontist page might include a quote that says something like, “I feel so fortunate to be in a profession that allows me to create beautiful smiles.” If you could also tell patients, “I can give you that smile in almost half the traditional treatment time,” you’d probably feel that fortune was smiling back. Nowadays many professionals are achieving that accelerated treatment with OrthoAccel’s AcceleDent device, a micro-pulse technology system that has orthodontists and patients alike giving it the thumbs up. As described in the October 2012 issue of Orthotown Magazine, patients use the hands-free device by gently biting onto it for 20 minutes a day while the vibration does its job of stimulating blood flow. Here are reactions from two professionals and three adult patients. AcceleDent’s Impact on the Practice “Invisalign patients can cut close to 50 percent off their time if they use the AcceleDent consistently,” says Dr. Kathleen Nuckles, a Los Angelesarea orthodontist who started offering the system this past October. She heard about it at the 2012 PCSO meeting and immediately placed an order. OrthoAccel provided two lunch-and-learns, one to get started fitting the mouthpieces and one for follow up. Dr. Nuckles currently has 20 AcceleDent patients ranging from age 12 to adult, in some stage of aligners or traditional braces. Some of her more challenging adult patients come in saying they only want Invisalign. Now, in such cases, Dr. Nuckles’ response is, “Okay, this is what we can do but you’re going to be 46 MAY 2013 // orthotown.com using the AcceleDent,” just building the cost into the fee. She checks Invisalign patients at 10 days (instead of the usual 14) for the first cycle, and if they’re tracking well, after a month she switches them to changing the aligners once a week. “We can give them more trays, so they have fewer visits,” she explains. “They come in half as many times (as normal) – every six weeks,” saving her practice chairtime. She adds, “The other thing that’s really nice about it is it cuts down the discomfort of tooth movement.” The staff in Dr. Nuckles’ practice gathers around to view the progress when AcceleDent patients come for check-ups. She says, “Everybody believes in it and that’s important; when your staff sees how well it works and sees these people who are usually big whiners coming in and not complaining!” She adds that with kids using the AcceleDent device with traditional braces, she still needs to see them fairly frequently, so that savings comes in shortening the overall length of treatment. Dr. Dale Davis of Davis & Davis Orthodontics in Midland, Michigan, is another AcceleDent provider pleased to offer the option as a perfect fit for his Invisalign patients. He says; “Most patients, especially the adults, have put off treatment. When it’s time, they basically want this to be over – speed has a lot to do with it.” Dr. Davis has been using the AcceleDent since November 2012, with nine patients so far. By selling them at cost he says they’re not a money-making thing. “But,” he adds, “we look at profitability per chairtime. There’s some fixed cost with records and initial delivery but everything between that and getting retainers, you’re cutting in half. Anything that leads to fewer http://www.orthotown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Orthotown May 2013

Orthotown.com Highlights
Wired for Success: Googlize Your Business
Class III
Waste of Time/Money Marketing Ideas
Do You “Write Up” a Treatment Plan Report?
Orthotown.com Research: Lasers
Orthodontic Acceleration: Propel Alveolar Micro-Osteoperforation
Focus Ortho
New Products
Big Steps Forward for SureSmile Software
A New Era in Digital Orthodontics
Placing an Unplanned Forsus Fatigue Resistant Device with the Incognito Appliance System
From Mom’s Point of View
Orthodontists, Patients and AcceleDent
Ad Index

Orthotown May 2013