Dr. Amanda Wilson with Straight Smile Solutions recently mentioned In Hand Dental on her show. We wanted to share the link with you, as well as a transcription below!
Hello, it’s Dr. Amanda. Today I’m talking about my friends at In Hand Dental who have a virtual orthodontic monitoring system. In Hand Dental says you can monitor your patients with these things that are in your hands like an iPad or a phone.
If you haven’t watched the video I posted yesterday about your refinement rate, this piggybacks off that. A normal primary rate is less than 30%. If more than 30% of your patients need refinements, mid-course corrections or warranty fits, you’re probably doing something wrong.
The number one thing I see people doing wrong – besides having bad treatment plans – is not creating an accountability loop. How do you know your patient is actually wearing it as directed? Patients lie all the time. They think they’re doing 22 hours when they’re only doing 17.
Unless you have an accountability loop of having patients put in their aligners and send a photo before they switch to the next aligners – at least every other aligner – you don’t know if their problem is compliance, the treatment plan or a manufacturing issue.
When doctors come to me and say they’re having a problem with an Invisalign or Clear Correct or Sure Smile, I say “How do you know it’s that? How do you know it’s not a compliance issue?” That’s why you need to know your refinement rate.
If you tell me your refinement rate is 10% and you have a problem in one case, then you clearly have a firm grip on compliance and I’m not worried about it. But if you tell me your refinement rate is anything over 30%, you need to create an accountability loop.
You can purchase systems like the In Hand Dental Monitoring System. IHD is – the last time I checked – about $140 per doctor per month, for up to 30 patients. It’s like a few dollars per month per patient. And that’s a no-brainer because: consider that any time you have a refinement in your office, they’re going to take up chair time, assistant time, doctor time, and maybe need a scan tip. The cost of the scan tip alone is worth the cost of a month of In Hand Dental.
Once you create your own system and get the flow going, you’re going to eliminate all those unnecessary appointments, which frees up a ton of chair time you can use for other things. Think about it: 30 patients a month who don’t have to come into your office. If each check appointment is 20 minutes, you can do the math on that. That’s a few hours of chair time right there. I’m pretty sure 3 or 4 hours of chair time in a month is worth more than $140. Not to mention supplies and equipment.
I hope that was helpful, and if you’re interested in being introduced to In Hand Dental, reach out and I’ll be glad to introduce you.
Want to learn more about In Hand Dental? Go to our Contact Page and set up a time to book a free demo today!