Dental Monitoring

Dental Monitoring is a modern technology that supports and accelerates orthodontic treatment carried out with both fixed braces and overlay systems.

Dental Monitoring involves remote monitoring of orthodontic patients by an orthodontist via a unique platform, where scans of the teeth taken by the patient himself using his own smartphone go. The images require a special device - known as a Scanbox - equipped with a retraction tube, which is inserted into the mouth before a series of images are taken. The device is given to the patient at the dental office. It is capable of taking high-resolution scans of the teeth inside the mouth in a wide range of movements. A child performs the scans with the help of an adult, while adolescents and adults perform the scans on their own, in front of a mirror. The scan itself takes a few minutes (a skilled person will do it in less than 2 minutes). When taking pictures, the patient can be anywhere in the world - the only condition for the system to work is access to the Internet. The software is available on both Apple (iOS) and Android operating systems.

The system allows the doctor to remotely and extremely accurately assess the progress of orthodontic treatment, but also the level of oral hygiene and to provide the patient with appropriate recommendations on an ongoing basis. The frequency of scans is always determined individually by the doctor - usually once a week for overlays or once every two weeks for fixed appliances. Follow-up visits to the office can thus take place much less frequently than in the standard treatment plan, even every 16 weeks (instead of every 6-8 weeks). The frequency of follow-up visits is always adjusted according to the patient's individual biological response.

How does Dental Monitoring work?
The key component of the system is an artificial intelligence algorithm that is able to analyze more than 130 clinical parameters on a scan. The system not only detects abnormalities or deficiencies in the activity of the arches in fixed appliances and suggests the optimal moment to move on to the next overlay in an overlay appliance, but also identifies conditions of the oral mucosa or deficiencies in hygiene, which is very important for the entire treatment process. Dental Monitoring can also catch possible failures of the appliance, even before they are noticed by the patient himself.

Intraoral images with an accompanying report generated by artificial intelligence go to an app on the patient's phone and to a virtual platform that clinic representatives have constant access to. Coordination of treatment involves rapid identification of abnormalities by the artificial intelligence and notification of the doctor, who is able to make appropriate recommendations to the patient or invite the patient to the office for an appointment without undue delay. Communication is two-way - if in doubt, the patient can contact the caregiver and ask questions.

Through all of this, both the patient and the doctor are assured that treatment is moving in the right direction from the start, and changes to the treatment plan (such as additional overlays) are minimized. This doesn't replace the doctor's work, of course, but it largely automates the process and makes it more accurate and therefore more efficient.

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