From 300 Million Braces to 3 Billion Smiles. Introducing the Exponential Orthodontist.
Technology is the great equalizer. It enables ACCESS.
5 billion people have access to a mobile phone
5 billion have access to the internet
4 billion have a toothbrush
77% of adults have crooked teeth. That’s about 3 billion humans.
About 1 billion people would be interested in a nicer smile and would have a budget to pay a reasonable price.
Amazon. Apple. Google. Facebook. are all enabling access to more for less.
Why is orthodontics still out of reach?
Up until now getting orthodontic treatment, getting straight teeth was only the preserve of the elite who could afford the $3000 — $5000 investment plus the monthly time commitment to visit for regular brace adjustments monthly. The cost was justified due to the high costs of running a clinic, and the high costs of education of orthodontist, and the hours and hours of time required to carefully glue brackets & wires to teeth and then adjust them monthly. With brackets & wires you would then essentially be trapped until they were removed at the end of treatment.
This meant huge expense, broken wires, swallowed brackets, messy teeth, and swollen gums all in the goal of straight teeth. This is not scalable to 1 billion people.
Enter Digitisation.
Digitisation leads to Democratisation,
Democratisation: “These technologies themselves become cheaper and cheaper and cheaper. Cellphones are a classic example. Back in the ’80s, these were a luxury technology that only the wealthiest could have and then it kind of slowly moved down the scale until where we are today. I mean 50 percent of the world … [is] carrying a supercomputer in their pocket. That’s how much these things have been democratized. Access becomes available to anyone.” Peter Diamandis
So Orthodontics is about to go fully digital. Hold on to your iPhone.
Not just the study models. Not just the uber ride to the clinic. The clinic, the consult, the reviews the appliances, the aftercare ALL OF IT and this is a great thing.
This massive shift in the method of delivery seems to be inspiring fear and protectionist forces from dental trade organisations that are concerned about incomes and livelihoods. This is misplaced. Don’t do that. Think.
Stop trying to medicalise malocclusion as if it’s a disease and not a function of normal human variation. Look at the big picture.
We are looking at a Global Shift from 300 Million braces to 3 Billion Straighter smiles.
Your impact as an orthodontist is about to grow 10x.
Straighter teeth = People happier with their smile.
People happier with their smile = More dentally aware.
More dentally aware = More dental care / prevention / cosmetic
More dental care / prevention = More importance of dentistry
Win Win.
Stop just talking about toothbrushing.
Start actually helping more people WANT to brush and look after their teeth more. Actually give them a smile they WANT.
Ok so what does this new world look like? Way better,not only better for the orthodontist having lower fixed overheads, less stress, more flexibility to travel whilst still running a digital practice. But also better for the patient, easier access to the solutions and reassurance they want, less appointments and less cost. The inefficiencies in overhead are eliminated with the orthodontist earning well in a digital practice and the patient benefitting from more affordable treatment that they can now finally access.
Let’s look at Exponential future of Orthodontics.
The first principle is that anything that can go digital will go digital. So aligners will become the main way to straighten teeth, and brackets/wires will become the exception.
So why aligners? Because why use brackets and wires for cases aligners can treat when they cause so many problems.
- Fixed braces make oral hygiene difficult, leading to inflamed gums, increased tooth decay.
- Fixed brackets frequently come loose and patients often swallow them, how is this ok?
- Wires come loose frequently and cut cheeks and tongues.
- When removing / debonding fixed braces enamel is often chipped / damaged / scratched. Again how is this ok?
Occam’s Razor —It is futile to do with more things that which can be done with fewer — the simplest solution is often the best.
So what would this look like in Orthodontics?
Aligner based treatment enables two modalities of treatment.
The Exponential Orthodontist will treat cases in two modes:
Fully Remote & Remote Assisted.
Fully Remote is the Teledentistry practice that will enable the straightening of the next 2.5 Billion smiles. Let’s look at who it’s for:
Mild / Moderate Crowding = People that are currently living with crooked teeth and aren’t going to spend thousands, so spend on other things.
Cosmetic enhancement = People that are interested but aren’t going to spend thousands, so spend on other things.
Relapse treatment = Correcting work they paid for once already.
Essentially a huge new volume of people that now get to benefit from the happiness and confidence straighter teeth brings.
Remote Assisted
Remote Assisted is a hybrid Teledentistry practice that will enable the straightening of the next 0.5 Billion smiles. Let’s look at who it’s for:
Severe Crowding = Cases which need IPR / Extractions / Mini-implants / Surgery
Vertical Movements = Cases which need attachments/wires
Ortho/Restorative = Cases which need teeth restoring as part of the plan
Baby teeth / Complex cases = Cases which need special monitoring / intervention.
The work of a traditional orthodontist is not disappearing. There is still a huge amount of work to be done, it will just be done more digitally.
Active Treatment is thus split into these two modalities and then resources such as chairtime and staff can be used more efficiently to help the people that truly need it.
Aftercare then becomes a way to ensure lifelong results and also to provide further cosmetic enhancement.
All in all exponential orthodontics is here to stay and there are 3 billion smiles eager to get straighter teeth. The future has never been brighter.
To join the revolution and learn more about becoming an exponential orthodontist visit http://www.straightteethdirect.com/dentists/
If you would like to get straighter teeth yourself or would like to learn more about exponential orthodontics visit: www.straightteethdirect.com