The importance of remote monitoring!

When it comes to clear aligners, you will be relying on your patient to not only wear the aligners but to also take the initiative of switching out their aligners within the given time period. Since you will not be seeing the patient in the office every time they switch their aligners, regular monitoring  is important to ensure teeth are progressing according to plan (tracking). Giving yourself a quick way to monitor treatment between appointments helps you pick up issues early, allows you to re-direct or troubleshoot treatment and makes patients feel totally supported! 

‍

What is remote treatment monitoring?

Remote monitoring is the ability for your patients to send you brief updates and progress photos through our portal for you and/or your nurse to monitor treatment progression. Patients are sent a text message which asks them to upload intraoral photos (taken as a selfie with retractors that are provided alongside their aligners), and to write down concerns, if they have any. 

As the provider, you can set the text messages to arrive as frequently as you’d like; most dentists prefer patients to check in just before they are about to move onto their next aligner (every 7-14 days). 

Once a patient sends a treatment check-in photo, it will be housed within your portal to view. In order for you to view the images and messages sent by the patient, click the tab in your portal header called ‘Treatment Check-Ins.’

Note- if they have expressed any concerns you’ll get a text message immediately to notify you

‍

Why bother? You see them every few weeks anyway.

‍1) Problems picked up immediately‍

Patients are usually good at noticing when something is off, but they rarely pick up the phone to call reception to tell you. Therefore, patients will often leave it until their next appointment, when tracking issues can no longer be resolved.  By ensuring patients are routinely checking-in, you’ll be able to pick up potential concerns and speak directly with the patient about them!

‍

2) Intervene early to avoid unnecessary refinements

If tracking issues occur (meaning the teeth are not moving according to plan), picking them up early is extremely important, as there is plenty you can do to get things back on track. Our orthos say over 80% of cases can be got back on track with techniques like backtracking, extending the wear schedule and using Chewies if caught within a certain time frame! 

‍

3) Patients feel supported‍

Such proactive oversight is rare in dentistry, patients aren’t used to dentists being able to oversee their care even when they are not in the office. Patients are usually surprised and appreciative when they raise a concern and are immediately contacted by their dentist! Further, this can even be a good “selling point” for many patients. It’s not everyday that they essentially have a dentist in their pocket :) 

‍

4) Excellent clinical records and compliance

Patients who submit regular treatment check-ins typically are very compliant patients which not only enhances the clinical success of the case but also provides you with a perfect visual record of their progress! 

‍

How do you start remote monitoring with your patients?

It's quick and easy to do. Head to your 32Co portal and select the patient you'd like to start treatment check-ins on.

1) Click the action button and select 'start treatment monitoring'.

2) Fill in the patient contact details and set the frequency of check-ins. You can customise it differently for every patient and choose when you'd like to be notified

‍

‍

3) You'll be able to see all the responses submitted in the 'treatment check-in' tab for each patient. Quickly identify where they are in treatment and if they have any concerns

4) Once underway, you can use the settings icon to stop remote monitoring at any time and restart when your ready

‍

‍

That's it!

The treatment check in tool is free for 32Co users- we want dentists to feel in control of all of their patients with as little stress as possible.