8 Amazing Benefits of Dental Monitoring® for Invisalign® Patients

8 Amazing Benefits of Dental Monitoring® for Invisalign® Patients

While one of the biggest perks of Invisalign treatment is the convenience, at many practices, patients still have to visit their orthodontist every few weeks for a check-up to make sure everything is progressing as planned. 

Well, not at our Shorewood and Naperville orthodontic practice! We use Dental Monitoring, a revolutionary platform that lets us virtually keep tabs on your Invisalign treatment in between in-person visits. This eliminates unnecessary appointments and allows Dr. Manal Ibrahim and Dr. Christine Gin to optimize your treatment for the best possible results. As a huge believer in leveraging technology for more efficient, effective care, Dr. Ibrahim is even a Dental Monitoring key opinion leader. 

In this post, we’ll cover what Dental Monitoring is, how it works and what the benefits are for our patients. 

What is Dental Monitoring?

Dental Monitoring is a tool that allows you to have virtual orthodontist check-ins more frequently during Invisalign treatment, ensuring you only have in-person appointments when you really need them. Using your smartphone and the Dental Monitoring scan box, you take quick intraoral scans of your teeth and submit them through an app. 

Dental Monitoring software then uses artificial intelligence to process the scans. Dr. Ibrahim or Dr. Gin evaluates your progress and lets you know through the app what your next steps will be, whether that’s moving on to your next set of aligners or wearing your current ones for a little bit longer.

How Does Dental Monitoring Work?

So, how does Dental Monitoring work exactly? Here’s the step-by-step process:

1. When you start Invisalign treatment in Naperville or Shorewood with us, our practice will give you access to the Dental Monitoring app. A team member will show you how to take scans with the Dental Monitoring scan box. We’ll also determine a schedule for your virtual orthodontist check-ins. We have most patients check in once a week. 
2. When it’s time for your “visit,” you’ll insert your phone into the scan box. Then, you’ll use the cheek retractor to put your smile on full display. When you’re ready, you’ll take the scans according to the instructions both with and without your aligners in. When your scans are complete, you’ll submit them through the app. 
3. Dr. Ibrahim or Dr. Gin will use Dental Monitoring software to process the scans. Thanks to artificial intelligence, they can see your progress in real time. 
4. After evaluating your scans, your orthodontist will let you know via the app whether it’s time to move on to your next Invisalign tray or if you should keep wearing your current tray for a bit longer until the prescribed tooth movements have occurred. They can also see how well your Invisalign aligners fit and, if needed, may instruct you to use your Invisalign chewies or VPro+™ to get your aligner seating just right. If the doctor pinpoints any problems with oral hygiene, they’ll tell you which areas need extra TLC with brushing and flossing. Lastly, based on their findings, they’ll be able to schedule your next in-person check-up according to your unique needs.
5. And that’s it! The entire process only takes a few minutes. However, if you have questions or concerns, you can use the Dental Monitoring app to connect with your Shorewood or Naperville orthodontist.

Is an Orthodontist Still Involved in My Treatment?

Yes! Dr. Ibrahim and Dr. Gin will be there every step of the process and with the app, you’ll have an additional way to communicate any questions or concerns. Dental Monitoring technology actually gives your orthodontist more control over your tooth movements and treatment. Dr. Ibrahim and Dr. Gin are still responsible for planning your treatment and monitoring your progress, but they’re able to quickly make adjustments to keep your treatment on track. 

8 Benefits of Dental Monitoring

1. Saves You Time

Check-ins with Dental Monitoring take the place of some of your in-person appointments, saving you time without compromising your Invisalign results. Instead of coming in for an in-person check-up at a set interval, we can schedule you for visits at the ideal time based on your individual progress. Fewer trips to the office means less time traveling and sitting in a treatment chair and more time doing the things you love. 

2. Allows You to Check-In From Anywhere

Going on vacation? Heading off to college? Have a busy schedule and always on the go? With the Dental Monitoring app, you can complete your virtual orthodontist visits from anywhere. This is perfect for college students, those with a busy lifestyle and people who love to travel. 

It was also one of the tools we used at Innovative Orthodontic Centers that allowed us to continue to offer uninterrupted care during the pandemic. Even while social distancing, our patients were able to get the outcomes they wanted. After the last two years, most of us can probably agree that flexibility is important, and Dental Monitoring provides just that!

3. Gives Your Orthodontist Better Control Over Your Tooth Movements

When you begin Invisalign treatment, your orthodontist is the person who determines when and where each individual tooth in your mouth will move. Then, it’s up to you to wear your Invisalign aligners and change to a new tray in order for those tooth movements to occur. 

While compliance is still key, remote follow-ups let Dr. Ibrahim and Dr. Gin evaluate your teeth in real-time. They can make any tweaks or adjustments or even have you wear a certain set of aligners for a little longer, so your teeth are always shifting where we want them. This means your new smile will look just like the smile the doctor designed during the treatment planning stage.

4. Personalizes Your Treatment

Without Dental Monitoring, when you’re in Invisalign treatment, you change your aligners every one to two weeks and have check-ups every four to six weeks. Dental Monitoring compiles all of your treatment data in one place and lets the doctor compare scans week to week and assess your progress more frequently. Then, instead of sticking with a standard, one-size-fits-all timeframe for changing your aligners or coming in for visits, your treatment is based on your own biology, as well as compliance. It doesn’t get much more personalized than that. 

5. Gives You Peace of Mind

In between check-ups, you might be wondering, “Is my Invisalign fitting properly?” “Am I wearing my aligners enough?” “Have the tooth movements the orthodontist planned happened?” Dental Monitoring gives you peace of mind having the answers to these questions. You’ll know if your smile is shaping up how it’s supposed to and, if it’s not, learn what improvements can be made to reach your goals. 

6. Helps Prevent Delays so You Can Finish Invisalign Sooner

Another of the benefits of Dental Monitoring is that seeing weekly progress scans lets Dr. Ibrahim or Dr. Gin spot any issues that could hold back your treatment. Say, for example, a pre-planned tooth movement still needs more time, they’ll see that right away instead of six weeks later at a check-up. 

They can then have you wear your current aligners until the goal is achieved as opposed to making refinements in the future. Plus, when you do put in your next set of aligners, you’ll get a better fit because your teeth are where they’re supposed to be, which will help with the next round of tooth movements. With your treatment on track and, as we mentioned before, the doctor having complete control over the process, you could finish more quickly. 

7. It’s Empowering and Motivating!

Using Dental Monitoring can be empowering because you will be playing an active role in your own treatment. You’ll see your weekly scans and you can access your very own Invisalign time lapse using Dental Monitoring’s time lapse feature. For many patients, this is really motivating and makes them more dedicated to compliance. Since Invisalign can only shift your teeth into place if you wear the aligners for the prescribed amount of time, this is super important. 

8. Improves Communication With Your Orthodontist 

You’ll be touching base with your orthodontist with every check-in. You’ll know exactly how your treatment is progressing and what you need to do to keep it moving along in the right direction. If you have questions, you can ask them via the app instead of waiting for a free minute to give us a call or saving them up for your next in-person appointment. 

Learn More About Dental Monitoring in Naperville and Shorewood

If you’re interested in straightening your teeth with Invisalign in a way that’s flexible, convenient and effective, schedule a complimentary consultation at Innovative Orthodontic Centers. 

As a Diamond Top 1% Invisalign Provider, our orthodontists are Invisalign experts. By pairing their clear aligner know-how with Dental Monitoring’s HIPAA-compliant virtual check-ins, they can provide you with the most personalized Invisalign treatment to bring out the best in your smile.