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Orthodontists, Patients and AcceleDent by Pamela Waterman

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Your website's Meet the Orthodontist page might include a quote that says something like, "I feel so fortunate to be in a profession that allows me to create beautiful smiles." If you could also tell patients, "I can give you that smile in almost half the traditional treatment time," you'd probably feel that fortune was smiling back. Nowadays many professionals are achieving that accelerated treatment with OrthoAccel's AcceleDent device, a micro-pulse technology system that has orthodontists and patients alike giving it the thumbs up.

As described in the October 2012 issue of Orthotown Magazine, patients use the hands-free device by gently biting onto it for 20 minutes a day while the vibration does its job of stimulating blood flow. Here are reactions from two professionals and three adult patients.

AcceleDent's Impact on the Practice

"Invisalign patients can cut close to 50 percent off their time if they use the AcceleDent consistently," says Dr. Kathleen Nuckles, a Los Angelesarea orthodontist who started offering the system this past October. She heard about it at the 2012 PCSO meeting and immediately placed an order. OrthoAccel provided two lunch-and-learns, one to get started fitting the mouthpieces and one for follow up. Dr. Nuckles currently has 20 AcceleDent patients ranging from age 12 to adult, in some stage of aligners or traditional braces.

Some of her more challenging adult patients come in saying they only want Invisalign. Now, in such cases, Dr. Nuckles' response is, "Okay, this is what we can do but you're going to be using the AcceleDent," just building the cost into the fee. She checks Invisalign patients at 10 days (instead of the usual 14) for the first cycle, and if they're tracking well, after a month she switches them to changing the aligners once a week. "We can give them more trays, so they have fewer visits," she explains. "They come in half as many times (as normal) - every six weeks," saving her practice chairtime. She adds, "The other thing that's really nice about it is it cuts down the discomfort of tooth movement."

The staff in Dr. Nuckles' practice gathers around to view the progress when AcceleDent patients come for check-ups. She says, "Everybody believes in it and that's important; when your staff sees how well it works and sees these people who are usually big whiners coming in and not complaining!" She adds that with kids using the AcceleDent device with traditional braces, she still needs to see them fairly frequently, so that savings comes in shortening the overall length of treatment.

Dr. Dale Davis of Davis & Davis Orthodontics in Midland, Michigan, is another AcceleDent provider pleased to offer the option as a perfect fit for his Invisalign patients. He says; "Most patients, especially the adults, have put off treatment. When it's time, they basically want this to be over - speed has a lot to do with it."

Dr. Davis has been using the AcceleDent since November 2012, with nine patients so far. By selling them at cost he says they're not a money-making thing. "But," he adds, "we look at profitability per chairtime. There's some fixed cost with records and initial delivery but everything between that and getting retainers, you're cutting in half. Anything that leads to fewer appointments, whether it's fewer emergencies because we're using Invisalign or using AcceleDent, increases that profitability."

From the patient point of view, Dr. Davis sees AcceleDent as improving marketing. "When it comes to increase in acceptance rate," he says, "for longer treatment times in Invisalign, when you're predicting it's going to take a year-and-a-half to two years, if I can tell them it will take a year or even less with AcceleDent, I think those people are more likely to say yes to treatment."

Three AcceleDent Case Studies

Michelle Kiser of Atlanta is almost six months into treatment wearing traditional braces with Damon selfligating brackets. Kiser, age 44, had braces for a few years as a teen, but as with many adults, found that over time her teeth shifted and crowded. Still, she says: "I probably would have never gotten braces (again) except I took my son in and they told me I could potentially wear braces for only six months. That excited me."

Having started immediately with the AcceleDent, she has used it every night since the day her braces went on. When asked what it feels like using the device, Kiser says, "It feels like nothing!" (She even went to the sales rep to ask if it was actually working; she was reassured, yes). She adds: "It's literally only 20 minutes out of my day. I watch TV and there are no issues."

Because her teeth are moving so quickly, Kiser gets an adjustment every three to four weeks instead of the typical eight-week schedule. Her original projected deband date was October 1; she's excited that the current projection is now sometime in May.

Lingual braces have been the treatment of choice for Tony Pricco, an adult patient of Dr. Neil Warshawsky at Get it Straight Orthodontics in Chicago. Pricco, age 40, also had teen braces though with a somewhat unusual history. Genetically missing lateral incisors caused issues for him from childhood, but with no option at the time for implants, his previous dental work was simply orthodontic treatment to move the canines forward and close his bite.

“What happened,” says Pricco, “is over time, my top teeth were literally wearing down my bottom teeth, making indentations.” He kept putting off braces, but finally got linguals in July 2012. “This time,” says Pricco, “my goal was to get them on and off as quickly as possible.” Pricco noticed an AcceleDent display in the office, and when told he would be a good candidate for accelerated treatment, he started using it right away.

“I see it helping move the teeth, “ notes Pricco, “but also it seems to help when you get an adjustment so it only hurts for a day instead of two or three days.” He points out, “Obviously there’s a cost to (the system) but it’s worth it right there – the vibrations are soothing and healing.” At this point, Pricco’s canines have already shifted back to their original positions and he is close to getting implants the way they always should have been done.

Karen Logue, 57, of Los Angeles had never previously had braces, but was self-conscious about her smile after losing a great deal of weight and having plastic surgery. She explains, “I’d never been happy with my smile, and I figured, after all I went through, I would go all the way and fix my teeth.”

Her orthodontist, Dr. John DiGiovanni of Newport Beach, introduced to her to the AcceleDent. She’s now been using it for a year, setting an alarm every evening for 11:10 to stay on track. Logue says, “I love the fact that I have both my hands free so I can read, work on the computer or do chores around the house.”

AcceleDent cost is still an issue for some but is particularly worth it for patients with the goal of braces off in time for a wedding, Bar Mitzvah or even extended travel. Dr. Nuckles promotes it to a number of patients for whom she thinks it’s appropriate, such as an older teen with a challenging treatment plan, plus all of her Invisalign patients (except for Invisalign Express).

Dr. Davis looks at the big picture, saying: “You become known for implementing the latest technology and at least looking at anything to make the patient experience better. We’re in the business of orthodontics – if you get good results, the patient is satisfied, the dentist is satisfied and it’s all good.

Author's Bio
Pamela Waterman is the president of Metal Mouth Media, a publishing company dedicated to "taking the bite out of braces" through specialty cookbooks, articles, Web resources and workshops. She has been a spokesperson for the American Association of Orthodontists and is the creator of the new "Braces-Friendly" Seal of Approval. Based in Mesa, Arizona, Waterman has more than 25 years of experience in engineering and writing, is a contributing editor for Desktop Engineering magazine and is the author of four books, including the award-winning Braces Cookbook series. She can be contacted at pwaterman@metalmouthmedia.net.
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