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ePaper created 2017-03-17, 13:11:17 | version 1.38.0
digital technology in dental practice opinion | is that I am able to provide a highly customised service in a shorter space of time, saving on average six months of treatment time per patient. I have had a digital scanner for some time, but this month I acquired an updated 3Shape TRIOS scanner. It is extremely fast and allows my team to take completely accurate and detailed records of patients’ upper and lower arches. In the past, the process took half an hour, but now it is immediate. Adult patients are particularly grateful not to have impressions taken, and the orthodontic nurses are delighted to avoid this most trying aspect of record-taking. It was invariably messy. Being impression-free has brought more value to the team than going paperless. It goes without saying that a key benefit of digital technology is the integration of the orthodontic processes and records. For instance, a scan of the patient’s teeth can be superimposed on to a photo- graph, which I can in turn integrate with a grid. I can relate the tooth positions to facial planes and check that the dental midline is centrally located. I can show the patient his or her teeth and bite and I can provide him or her with a visual simulation of the difference that treatment will make. The patient can then ask questions. My vision for the finished result may not be the patient’s vision and being able to manipulate the outcome on screen means one can be absolutely sure the patient understands the treatment planning. The patient can influence the treatment if he or she wishes, and if he or she changes his or her mind towards the end, the tech- nology allows for last-minute nuancing. Fig. 1 In my case, there is one that surpasses all others. Bending archwires at the end of treatment is almost always inevitable and it is an aspect I dread. Why am I so hung up on this? The reason is that, if one bends a wire on one tooth, one will affect all the other teeth. This will increase the chairside time. The solu- tion is the robotic wire bending that is central to suresmile. I aim to deliver several things to my patients: an aesthetic result, a functional occlusion and an oc- clusion that is comfortable at rest. More than any- thing, I want them to be wowed by their experience. I believe suresmile delivers that wow factor. “Being impression-free has brought more value to the team than going paperless.” I have gone 360 degrees and am now fully digital, but this is only the first navigation of new and evolv- ing technology. My orthodontic journey continues and I suspect a few more digital revolutions await._ In order to convey how this approach differs from other treatments on offer, I compare it to the difference between an off-the-peg suit and going to a tailor in Savile Row. Many of the patients I treat at my practice are referred by leading den- tists. Their expectations are high. Sometimes or- thodontic treatment is just one part of an inter- disciplinary treatment that in its entirety will cost in excess of £20,000. Patients expect perfection— in so far as it is possible in an ageing dentition— and they expect a high level of service. Suresmile allows me to deliver both. Rightly for a West End practice, many of the benefits of suresmile relate to communication and the care of patients with high expectations, but there are also personal benefits for the clinician. contact Dr Asif Chatoo is a London-based orthodon- tist and a leading provider of invisible lingual treatments. He can be contacted at info@ londonlingualbraces.com. ortho 1 2017 09