Mastering Tech Integration: Strategies for Seamless Adoption of Dental Monitoring in Orthodontic Practices

It’s one thing to onboard a new technology into your orthodontic practice; it’s another to make it really work for you and maximize your return on investment. In this episode of the Orthodontic Products podcast, sponsored by Dental Monitoring, host Alison Werner talks to Michelle Shimmin, owner, consultant, and business analyst at Shimmin Consulting, about how to do just that. The pandemic exposed consumers to the benefits of virtual appointments and remote monitoring across different facets of their lives, including orthodontics. And as Shimmin explains, they don’t want to give that up.  Shimmin discusses the importance of going all in if you are going to invest in a technology. “The most painful and challenging place to live is in that dabbling phase,” she says.  When implemented correctly, Shimmin says, practices can experience “remarkable growth” without having to hire more staff, work more doctor days, or build a larger facility. And all this can be done while experiencing less stress, improving the patient experience, and setting the practice apart.  Shimmin talks about how the artificial intelligence built into Dental Monitoring and how that gives practices actual data and metrics they can use to not only grow their business, but also improve both management and clinical workflows.  Shimmin acknowledges that onboarding a new technology can be daunting, but there are ways to do it successfully. And the first step to success is good communication. She explains how a full-team meeting to discuss the “why” of implementing any new technology is key to getting staff buy-in.  Too often staff members worry a new technology is going to create more work. As Shimmin points out, that doesn’t have to be the case here.  As practices implement Dental Monitoring, they’re quickly going to see that they need to adjust their schedule template to maximize the benefits of the platform. Shimmin explains how to do this, and why it needs to start with building a digital workflow.  Practices still tend to use remote monitoring technology solely for their clear aligner cases. Shimmin explains the benefits of using it with patients in brackets and wires and how to create a workflow and schedule these patient appointments.