People are becoming increasingly aware of cosmetic dentistry and its significance to their personal as well as professional lives. Following the swingeing changes brought on by the pandemic, there was one surprising outcome.
The “Zoom effect” was one of the prime contributors to accelerating the need for clear aligners among office goers. People became hyperaware of their faces in online meetings where they were continually and subconsciously looking at themselves on screen.
Due to this self-consciousness about their maligned teeth coupled with the fact that people could not leave their houses during the pandemic, clear aligners became the winner’s choice when compared to traditional braces and wires.
Clear aligners require fewer doctor visits than fixed appliances which may be why the key players observed a surge in orders of clear aligners in 2020 as compared to prior years. For instance, a report of Dental Tribune claimed that Align Technology was able to sell a record 1.6 million cases of clear aligners in 2020 as compared to 1.5 million cases in 2019.
It truly is the wild west in the world of clear aligners. Aligner companies are fighting to be at the top of the aligner industry. With new aligner providers popping up every month, the competition is becoming increasingly savage. To add fuel to the already smoldering fire, DSOs and OEM aligner companies have now begun entering the market with products that equally impress the likes of orthodontists and their patients.
In the retail market, a white label provider is considered an organization that does not hold a supply license but instead works in partnership with a licensed “partner supplier” to offer products using its own brand. In this context, a White Label company would be the aligner provider (for example, K Line Europe) and they’d be partnered with a licensed dental practitioner to deliver aligners to the dentist’s patients.
Software solutions for White Label aligners
White Label companies have been turning the market a full 180º all with the help of some standard yet sophisticated software. The most popular White label clear aligner brand in Europe is K Line Europe. They have launched a patient interaction app called the “ClearX app” to help patients communicate with their dentists on a regular basis without having to schedule an extra appointment with them.
With what they call the “Booster”, K Line Europe is able to reshape the patient’s ClearX aligners simply by putting them in this booster. This helps reshape and remodel the aligners to accommodate the future aligner trays. All this can be done simply through an application and in the comfort of the patient’s own home.
Another aligner brand called 3Shape has also been making headway in simplifying the White Label business. Their Trios patient engagement app allows patients to feel more confident about the way they feel and makes it easier for dentists to communicate with their patients. With the Trios software, they are also able to easily plan, design, and produce in-house for restorative treatments, implants, clear aligners, splints, and other orthodontic appliances. Simply pairing up a 3Shape Trios scanner with the Trios Studio Apps allows profitable in-house design and production options.
German-based K Line Europe has also launched an updated version of its Motion Viewer. It is an interactive modeling tool that allows dentists and their patients to visualize their treatment plans and case progression. This Motion Viewer allows doctors to make informed decisions all in consultation with their patients. Some excellent features K Line has integrated into this software include IPR indicators, dental numberings (Universal, Palmer, and FDI), improved side-by-side visualization, a base grid to assist in case tracking, as well as a revamped UI/UX.
Technology has helped facilitate White Label aligner businesses to further assist DSOs or labs in manufacturing clear aligners for their partnered dental practices. Software that helps increase engagement and enhance functions of the aligners makes White Labeling an increasingly stealthy act to behold. Of course, there is no “one-fits-all” when it comes to miracle software that can make the process work perfectly.
However, up-and-coming White Label aligner companies are constantly looking for new and improved ways to boost their client’s business through innovation and improve workflows for doctors and patients through advanced software solutions.
The future is bright!
by Dr. Martin Baxmann
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