With the advent of Zoom virtual business calls, FaceTime, and other 21st-century modes of meeting, we now conduct a lot of business and even family and friend get-togethers virtually. The COVID-19 pandemic also fueled an increase in doctor, dentist, and, yes, even orthodontist visits, as technology offered new ways for patients and providers to consult — minus the risk of spreading the virus.
Dr. Wayne Hickory is proud to offer a convenient, advanced, and patient-centered way to approach orthodontic treatment: virtual orthodontics. If it sounds impossible, it isn’t actually!
You may wonder what the Embassy Row Orthodontics team can do to treat you when you’re sitting in the comfort of your home or at your office while we’re here in ours, but the answer is “quite a lot!” Read on to learn how virtual orthodontics can complement your treatment here at Embassy Row.
Many patients are surprised when we mention the option of virtual orthodontics or treatment that incorporates virtual visits for you or your child, right along with just a few in-person visits to our office.
Between jam-packed work schedules, jam-packed work schedules, ferrying kids to and from activities, and other pursuits, everyone is beyond busy these days. And truth be told, every consultation with Dr. Hickory doesn’t have to be one where you or your child show up in the flesh.
Many patients can incorporate virtual appointments into their overall treatment landscape, especially because now there are high-tech tools that Dr. Hickory can use to assess and monitor you during your orthodontic treatment journey. Even better, you can use virtual orthodontics no matter what type of braces you use, including metal braces and Invisalign®.
At Embassy Row, Dr. Hickory provides virtual orthodontic treatment with a revolutionary smartphone app, Dental Monitoring®. During your first consultation, he educates you on how to use the system, which allows you to take pictures of your mouth that reflect the progress made as you undergo treatment. You simply upload these photos so Dr. Hickory can evaluate them.
Part of what’s so impressive about the app is that its algorithm — or its group of programming building blocks — can do most of the work when it comes to analyzing how your teeth are shifting depending on your treatment stage, from the images you upload.
After Dr. Hickory reviews your images, he sends you updated care instructions, which can be quite detailed because he can even make notes on your images and return them to you with detailed explanations and comments. Likewise, you can message him with any questions or concerns about your treatment as it comes up.
This high-level communication between you and Dr. Hickory means that you can get care that’s just as detailed, thorough, and customized from a distance as when you’re sitting in our office. And not to worry — our app is secure and complies with important HIPAA guidelines.
Being a virtual orthodontics patient frees up your schedule, so you’re not devoting the typical amount of time to orthodontic visits. You just come to the office once per 12-week period. These visits are also ideal times to ask questions about the Dental Monitoring app or get a quick tutorial.
Our patients who’ve taken advantage of the Dental Monitoring app can’t say enough good things about it. Aside from saving them tons of time, it offers flexibility — think being able to message Dr. Hickory while sitting in the stands at your child’s soccer game — and you gain a deeper understanding of your treatment with this “up close” way of analyzing your progress.
And don’t worry about phone compatibility problems. If your smartphone’s operating system is current, you can easily use the Dental Monitoring app and incorporate this game-changing complement to treatment anytime.
Virtual orthodontics may sound too good to be true, but it’s something more and more patients are embracing. Call our office at 202-342-9600 to schedule a consultation and learn if you or your child is a candidate for virtual orthodontics, or use our convenient online booking tool.
