Q: Time is one of Dentists’ most valuable commodities. Can you describe the orthobrain workflow and how it impacts your productivity?

A: We’re a smaller office and we don’t have a ton of chairs, so productivity is really important. The more cases we do, the better we get at it. We can get people in and out quickly with the education I received from orthobrain. We’re taking pictures, using the computer and an intraoral scanner to scan all the cases, and everything’s streamlined. Outside of maybe the bracket appointment, the workflow is pretty quick and the ortho patients don’t take up a lot of time. That’s what we need.

Q: Many Dentists who may have been early adopters of aligner treatment are hesitant to start again because they were underwhelmed with the effort versus the payoff. What would you say to someone with this kind of experience?

A: In the past, I would 100% agree that the effort versus the payoff with orthodontic cases was underwhelming. If I weren’t running my cases through orthobrain, I wouldn’t be doing them. I started doing aligner cases maybe 5 years ago with a competitor and stopped. I think about it like this, ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’. I didn’t know at the time that their support was non-existent. From designing a case to troubleshooting and finishing, the support just was not there. I think of that company as a lot of people playing a video game, they know how to straighten teeth on a computer with a joystick but not why they’re doing what they’re doing. Just wanting it to end quickly. I did not have good experience and I stopped offering ortho to my patients.

Now, I wouldn’t be doing ortho cases without running the process through orthobrain. Unless you have a huge depth of orthodontic knowledge, you’re not going to do as good of a job as an Orthodontist. And if I can’t offer that kind of quality of orthodontic care, I don’t want to offer that as an option to my patients.

Q: Tell me about the two recent cases you completed with orthobrain.

A: My first case was with brackets. A week or so after I came back from the initial training, I bought all the supplies and tools. We started that case pretty much as soon as we could and it went smoothly from start to finish. The design process was fast, the brackets came in, and the thermal plastic material to support placement was really easy — in fact, the whole process was easy. This case happened to be with my receptionist. We had a couple of minor things pop up during treatment like a few teeth didn’t rotate just how we wanted them to, so I contacted orthobrain. We took progress pictures and they followed up every few months. It was like ‘hey how’s it looking?’ which was great. They kept me on track and we were able to work through and troubleshoot any kind of minor issues. She had a space in between her teeth and she asked me for years to close it. Finally, I was able to help her get it done a couple of months before her wedding, so she’s thrilled.

The second case we did was amazingly straightforward. The patient had crowding of her lower teeth – one was pretty much blocked out in the back. She had traditional braces when she was a kid, but didn’t wear retainers, and they just collapsed like an accordion back to where it started. She wanted to do clear aligners and orthobrain helped me work through the setup. We went through a couple of iterations of designs before we approved it. Then the rest was up to her. Thankfully, she was an amazing patient. She was super compliant. So, we were able to get her out in four or five months, something like that. And it was awesome. Once we had an approved plan, we didn’t have to make any refinements which in my prior experience was fairly rare. She was back last week for her six-month hygiene check and things looked perfect. Everything was nice and straight. If every case was like that, I’d throw aligners on everybody!

After a few cases like these that turn out well, it motivates you to want to do more.

In case you missed it, here were four key takeaways from the event:

Develop yourself professionally.

Education doesn’t end once you receive your degree. To be a great leader in the dental field, really any field, we need to “be sponges.” Continue to educate ourselves – keep reading and learning, teach ourselves new skills or refine existing ones, and stay up to date with industry trends. It is important to continue improving and contributing to our personal brands.

Find a mentor and also be a Mentor.

When seeking out mentors, it is important to seek out those we admire and respect. Someone who can share their experience and lessons learned – their tips and tricks to navigate an often times male-dominated industry. But just as important as finding a mentor is BEING a mentor. It is important we pay it forward to individuals entering the industry or business arena. While we should make a concerted effort to share our knowledge to help lift up our mentees, it is important for us to listen too. “I have learned so much from the young people I mentored. Those relationships have made me a more well-rounded and empathetic leader,” says Kimberly Harrington.

Think beyond your own successes.

Great leaders do not just think about their own accomplishments; they concentrate on making sure the people on their team succeed as well. They get to know their employees on a personal and professional level, and learn their goals and ambitions. True leaders provide pathways to success, whether it be through access to extra training or time off to volunteer in their community. A company’s success is not always just measured in financial terms – it’s also judged on things like culture, inclusivity and growth opportunities.

Kimberly Harrington pointed out while on stage, “I am on the main stage today, but I always tell my team that it is not my job to be here. It is my job to get them on the main stage. It is my job to empower them as leaders and support them through that personal and professional growth.”

 Play the long game.

Instant gratification is given so much weight in today’s world. And often, we feel pressure to have success immediately, or to give up our weekend in order to enter the work week feeling confident. But, sometimes, our personal relationships suffer, when we put all our focus on work.

As Kimberly reminded the audience: “If it doesn’t happen on Monday, don’t panic. There is always Tuesday.”