The evolution of Aligner Lab technology is absolutely astonishing. From digital 3D treatment planning using AI, 3D printing, laser & machine guided finishing, task management, shipping and manufacturing systems, labs do so much.
Despite all these amazing features, labs ultimately spend thousands to build their lab-centric portals which focus on the lab needs and not usually the clinic needs. While a strong focus on planning, manufacturing and shipping is super important, it fails to address the primary bottom lines for the lab which are converting sales at the clinic level and having full visibility over the treatment.
Let’s break these two points down. Because lab portals are only connected to a clinic facing portal, there isn’t much they can do to help the clinic sell faster and more efficiently aside from creating tools such as treatment setup or an instant smile result for the clinic to send the patient. With no connection to the patient directly, labs highly rely on the clinic’s tools to sell the Aligners. Typically the clinic manually sends a payment link or the patient pays in the office.
Labs rarely have any visibility over treatment. They usually only find out which aligner stage a case is on during treatment when a complaint from the clinic is reported, once a refinement has been requested or when the treatment has been completed. Also, by not seeing photos of each stage from the patient, the lab is highly reliant on the clinic to supply images at the time an issue has been reported. The lab can’t see past stages to correctly troubleshoot the issue. Finally, without any oversight, there is no way to properly evaluate product performance or create research papers. Performance is usually a reactive evaluation through treatment success or treatment failure via clinic complaints and refinements.
Labs need a reliable automated tool which solves these major issues. Smile Genius is currently the only digital platform which allows the user to plug into these immediately. Here are 5 ways Smile Genius dramatically increases Dental lab conversions, sales & treatment visibility.
- Dramatically improve conversion: This is the most important step in the sales process which labs rarely have control over. With Smile Genius, once a plan is sent over to the clinic, the clinician can send the details immediately to the patient app with a secure payment link. Instead of waiting for a video call or in-clinic presentation, the patient can view their treatment plan with details and pay immediately. No more waiting until they’re in the clinic. From the lab side, orders can be placed sooner, and less patient interaction means more chair time for more orders.
- Increased sales: Having faster conversions means more sales. Smile Genius allows clinics to set up card payments through the patient app. The patient can then pay immediately after seeing the treatment plan, especially outside of business hours. The ability for the patient to pay any time, with the clinic’s preferred mode of payment helps streamline the sales process leading to increased revenue for both clinic and lab.
- Advanced treatment visibility – Smile Genius’ advanced treatment monitoring guides the patient through online check-ins meaning the dentist can have full visibility over the entire treatment from start to finish. This allows the dentist to only bring patients in when needed, saving valuable chair time. For labs, seeing the patients’ progress photos means they can better guide the clinic, facilitate troubleshooting, handle complaints more efficiently and more importantly, have a platform to evaluate their product performance or to write detailed research papers.
- Faster treatment completion – With higher treatment visibility, the clinician and lab know exactly where their patients are in treatment. Because the patient is getting reminders when to change aligners, the system is kept up to date while patient’s have a consistent tool to encourage compliance for a smoother, quicker end result. On the clinic side, having a list of patients’ current stages and if they are late changing aligners gives the clinical staff the advantage of contacting non-compliant patients and getting them back on track. From the lab perspective, knowing what stage the patient is on and when IPR has been completed, aids in faster responses to their business and advanced predictability when preparing and sending aligner batches. This produces increased revenue, fewer complaints, faster treatment and steady compliance.
- Revolving sales – At the end of treatment, clinics usually give the patient their retainer and follow-up every now and again, but there isn’t a recurring sales platform to encourage lifetime sales. With Smile Genius retainer subscription feature, each clinic is empowered with the ability to continuously gain profit from setting up their patient with new retainers every 6 months to a year or longer. The user can set up how and where they want the retainers purchased. For labs who join Smile Genius, this means more steady revenue, for the clinics and businesses, this is a passive income, especially if the lab is shipping the retainer directly to the patient.
Most businesses spend months or years trying to create a similar system, but usually give up when they understand how long it takes and how expensive it is to build. Smile Genius is the only plug and play solution where dentists, DSOs and Labs can sign on and start empowering their business instantly with increased revenue and higher treatment visibility.
To learn more or if you want to join this Smile Revolution, then please book a demo or reach out to our staff to get the ball rolling.