Francesca Robson explains how Reveal clear aligners have become a popular choice with patients and given a boost to practice revenue.

My practice, Genix Dental in Alnwick, Northumberland, started offering Reveal clear aligner treatment to our patients towards the end of 2020.

The new generation system was shown to us by Neil Burnip, our Henry Schein Dental sales consultant, during a lunch and learn meeting conducted over Zoom due to COVID-19 restrictions.

One of our dentists, Simona Alexandru, was very interested in what Neil presented, despite the fact that our practice already offered a competitor clear aligner system. Simona was familiar with cosmetic wires and brackets and thought that Reveal clear aligners would be a great alternative, especially as no attachments are required in most cases.

A few months down the line, we already have several patients on a Reveal clear aligner course of treatment and many more interested. Simona is offering her patients a really fantastic alternative to traditional brackets, and our practice is generating lots of interest, as we are the only one in the local area offering what we call ‘new generation technology’ clear aligner treatment.

First impressions

Our patients have given us very positive feedback about the aligners so far; they fit nicely on the teeth and are comfortable to wear.

The material is beautifully clear and doesn’t stain, and they often comment that the aligners are simple to use and easy to change every fortnight.

The system is very straightforward to use, especially if an intraoral scanner is used to take digital impressions. The scans are uploaded onto the Reveal system and the treatment plan is put together by Reveal technicians and sent back for clinician approval.

Simona can request changes if required and then approves the treatment plan. The Reveal aligners are fabricated and sent to us in the post. It’s a really quick turnaround.

From a clinical point of view, it’s a huge advantage that the system does not require attachments in the majority of cases, and we also find that less interproximal reduction is required.

Spreading the word

Once Simona had spent time familiarising herself with the system and had some cases successfully in progress, we decided it was time to start promoting our new treatment.

We are used to running events in the practice, such as our annual Black Friday discount day, so we decided to run a ‘Reveal your confident smile’ event at the end of March.

We invited patients to book an appointment for a digital scan and have an introduction to the Reveal system and offered a discount on uptake of treatment.

Reveal has a whole range of marketing materials that helped us promote our event, including logos, pictures, videos to use with patients and pre-written templates for emails and social media posts.

Our most successful marketing channel was our Facebook page, on which we ran a promotional campaign in the preceding fortnight, listing the benefits and counting down to the day.

This generated a tremendous amount of interest, so much so that we didn’t even need to send any emails or make any phone calls at all! Even now, three months later, we still get enquiries for Reveal on most days.

The day itself was a real success, and all 14 patients who booked an appointment went ahead with treatment. The consultation also included a discussion about whitening and composite build-up to make it a full smile makeover.

Embracing new technology

When we first started to use Reveal, we were taking conventional impressions and sending them to be scanned by the Reveal technicians. Although this would have been a viable way to continue, we knew that digital impressions were a simpler and faster alternative, which would also be more comfortable for our patients, so we decided to try out the 3shape Trios intraoral scanner.

We used the scanner on our event day, with the help of Henry Schein Connect sales specialist Fiona Legge, who was on site to provide support. The increased speed and efficiency the scanner brought to the process was really impressive; we can take the scans and immediately upload them to the Reveal platform and get the case in progress straight away. This is a big contrast to taking conventional impressions and sending them to Reveal by courier.

The Reveal technician tells us immediately whether the scans are usable, which is a real timesaver and our patients prefer the digital impression process and being able to see the scans on-screen.

It’s extremely motivating and exciting for them and the fast turnaround time reduces the risk of them losing interest in their treatment. In fact, I believe digital technology is what patients are starting to expect from their dentist now, and if you don’t start answering that demand as a dental practice, you may get left behind.

Long-lasting support The integration of Reveal clear aligners into our practice over the last six months has been a huge success, but it didn’t happen overnight. It took time to get to know the system and to ensure that we had the right equipment to achieve what we wanted.

The support from Henry Schein Dental was an important part of our success; both Neil and Fiona were extremely knowledgeable about Reveal and 3shape Trios and were able to answer questions and give advice at every step.

Our planning and preparation, together with their support made our Reveal roll-out the success it was.

Reveal is available from Optident at Henry Schein! Click the button below to shop today or call 01943 60 50 50.

Author: Francesca Robson, Practice Manager and dental nurse at Genix Dental in Alnwick, Northumberland.