With a distinguished 50-plus year history, Ormco™ Corporation has long been providing the orthodontic profession with high-quality products backed by the company ethos — Your Practice. Our Priority. With a breadth of innovative products and solutions, the company is fully committed to helping orthodontists achieve their clinical and practice management objectives.
From its recent Damon™ Clear2 launch to unveiling Ormco™ Custom, an end-to-end digital platform, Ormco has a reputable track record for product innovations and continues to lead the way, helping doctors provide remarkable results with a variety of treatment options.
A History of Innovation
Frank Miller founded Ormco in 1960, and proceeded to shake up the industry with the introduction of preformed bands and preassembled brackets. Today, Ormco continues to impact the industry with unwavering dedication to innovation and a focus on driving the field of digital orthodontics. In the rich 50-plus years that followed Miller’s inception of Ormco, the company introduced a number of notable “firsts,” including direct bonding, rhomboid, and computer-aided design (CAD) brackets, Copper Ni-Ti® wires, TMA™ beta titanium wires, Titanium Orthos™,and Damon™ Clear. The company also is a pioneer in 3D digital orthodontics with Insignia™ Advanced Smile Design™, an integrated system of customized appliances, bracket placement, and software.
One of Ormco’s flagship products — the Damon™ System — was initially introduced by Dr. Dwight Damon and Ormco as Damon™ SL. Created by and for orthodontists, the Damon System is a unique passive self-ligating bracket system comprised of passive SL brackets, high-tech archwires, and minimally invasive treatment protocols that work together to provide exceptional benefits for the doctor and patient. The progressive system, designed with periodontal health in mind, has undergone ongoing design enhancements with eight bracket evolutions leading up to the new Damon™ Custom and Damon Clear2 this year. With clinically-proven metal brackets and clear brackets, the Damon System has continued to evolve with patient and doctor demands. More than 4.5 million patients have been treated with the Damon System, and thousands of orthodontists around the world continue to rely on the solution to deliver remarkable results.
Ormco’s innovations don’t stop at self-ligation. Since 2010, the company has invested more than $50 million in digital orthodontics research and development, and in 2014, it announced plans to ramp up investment further. The added funding will accelerate the development of Ormco Custom — the first comprehensive package for 3D digital imaging records, 3D digital treatment planning, photo realistic outcome visualization, and fabrication of customized aligners and fixed and lab appliances. This solution will assist clinicians in driving treatment directly to their desired finish, with unparalleled efficiency, profitability, and personalization.
Ormco™ Custom
In the past, manufacturing limitations have prevented brackets and wires from being truly customized for individual patients. Now with state-of-the-art digital technologies and personalization techniques, Ormco has made unprecedented levels of customization possible, resulting in better smiles and more efficient practices. The Ormco Custom suite of products and services includes Insignia™ Advanced Smile Design™, the Lythos™ Digital Impression System, and AOA lab.
The Insignia platform, which is proven to reduce treatment time by 37% with 7% fewer patient visits*, now has an enhanced Insignia Advanced Smile Design Approver Interface that features an updated sleek design, creating a more intuitive experience. The new interface, called Insignia™ Ai, includes a Wizard that navigates users through the suggested approval process step-by-step to provide an added level of case support and customization. With advanced technology, a video can be created and shown within Insignia’s software that will superimpose the tooth movement from initial malocclusion to the final design of the patient’s smile. This visual is a great tool to help patients better understand the treatment process and build excitement for the final results. Yet another advancement available with Insignia is the ability to interact with the patient’s occlusion from multiple angles. Now orthodontists have access to an unprecedented level of interactive visualization to achieve both the esthetics and occlusion preferred.
Designed to integrate easily into any practice, Lythos allows users to own, store, and send treatment scans to anyone that accepts .stl files — at no cost. Ormco’s Lythos Digital Impression System uses AFI technology to capture and stitch together data in real-time, acquiring high-definition surface detail at all angulations of the tooth surface. Unique to orthodontic impression systems, Lythos can provide up to 2.5 million 3D data points per second which results in a rapid single high-resolution scan option for added simplicity. Lythos is easily integrated into any practice workflow, allowing professional teams to transition quickly to digital impressions while keeping chair time to a minimum. Likewise, with a unique open platform format and rebate program, the Lythos scanner is a sound financial investment. Lythos’ open system allows data to be easily integrated with orthodontic labs and manufacturers to produce a variety of custom appliances and/or study models.
The last, but certainly not least, component of Ormco Custom is AOA Lab. Ormco’s laboratory arm fabricates customized appliances, including Class II correctors, aligners, splints, retainers, and more. To help streamline the dental practice workflow, AOA Lab accepts .stl files from a number of scanners but has a unique integration with Lythos to allow for an even easier submission process.
The Damon Difference
As a category innovator, Ormco believes whole-heartedly in the benefits of self-ligating brackets. To continue leading the self-ligating industry and exceed customer expectations, Ormco has dedicated significant resources to ongoing Damon System bracket advancements. Ormco’s move toward customization is also benefiting the Damon System line. Doctors said they wanted the Damon System available in more prescriptions. The Ormco team heard the message. Now, the Damon System is available in an all new prescription — yours! With the introduction of Damon Custom this summer, orders can be made for the exact prescription values** needed to best treat each individual patient. An industry first, Damon Custom allows orthodontists to order their own prescription value for every upper and lower 5-5 Damon Custom bracket. Harnessing the power of Ormco’s patented technology, Damon Custom is conveniently packaged in completely individualized prescription single patient kits.
Additionally, enhancements have been made to the popular Damon Clear bracket with the introduction of Damon Clear2. Featuring a new ultra-precision slot, Damon Clear2 — the only 100% clear self-ligating bracket on the market — offers 2 times the rotational control*** for meticulous finishing and efficient treatment. Completely esthetic with an unparalleled clear design, Damon Clear2 is an ideal solution for today’s image-conscious adults and teens — providing the performance and control needed to treat a wide range of cases, including crowding, flat profiles, open bites, cross bites, and patients in need of space closure and arch development. The brackets are now shipping to doctors in North America and can be ordered through Ormco sales representatives or by completing the Damon Clear2 interest form at www.ormco.com
With constant R&D, the Damon System pairs its sophisticated MIM process with educational support, practice marketing tools, and an award-winning online Damon Doctor Locator. It’s estimated that the Damon Doctor Locator, accessible by consumers at www.damonbraces.com, drives one to two starts each month to participating clinicians. Furthermore, over a 4-year period, there has been a 283% increase in Damon Doctor Locator searches — which currently translates to $82 million in potential practice revenue each month for Damon doctors in North America.
Supporting Your Growth
To support local practice marketing and patient education campaigns, Ormco provides an online resource center with a complete range of marketing assets and staff training tools. The robust online platform, www.marketing.ormco.com, hosts a library of patient imagery, consultation tools, practice videos, press release templates, webpage assets, and more for doctors offering the Damon System, Insignia, Lythos, and Inspire ICE™.
And don’t forget about Damon System endorser and past patient Soul Surfer Bethany Hamilton! Bethany joined the Ormco family in late-2011 and has been promoting the Damon System to her active teen fan base. With a thriving social media presence, Bethany Hamilton has helped dramatically boost traffic to the Damon Smile consumer website, and she continues to draw attention to the importance of a healthy smile and investing in orthodontic treatment. Be sure to visit www.marketing.ormco.com for available assets to leverage Bethany in your office.
Many are aware of the annual Damon™ Forum event, held in January or February each year, which brings together thousands of orthodontists and staff members to learn new treatment modalities, progressive technologies, and practice differentiation strategies. The annual Damon Forum is just one of many educational events offered by Ormco. There are also comprehensive CE programs throughout the year that range from regional events, in-office courses, webinars, roadshows, and more. Visit www.ormco.com/education to learn more about all Ormco educational programs.
Following Ormco’s mission — Your Practice. Our Priority. — it transitioned Ormco Loyalty Rewards to Ormco Lifetime Rewards more than a year ago to allow members to earn points that never expire. The concept is simple: Earn points on every dollar you spend on Ormco’s selection of orthodontic appliances, and redeem them whenever you’d like for a number of orthodontic products and services. Research indicates that, through the rewards program, the average doctor earns up to 30% back in lifetime rewards points.
Looking to the Future
A recent digital orthodontic survey distributed to orthodontists reported that 98% of respondents believe the future of the orthodontics industry will increasingly rely on a digital workflow. These numbers don’t lie — and Ormco will be there every step of the way. With 110 globally filed patents in digital orthodontics, Ormco has plans to scale its digital business aggressively in 2014 and beyond. Ormco will continue building upon its current digital suite, which in 2013 grew in revenue by 121% in North America alone.
The coming years will bring big innovations for the orthodontic industry. Future technology with increased customization will offer unprecedented convenience, control over cases, and office efficiency. While making your practice our priority, Ormco is eager to give doctors more time than ever to focus on delivering great smiles. And the innovation won’t stop there; that’s a promise!
For more information, visit Ormco online at www.ormco.com
*Weber II DJ, Koroluk LD, Phillips C, Nguyen T, Proffit WR. Clinical Effectiveness and Efficiency of Customized vs. Conventional Preadjusted Bracket Systems, J Clin Orthod. 2013;47(4): 261-266.
** Within manufacturing limitations.
*** As compared to Damon Clear, data on file. Standard torque, upper 3-3 brackets.
This information was provided by Ormco Corporation.
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