The custom approach to digital IDB

(And how it saves time and money)

When Dr. Paul Trotter took over his father’s practice, he faced a big decision. The business had expanded rapidly, and there was a lot of work for one doctor. Should he hire another associate? Or should he figure out how to optimize his time and manage the practice himself?

Dr. Trotter opted for the second path. The only associate he’d ever worked with was his father — and he wanted to keep it that way.

Before his father’s retirement, the practice relied on conventional braces — a timeline that stretched an average of 18 appointments over 21 months.

But now, Dr. Trotter has cut those appointments from 18 to 11 — and increased revenue per appointment from $388 to $670 without hiring another associate.

Getting there took some trial and error.

In 2020, Dr. Trotter dabbled with KLOwen, a fully customized orthodontic solution. The KLOwen Software and their U.S.-based digital lab team help doctors create custom prescriptions for every tooth and every patient.

Unlike other custom solutions, KLOwen offers a full portfolio of custom brackets, including metal and clear twin, and metal self-ligating — all at a reasonable price point.

At the same time, Dr. Trotter also experimented with digital Indirect Digital Bonding (IDB) utilizing conventional brackets. Both solutions provided a customized tray that helped guarantee optimal bracket placement at the beginning of the patient’s journey.

But from there, the two solutions couldn’t be more different.

As a patient progressed, the work required with digital IDB cases became less efficient — and more tedious. Dr. Trotter still had to spend additional appointments handling wire bends and repositionings.

Meanwhile, patients with the KLOwen custom prescription were coming back for fewer appointments and showing superior outcomes. The KLOwen appointments could also be managed by the staff with fewer doctor-intensive detailing appointments.

“KLOwen was obviously a better solution,” Dr. Trotter said. “We dove all in.”

As many doctors can relate, switching to a new clinical workflow can be a big lift for the team. Dr. Trotter has worked with his team for years. It was important they understood the “why” behind the transition to KLOwen.

He explained he wanted to keep the family business in the family. He also acknowledged the change would require some initial extra effort from his team. But once they fully adopted KLOwen, he promised it would save everyone time and stress and enhance the patient experience, without compromising outcomes.

And in the end, Dr. Trotter’s Gaidge data proved he was right.

“Going from conventional to digital IDB reduced appointments from 18 to 15,” Dr. Trotter said. “But going from digital IDB to KLOwen knocked off four additional appointments. We also increased our revenue per appointment from $388 with conventional to $475 with digital IDB to $670 with KLOwen — an almost 73% increase from conventional to custom.”

Even better, the KLOwen appointments are less stressful, more streamlined, and less physically demanding. Dr. Trotter can have real conversations with patients (or their parents). He no longer feels like he’s “running on a hamster wheel” to make it through his schedule.

Since the custom prescriptions generated by KLOwen Software reduce the number of doctor-intensive appointments, Dr. Trotter’s team can also better predict the practice’s workflow. They worked hard to learn the new solution — and feel “empowered” by the results they’ve helped create.

Dr. Trotter says his team jokes that they’ll quit if he ever goes back to conventional braces or digital IDB.

“Digital IDB alone wasn’t customized enough. With KLOwen, we’ve maintained the quality of our practice without hiring an additional associate,” said Dr. Trotter.

“Whatever your ‘why’ is — whether it’s cutting back hours or finding time to take on new patients — KLOwen will empower it. This is custom done right.”

Study methodology: Sample size (n= 450) reflects consecutively debonded cases (July 2020 – December 2022) across three treatment modalities: 1) MBT direct bond, 2) MBT delivered with digital IDB, and 3) custom braces delivered with digital IDB. Study data originally presented at Gaidge 360 in February 2023 (selected less complicated cases while getting started).

This information was provided by KLOwen.