Latest / Orthodontic Products Podcast / Orthodontic Trends for 2024 with Intiveo CEO Josh DeVries

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Orthodontic Trends for 2024 with Intiveo CEO Josh DeVries · Orthodontic Products Podcast

0:05
Alison Werner: Hello and welcome to the orthodontic products
0:07
podcast. I'm your host Alison Warner. Today we have with us
0:10
Josh DeVries, founder and CEO of Intiveo , a cloud based patient
0:14
communication software for dental and specialty practices.
0:17
The software automates and allows users to customize
0:20
appointment confirmations, recall reminders, booking
0:22
requests, reputation management, and more. In October, Intiveo
0:27
announced its integration with Carestream dental sensei cloud
0:30
practice management platform. While we'll talk a bit about the
0:33
software, Josh is actually here today to talk about trends in
0:36
the orthodontic industry. That will shape the year ahead, Josh,
0:39
thanks for joining me.
0:41
Josh DeVries: Thank you for having me.
0:42
Alison Werner: Well, so before we get started talking about
0:45
trends, can you tell me how you came to the dental technology
0:47
space and give us a little more about what Intiveo software can
0:51
do for an orthodontic practice?
0:53
Josh DeVries: Yeah, for sure. Thank you for having me. So
0:55
Intiveo is a patient engagement platform for dental
0:58
professionals across North America with a specific focus on
1:01
specialists and providers with complicated communication needs.
1:05
Confirmation rates don't mean anything when the patient fails
1:07
to show up and your treatment is unnecessarily delayed. We focus
1:10
on preparing patients for their appointments and helping them
1:13
deliver successful treatment outcomes. That's really where we
1:16
hang our hat on is outcomes.
1:18
Alison Werner: Okay, so let's talk about the dental industry
1:21
as a whole. When you think about that industry, what has most
1:25
surprised you about it?
1:28
Josh DeVries: I'm not sure it surprises me. But the thing that
1:31
definitely pops to the top of my head is that dentistry and oral
1:34
health is really a microscope into the overall health of a
1:37
patient, which is why I think it's important for dentists and
1:39
dental specialists to maintain their autonomy from other health
1:42
care professionals. I also think that patients are more educated
1:46
now than ever, which is part of the reason why SmileDirectClub
1:48
was created. And it's because people thought that dentists
1:51
were not adding value to ortho treatments. Now, given their
1:54
fate, I think we know they were wrong. We as healthcare
1:57
professionals must remember our first job is to educate and
2:00
partner with our patients and the treatments we provide, and
2:03
really try to withhold them just being subjects of treatment.
2:07
Dentists care about delivering the best possible care and rely
2:11
on the best tools available to meet the patient's needs. The
2:14
reason we serve as primarily dental specialists and GPs who
2:18
do advanced treatment is because we look at delivering better
2:20
outcomes. And that starts with better engagement. We're the
2:24
only solution to understanding information your patients need
2:27
to review to fill out forms they need to fill out and to partner
2:30
with you to complement your current processes. Rather than
2:33
taking over your patient communication. I believe that
2:36
any tool that focused on removing all the distraction and
2:39
allows you as the professional to focus on your craft is a
2:42
successful tool.
2:45
Alison Werner: Okay, so let's dive into our topic. The four
2:49
trends you've identified that orthodontic practices need to
2:52
know about for 2024. But before we do that, can you talk about
2:55
how you identified these trends?
2:57
Josh DeVries: Yeah, through multiple sources. So a little
3:00
bit about me, my immediate family has been dentistry for
3:03
over 40 years, I quite literally was raised around dentists. And
3:07
believe it or not, we actually had clients on my father's
3:10
dental company, join our family holidays. So before this list, I
3:15
have a lot of experience in dentistry. But for this list
3:18
exactly. Specifically, I've read a lot about the economic trends
3:21
in dentistry and beyond. I've spoken with investors and our
3:23
own company and other companies. We've spoken to dozens of
3:26
clients, and we reviewed feedback from prospects who are
3:29
not purchasing us at this time. And we have most fortunately to
3:34
be working with 10s of 1000s of dental professionals. And when
3:36
they ask, they're willing to give us the outlook that they
3:40
see. And we're just relaying this instance over to the
3:42
market. We also additionally have a research team at Intiveo
3:46
consistently reviewing thought leadership. They're also
3:49
reviewing journals and articles and putting together their own
3:52
conclusions. So we can definitely share some of our
3:54
sources and what we're seeing in the market with you all if
3:57
necessary.
3:58
Alison Werner: Okay, well let's talk about the first trend you
4:00
identified, and it's the importance of personalized
4:03
treatment plans. That phrasing has definitely been on most
4:06
orthodontist radar in recent years. But what does
4:09
personalized treatment plan mean in 2024, for orthodontists and
4:12
for patients, in your opinion?
4:15
Josh DeVries: Yeah, personalized treatment plans or custom
4:17
treatment plans are becoming the norm in orthodontics, you know,
4:19
we have to consider things like age, genetics lifestyle, and
4:23
this helps lead to quicker and more effective treatments for
4:26
patients. Patients do want more options. And they want these
4:29
options to align with what their insurance companies will and
4:32
will not cover and they want to know the difference. Also, we're
4:36
seeing that patients may be waiting for treatment that they
4:38
don't consider to be urgent or maybe more elective. So those
4:42
are some of the trends that we're seeing.
4:45
Alison Werner: So another trend you've identified is the growth
4:47
of adult orthodontics and aesthetic brackets and clear
4:50
aligners have definitely made orthodontics more appealing to
4:54
adults in the last two decades and many practices saw a huge
4:56
increase in adult patients during the pandemic as patients
4:59
redirected their spending away from travel and outside
5:02
entertainment just to self care. So what should orthodontic
5:06
practices expect in terms of adult patients in 2024? Because
5:10
the financial resources aren't necessarily the same.
5:13
Josh DeVries: Yeah I mean, 1/3 of orthodontic patients are
5:16
adults in the US and Canada. This is a 40% increase over the
5:20
past decade. So it's definitely a trend towards people putting
5:23
more value in Cosmetic care. This is driven I think, from the
5:27
aesthetics, people want to have a healthy looking smile more so
5:31
than maybe an actually healthy smile, which I think is really
5:35
beneficial to the orthodontic industry. The good news is when
5:38
orthodontics are done correctly, you get the best of both worlds,
5:40
not only does it cosmetically look good, but you're improving
5:44
some of the structural deficiencies within your mouth
5:46
at the same time. And it clear aligners are popular because of
5:50
their discrete nature, you can't see them, you're seeing the vast
5:53
majority of the benefit with almost all of the inconvenience,
5:57
you know, engineered out of that solution.
6:01
Alison Werner: Okay, so Intiveo software focuses on patient
6:05
engagement. And the reality is patient engagement with the
6:07
parent of an adolescent patient is different than engagement
6:11
with an adult patient seeking treatment. So what's your advice
6:14
to orthodontic practices on best engaging with that adult patient
6:18
population.
6:20
Josh DeVries: So the first thing you have to do is you have to
6:22
understand that different patients engage in different
6:24
ways. A personal example for myself is my wife, Brittany, she
6:28
is a text person, she will read and respond to texts within an
6:32
hour, often much, much, much quicker than that. I on the
6:35
other hand, I'm an email person, I have my phone muted all day
6:38
and night, and I only check in a couple of times a day, the best
6:42
method to communicate with everyone is probably through
6:44
neurolink. But unfortunately, Elon hasn't figured that out.
6:46
And until then, we actually need to use multiple methods of
6:49
communication to make sure that all of our patients are followed
6:52
up with and connected. So you can use email, you can use text
6:56
manual phone calls are super critical. Additionally, we want
7:00
to make sure we continue to remind patients when they have
7:03
outstanding tasks that need to be completed, like consents
7:06
insurance information or forms that need to be filled out
7:09
before their appointments. So really, it's leveraging it all,
7:11
which I know sounds like the best answer ever. But obviously,
7:14
it incurs a lot of work.
7:15
Alison Werner: Yeah no, totally. Um, so I would imagine then
7:20
Intiveo is about kind of streamlining that workflow.
7:26
Josh DeVries: Yeah, definitely. I think, you know, we really
7:29
focus on how can we complement your current communication
7:33
needs? You know, I think there's a lot of opportunity for every
7:36
office to be better than they currently are with or without
7:38
and Intiveo. And we just want to be that solution that can help
7:42
offices that find it a little bit overwhelming. They don't
7:45
have the resources to have 56789 10 touch points before an
7:50
appointment, but can only afford to do one or two touch points.
7:53
Often you need to leverage an additional service, additional
7:56
tool, additional resource, and we'd like to be that solution.
8:01
Alison Werner: So moving on. The third trend you've identified is
8:04
advancements in orthodontic technologies. What are the key
8:07
technologies that you think orthodontic practices need to
8:09
consider incorporating and 2024
8:11
Josh DeVries: I just think there's a lot more in house
8:14
solutions available for healthcare professionals, we're
8:17
seeing a rise of you know, 3d printing, we're seeing a rise of
8:21
computer aided fabrication, it's hence enhancing on the precision
8:24
side the efficiency. So I think we're gonna see a continual
8:28
trend towards being able to do a one stop shop, you know, same
8:31
day restoration kind of thing in healthcare. Additionally,
8:36
teledentistry has increased robotic dentistry is emerging
8:39
all these really exciting tools that are not only going to
8:42
impact you know, the urban centers, but also remote rural
8:45
centers to give them a higher degree of advanced care. Yeah,
8:49
Alison Werner: what are your thoughts on how these technology
8:51
advancements can affect patient engagement with the practice and
8:54
their treatment?
8:56
Josh DeVries: So I think we always need to remind ourselves
8:58
that patients are people. And people just want solutions to
9:02
their problems. And the quicker and better the solution is, the
9:05
more appealing it is for us to consider. So when we provide
9:08
shorter and longer term solutions, we're providing more
9:10
options for our patients to consider with different things
9:13
being optimized. When you provide something like a in
9:17
house 3d printed solution, you're obviously not going to
9:20
have the same quality or longevity that you would with a
9:23
lab solution similar to a clear braces versus a you know,
9:26
traditional braces. But there's still a lot of work to be done
9:30
there. Now, what we're seeing, I think, as a big trend is those
9:34
that have the means they're able to actually implement a
9:37
temporary solution for temporary convenience and comfort while
9:41
waiting for longer term solutions, which I think is a
9:43
great option for those that can afford it. Additionally, those
9:46
who do not have the means or the time they can actually receive
9:50
pretty good treatment same day and that's gonna be more focused
9:54
on economical and time sensitive. So I think there's
9:57
just more variety of options to meet people at different places
10:00
and to deliver a better, you know, overall arching care.
10:03
Yeah,
10:03
Alison Werner: and I think that's the main takeaway here is
10:05
meet people where they are when you can
10:08
Josh DeVries: 100% I think, you know, everyone's going through a
10:10
different journey in life. Some journeys are more difficult and
10:13
challenges and some have limited finances limited time. And I
10:17
think our ability to really listen to what patients are want
10:20
what our market wants and deliver services to them is, you
10:23
know, the the ultimate test of a good business. And we have to
10:27
remember when we talked about orthodontics that we are looking
10:30
at the business end of it, there's and we have to provide
10:32
that to the market.
10:34
Alison Werner: Yeah, absolutely. So now the fourth trend you've
10:37
identified is tied to the country's economic picture
10:39
overall, while Americans are still concerned about with
10:41
inflation, and the economic and their economic future, the
10:46
global orthodontics market is expected to grow significantly.
10:50
What is driving this growth globally?
10:54
Josh DeVries: Well, I think the beauty of orthodontics is it is
10:58
a treatment that is very visible cosmetic dentistry is obvious. I
11:03
think you're gonna see private equity continue to pour
11:06
investment into orthodontic practice practices, which, if
11:10
you're looking to be acquired, that's awesome, that's great,
11:12
there's gonna be a market for you. If you're looking just to
11:14
practice orthodontics, and kind of put your head down and not
11:17
worry about the business end of things, it's also really good
11:19
because they're gonna be group practices are just wanting to
11:21
hire the most competent orthodontist that have no
11:24
interest in business. Now, if you want to stay independent,
11:28
branding yourself uniquely, and in ways that the big
11:31
organizations cannot will be your competitive advantage. So
11:35
what I like to tell our customers is try sponsoring a
11:37
local high school sports team or community event by using social
11:41
proof of notable uh people and the treatment that you've
11:44
completed for them. Host dinner parties office parties for
11:47
referring GPS leveraging the social capital to get back into
11:51
their businesses. The benefits of the independent is social
11:55
capital, and it's attributed to the owner or the provider rather
11:58
than the organization, which means the relationship is more
12:01
authentic and potent for you to capitalize on. Large
12:05
organizations may be able to beat you on reach and cost
12:08
savings, but you can beat them on depth of relationship and
12:11
investment in personalizing your patient care. I always tell
12:15
people you golf with the GP, you get every referral they've ever
12:18
gotten. Private Equity back firm can't do that. That's their
12:22
strategic advantage. And this time more than ever, we need to
12:24
lean into those advantages, because the market actually
12:26
cares about those differentiators. And they're
12:28
willing to pay a premium for someone who understands it and
12:31
delivers it in a competent manner.
12:34
Alison Werner: Great, well, what does the global growth of the
12:37
industry mean for orthodontist practicing in the United States?
12:41
Josh DeVries: I mean, patients today are overwhelmed more so
12:43
than ever, I think we need to acknowledge that and be mindful
12:46
and intentional what we want to say, and what do we need from
12:50
them? I really recommend that everyone does a patient
12:53
engagement audit on their five most frequent procedures, and
12:56
they understand all the steps, information and requirements of
13:00
these treatments to be successful, and what needs to be
13:02
done before their appointment. And what are the consequences of
13:05
it not being done. Then I always tell people to build out your
13:08
optimal communication plan based on these findings using emails,
13:12
texts, and phone calls. And if you can manage this on your own,
13:15
that's awesome, keep doing it and you know, you're going to be
13:17
better off for it. Now, if you do need support as you've likely
13:21
increased your pre appointment communications from one or two
13:23
touch points to eight or nine touch points, give us a call, we
13:26
can help you we can help optimize and automate a lot of
13:30
those annoying touch points, like fill out your form
13:32
reminders. Or make sure you take your pre meds at 9pm [something]
13:37
instructions, all these sorts of things, we really try to
13:40
understand what are you doing? What are the procedures that you
13:43
are, you know, servicing every single day? And how can we
13:46
deliver optimal communication so patients are engaged in their
13:50
treatments and are you know, motivated towards successful
13:53
outcomes?
13:54
Alison Werner: Okay, so now before we wrap up, I'm curious
13:57
what trends you would recommend orthodontic practices to keep in
14:00
mind in terms of patient engagement for 2024?
14:05
Josh DeVries: Yeah, I mean, we all know that referrals from GPs
14:08
are the lifeblood of all orthodontics. And all
14:10
specialists really, we we've actually built a module just for
14:14
GPS and it helps them communicate with specialists on
14:18
the treatment plans they've sent over for their patients. And the
14:21
really cool thing is that GPS can look up and see how the
14:25
treatment plan is going whether the patient has that appointment
14:27
in progress or where it's even being completed. Now this has
14:30
revolutionized the way that specialists are able to manage
14:33
the referring office relationships to reduce the
14:36
follow up calls from GPS and to ensure that patients return to
14:40
the regular cycle of care following their treatment. I
14:43
mean, this feature has been game changing has really been an
14:46
equalizer or even a leg up for the independent specialists.
14:51
Additionally, another feature I think you're listening to your,
14:53
your listeners will care about is our co parenting message
14:57
messaging. So as families are becoming more bended and parent
15:01
responsibilities are shared between households, we are
15:03
making it easier for officers to communicate with those that are
15:06
co parenting, making sure that communication is frequent to
15:09
both parties, and making sure that treatment doesn't fail
15:12
because of a lack of communication between the
15:14
parents. And this is an industry first that no one is doing for
15:17
both of those features. So I believe, you know, this really
15:20
fits in place with delivering that higher level of care. And
15:24
we're super excited to see how it's impacting offices, you
15:27
know, everywhere in North America. Okay,
15:30
Alison Werner: well, that's a really interesting aspect that I
15:32
hadn't really thought about. But now I can see the importance of
15:34
having that ability to communicate with both parents.
15:36
So especially
15:37
Josh DeVries: in ortho right, where you're having constant
15:39
follow up appointments every 234 weeks, and maybe with one parent
15:43
one week, one parent, the other traditional systems only
15:46
communicate with the responsible party, which means another
15:48
parents left in the dark, where one's confirming the other's
15:51
unaware, and it's a tale as old as time if you talk to these
15:54
orthodontic offices of why patients don't show up why
15:57
patients show up late. And it's usually revolving around
16:00
communication. It's not because they didn't care. And they
16:03
didn't want to show up,
16:04
Alison Werner: right? Okay, well, what's on tap for Intiveo
16:07
to in 2024?
16:10
Josh DeVries: Well, we're going to continue to invest in these
16:12
trends. So we have found that part of the referral GP module
16:17
that we've created, there's a lot of enthusiasm on the
16:21
orthodontic and a specialist side, but we need to change the
16:24
behaviors of GPs. You would be surprised, scared, shocked maybe
16:29
about how many GPs are still faxing over all their
16:32
information. And that we really need to create a bridge from the
16:36
traditional way of faxing your information, manual phone call
16:39
to follow up on that appointment or to book that appointment to a
16:43
digital error. So some of the things that we're looking at
16:45
doing is allowing the GPS to still fax it over when they
16:49
faxed over digitizing that fax for them automatically sending
16:53
them a link so they can access the patient portal for
16:56
referrals, and really starting to jumpstart the digital era for
17:00
referrals. We believe that is the future. We believe that
17:03
because that's where most specialists are getting their
17:06
revenue from it's an area of focus that we should be
17:09
concerned around, because we are the only solution that's focused
17:11
on specialists. And we're going to continue to invest in that.
17:15
Fundamentally, we always believe in outcomes. So we care about
17:18
the things that the Office cares about. We care about patients
17:21
not confirming their appointments, but showing up
17:23
prepared. We care about forms being completed before the
17:26
appointment, not 10 minutes after the appointment started in
17:29
the reception office. We really care about you getting your
17:32
lunch break and not having to eat your food chairside these
17:35
are the things that we're going to try to continue to eliminate
17:38
and reduce through technology and driving a better service of
17:41
care.
17:42
Alison Werner: Great. Well, Josh, thanks so much for joining
17:44
me. I really appreciate it appreciate getting your insight.
17:47
And if someone is interested in learning more, where can they
17:51
go?
17:52
Josh DeVries: Yeah, so you can go to intiveo.com i n t i v e
17:56
o.com. We are online all the social media sites. But we would
18:02
love to chat with you. I think like I said, we're happy to do
18:05
that patient evaluation or communication evaluation with
18:08
you to understand how are you communicating and engaging with
18:11
your patients for your top five procedures. And we can help even
18:16
if it means not using our service, I think we want to be a
18:18
wealth of knowledge. We want to be a beacon of experience and
18:20
expertise within our market. So wherever you're at whatever your
18:24
level of interest is, please just engage with us and we hope
18:26
we can share what we're learning every single day. Great.
18:29
Alison Werner: Thank you so much, Josh, and to our audience.
18:31
Thanks for joining us and we'll see you next time.
18:33
Josh DeVries: Have a great day y'all.
18:35
Alison Werner: Thank you. As always, thank you for joining
18:38
us. Be sure to subscribe to the orthodontic products podcast to
18:41
keep up with the latest episodes. And be sure to check
18:43
out orthodontic products online.com to keep up with the
18:45
latest industry news. Until next time, take care