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Walking down the halls of any high school or middle school many of the smiling mouths you encounter will be full of metal.
Getting braces has become a rite of passage for the young American teenager.
Teens spend hour after hour sitting with their hands tightly gripping the armrests of their orthodontist’s chairs, as brackets and cement bond braces to their pearly whites. Braces have a reputation for being painful and incredibly time consuming.
But, OrthoSelect wants to change that.
CEO Steve Gardner, and his team at OrthoSelect have created a custom dental modelling solution to calculate exactly where the brackets and braces align on patient’s teeth. This means less time in the chair, less time waiting, and more time out running around enjoying teenage life.
How is that possible?
The OrthoSelect software uses 3D technology to print a tray with the exact measurements of where the braces and brackets need to be placed. This allows for easy adjustments and the ability to create the perfect alignment the very first time. Before, orthodontists would use educated estimations and approximations to apply braces, often leading to future, potentially painful, adjustments. With OrthoSelect, the guess work has been taken out of the equation and bracket’s positions are mathematically calculated for a perfect set every time.
Wow. What else can it do?
We used to just have to imagine what our smiles would look like after our braces were removed, but not anymore. OrthoSelect allows patients to see before, and simulated after images of their teeth after braces. Meaning, one side of the screen shows current tooth alignment and the other side shows an instantaneous simulation of a perfect shining smile.
How did they accomplish this?
Three years ago, OrthoSelect was in a bind. They wanted to grow and innovate, but the technology was not where they wanted it to be. Steve recalls, “Before we started working with Scopic, our product didn’t compare to our competition.” He needed to make a change and start innovating fast, before he was left in the dust.
So, he went on the hunt for a custom software solution provider. He found a local shop and worked with them for a while, but, he wasn’t completely satisfied. He then decided to seek out freelancers – but they were unreliable, inconsistent, and expensive to boot. In fact, they were so expensive that it was putting the business in jeopardy. Steve recalls, “we’re self-funded, and a big chunk of income was going towards outsourcing software development. I almost jumped ship because things weren’t looking great.”.
Then, he found Scopic.
Something had to give. Steve started researching and came across Scopic Software. “I chose Scopic for a few reasons: all the reviews were positive, the quality of work was impressive, the company is US based, and the price was incredible.” After working with Scopic, he realized he had made the right choice. He recalls, “communication was excellent, and the programmers suggested new features I hadn’t even thought of. I was blown away by the skill level.”
After worrying about competition getting the best of them, Steve now reflects on the progress OrthoSelect has made with Scopic: “now, we are comparable, if not better, then the competition. With Scopic, I know we will soon surpass our competition’s capabilities.” Steve goes on to say, “we’ve added so much capability – when we started with Scopic we basically could manually click on a tooth and bracket, and could move the bracket. Now we’ve added the ability to adjust the bracket to the micron, we’ve added super Imposition, and post braces simulations – all because of Scopic”
“I have yet to stump Scopic, every time I’ve asked for something, no matter how complex, they figure out a way.”
So, what’s next for OrthoSelect ?
“World Domination,” Steve says cheekily. However, he does plan to expand and grow, with the help of Scopic.
His final thought: “I have worked with many software firms and freelancers in the past. For anyone looking to work with a software firm, I can say confidently that Scopic is by far the best to work with. I am really appreciative… I can’t say that enough.”
