Align Technology receives SBR's Tech Award for digital - health products & services

Align’s My Invisalign app enables orthodontists and dentists to manage a range of practice services, even when they are not in the same physical location as their patients.

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many practitioners around the world pieced together video calls, texts, and patient-submitted photos through a variety of platforms to help monitor patient progress, reduce in-office appointments, and ensure continuity of patient care during treatment.

Align Technology, which is dedicated to transforming smiles and changing lives received SBR's Digital Award in the Health, Products, and Services category for recognising the need to create an integrated, collaborative platform that caters to all these activities.

These solutions include the Invisalign Virtual Care and Invisalign Virtual Appointment tool that have been integrated into the My Invisalign App. Designed for orthodontists and dentists, these tools helped them communicate, manage and continue a range of practice services with their patients during lockdown periods, when their clinics were closed.

The initial idea to create a collaborative platform between dentists and prospective/in-treatment Invisalign patients was developed as a proof of concept during an Align internal hackathon. By utilising design thinking, a simple journey was developed with photos and a video that would be shared with dentists on a weekly or bi-weekly basis based on the patient’s aligner schedule. Doctors examine these photos and share their feedback from their dentist’s portal through a bi-directional channel between the dentist and the patient.

Invisalign Virtual Appointment is currently available in 13 markets in the Asia Pacific region, with over 1,200 active dentists using the tool. The Invisalign Virtual Appointment tool enables dentists to easily schedule and host HIPAA-compliant video appointments to discuss Invisalign treatment with patients.

Invisalign Virtual Care, which is available in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, India and Japan, allows dentist-patient collaboration, from prospects looking for more information about Invisalign treatments to patients tracking treatment progress. Invisalign Virtual Care can be used for remote consultations, assessment of treatment progress, and communication of adjustments or concerns during treatment.

During the monitoring stages, these tools provide dentists and patients with a seamless end-to-end digital experience:

• Capture - Drive awareness before the first office visit
• Scan - Accurate, quick and comfortable capturing of patient's digital imaging and data with the iTero scanner
• Plan - Use of ClinCheck software, an enhanced digital treatment planning tool, by dentists to chart the treatment plan for patients
• Treat - Patients begin their treatment upon receiving their customized, digitally designed Invisalign clear aligners from their dentists
• Monitor - Follow treatment progress of patients remotely with Invisalign Virtual Care and Invisalign Virtual Appointment through My Invisalign app

These tools showed great outcomes and product performance that benefit both dentists and patients. Moreover, they help broaden the capability and efficacy of Invisalign treatment. Feedback to date for these tools has been positive, as dentists increasingly adopt these tools to improve patient experiences and increase office efficiencies.

The Technology Excellence Awards, presented by Singapore Business Review, was held via studio award presentations and video conferencing sessions throughout the second and third week of April.

This year’s nominations were judged by a panel consisting of Daryl Pereira, Head of Cyber at KPMG; Cheang Wai Keat, Partner, Consulting at Ernst & Young Advisory Pte. Ltd.; Henry Tan, Group Chief Executive Officer and Chief Innovation Officer at Nexia TS; Sivakumar Saravan, Senior Partner at Crowe Singapore; Cecil Su, Director, Head of Cybersecurity of BDO Singapore.

If you would like to join the 2022 awards and be acclaimed for your company’s exceptional technological innovations, please email Jane Patiag at [email protected].