Sean Thompson explains the importance of supporting the ‘Hold That Smile’ campaign, which promotes the long-term retention of orthodontic alignment.
With almost a third of the UK considering or having completed orthodontic treatment, more and more people are evidently in pursuit of the perfect smile.
So, as the nation embarks on treatment at a not-insignificant cost, the lessons learned from the British Orthodontic Society’s longstanding ‘Hold That Smile’ campaign have never been more important. This honed in on the vital importance of retention, long after initial treatment has concluded.
Twenty three years ago, I launched Ashford Orthodontics. It grew to become the largest orthodontics-only laboratory in the UK by the time I exited the business in 2021.
We manufactured every kind of teeth straightening appliance in the later years, including aligners and retainers, mostly from digital impressions. We saw first hand the explosion of orthodontics as a more accessible and affordable way of achieving the perfect smile.
Responsibility as a profession
But with that, we as a profession all have a responsibility – for our reputations if nothing else – to help our clients retain their smile and reap life-long benefits from their treatment. ‘Hold That Smile’ shines a spotlight on the vital importance of retaining that beautiful new smile to avoid relapse.
As orthodontic, dental and technical professionals, we know that our teeth move throughout our life. However successful the treatment to straighten them is, they have a tendency to drift back if not adequately retained.
It’s not enough to offer treatment, provide a retainer, and wave goodbye to patients after a year or so. The expectation that they will understand and commit to the lifelong aftercare required to maintain their smile is unrealistic.
Accurate education and regular reminders are key as well as easy and convenient access to clinically-approved replacement retainers when something goes wrong.
It was that desire to provide life-long access to retainers that brought me back into the profession last year. My experience of digitised dentistry led me to join Retainers4Life – a business that delivers direct-to-door clinically approved retainers. Within couple of days and a click of a button, the service is an extension to that provided by clinicians.
My observations of changing consumer attitudes towards click and purchase, accelerated by the COVID-19 and contactless transactions, contributed to a passion for ensuring that the benefits yielded from orthodontic treatment are felt for life.
Teeth drifting and relapse is only ever avoided through life-long committed maintenance. By making it simple and straightforward to order a retainer, we remove all the barriers that can lead to relapse. This is achieved through access to a 24/7 simple online ordering system.
There is no need for the patient to return to the practice, and the process is affordable with interest-free payment.
Benefits to dental professionals
And it’s not just the patient who benefits from lifelong retention. We work with dental and orthodontist practices across the UK. They tell us emphatically that the admin and clinical time saved by signposting their customers to Retainers4Life delivers huge bottom-line benefits. They also get an immediate return thanks to a profit-share model that is essentially a new untapped lifelong revenue stream.
There are benefits of using our service for everyone. It rewards everybody for the investment made in achieving that beautiful smile, while continuing that patient-practice relationship long term.
Helping clinicians to continually raise the awareness of the need for lifelong retention has never been more important. We all need to work together to tackle the unacceptable acceptance of tooth movement and relapse after the treatment has finished.
As more adults and children take the step towards a straighter smile, the orthodontics profession has a job to do in ensuring that every patient is afforded convenient, accessible, and cost-effective aftercare and support to maintain their new smile.
We’re proud to be helping orthodontists and dentists provide this lifelong level of care to their patients and we’re pleased to play a part in helping people ‘Hold That Smile’ for life.
Sean Thompson is the CEO of Retainers4Life. Visit www.retainers4life.co.uk or follow @Retainers4Life on Facebook and Instagram for more information.
