How a smartphone-based workflow cut new patient wait times by 50% and boosted starts by 65%

By Paul Trotter, DMD

Two years ago, I found a problem within my orthodontic practice. It was a great problem to have, but it still needed solving. Our office routinely conducted 75 to 85 new patient exams monthly while receiving 100 to 125 new patient referrals. At one point, we had more than 250 future scheduled exams, resulting in a wait time of nearly 4 months for new patients.

Internally, the strain was showing. My team was feeling stretched, but while hiring another treatment coordinator seemed like the obvious solution, I wasn’t keen on adding more payroll expenses.

This delay was frustrating for families eager to begin their orthodontic journey, and the schedule was burning out my team.

I decided to reimagine our current staffing and tools to create a system that kept new patient families engaged in treatment while maintaining a high-touch experience, all from their smartphones.

A New Experience Designed to Keep Families Engaged

When analyzing our new patient pipeline, we discovered a high volume of younger patients who weren’t yet ready to begin treatment. Instead of turning them away or pushing appointments months out, I saw an opportunity to build long-term engagement and brand affinity.

To do this, we launched a fully customized engagement experience using remote monitoring, and opted to use the Grin Scope and Grin App, designed specifically for smartphones. This solution keeps patients and their families connected to our practice from day one—building trust, educating them on their smile journey, and creating a sticky digital touchpoint that ensures a smoother, faster transition to treatment when the time is right.

It was important to us that, although potential patients would start their orthodontic journey at home, they got to know our office and team. Our new experience was fully branded to our office to represent our practice and culture. Our custom experience includes:

  • Personalized Welcome Package: Each family receives a branded box with our practice’s swag, such as a branded hat or cup and a Grin Scope that attaches to their smartphone.
  • New QR Code to Guide the Experience: We wanted to aim for simplicity in a way that families would be comfortable with and understand so they are easily guided through our new funnel. We included a QR code in our welcome package that led to a humanized video. I included my son in this video to demonstrate each step of the process and build trust—showing families our commitment to care and that I am a parent, too. I understand the need for efficiency in everyday life, but I still want parents to trust the provider working with their children. Creating our personalized instructional video introduced families to me and our practice, began to build trust, and made a strong connection virtually.
  • Easy Virtual Scanning: Parents can quickly and easily capture high-quality images of their child’s teeth from the comfort of home using the Grin App and Scope. The process is simple: parents attach the scope—a small, reusable mouthpiece—to their smartphone. It gently retracts the cheeks and lips, positioning the phone’s camera to capture clear images of the teeth and bite. The app provides step-by-step, on-screen instructions, guiding patients through scanning. They are shown exactly how to move their device to capture different angles, including the upper teeth, lower teeth, and bite.
  • Personalized Treatment Plan: I review each patient’s scan. Then, I record and send a customized video response outlining their unique treatment plan. I explain their current needs, what to expect, and the next steps—all delivered directly through the app so families can watch it anytime, ask questions, and stay in the loop conveniently from their smartphones. Everything is asynchronous, so it doesn’t add additional appointments to the parents’ or my practice schedule.
  • Automated Follow-ups: Using our platform, we schedule automatic text reminders following the unique treatment plan we put forth. The automated messages periodically prompt patients for their scans to help families remain informed until it’s time to visit the office.

Real-Life Feedback in Minutes

Creating a process to keep our referrals engaged while they awaited treatment benefited everyone. People no longer needed to come into the office, and our team had more flexibility. We could accommodate other needs in our schedules.

However, a virtual engagement process is only as good as the connections made and the trust built. We reassigned roles across our team to ensure someone was available to manage patient communication. This team member took ownership of the virtual exam process, managing patient communication, reviewing scans, and handling follow-ups.

Now, communication was simple and quick. Patients with questions could message us right on the app and receive real feedback and direction from a treatment coordinator who had worked alongside me in the chair for years. On average, communication and feedback happened within minutes without playing a game of “phone tag.”

We have found that the convenience of housing scans, communication, and feedback on a patient’s smartphone app allows for quick access to our team, puts individuals at ease, and encourages them to reach out with questions.

The Results: Quicker Starts, Shorter Waits, and Happier Families

Implementing our new process proved to have immediate results—everything from more time outside the office to efficiency in how we see and treat patients. A sampling of results includes:

  • 65% Start Rate with Referrals: Our conversion rate drastically increased as patients felt engaged in their treatment before it even started.
  • 50% Reduction in Waitlist: In just 6 months, our future new patient exams dropped from 250 to 100, meaning families no longer had to wait 4 months for an appointment.
  • More Efficient Chair Time: We freed up valuable chair time for those ready to begin treatment by identifying which patients truly needed an in-office exam.
  • Keeping Staffing Costs Low: Rather than hiring another coordinator to see our waitlist, we reimagined and reassigned our workload and allowed our treatment coordinator to manage remote exams from out of state.
  • Improved Work-Life Balance: With our system running at full speed, our office is preparing to implement a 3.5-day workweek. While this once seemed impossible, reimagining “how things have always been done” also allowed us to reimagine our workweek.

READ MORE: The Value of Video Marketing and How You Can Implement It

Why This Works—and How You Can Do It, Too

Research shows that parents check their smartphones 60 times a day. Meeting families where they are—in the palm of their hands—allowed us to reimagine how we stay competitive in our marketplace.

Many families, especially those with young children, need more flexibility in their lives. We have heard from parents repeatedly how much they appreciate completing their assessments from home rather than scheduling around work, school, and activities.

As you consider a similar approach, remember the following pearls:

  • Show How the Experience Benefits Families: We began this journey because we couldn’t keep up, but our patients never knew that. We reframed the situation—instead of saying, “We can’t see you for months,” we explained that most young patients aren’t ready for treatment and shared the convenience of having a treatment plan and monitoring being done via a simple process and a smartphone app.
  • Leverage Technology to Streamline Processes: Our platform integrates seamlessly into our practice management system, making implementation and ongoing engagement easy. As you consider creating a new process to engage your leads, find tools that are easy to use and allow for customization to introduce patients to your practice. This keeps the lift simple and integrated for your team.
  • Maintain Personalization: While technology enables efficiency, maintaining a human touch takes effort. Personalized video responses and engaging onboarding materials keep patients connected to your brand. Respecting patients’ time and showing you still understand their unique needs keeps them connected to your practice and coming back.

The Future of Patient Engagement

This experience has transformed how our practice approaches orthodontic patient onboarding and considers what is important and needed from our families and teammates.

A customized virtual onboarding experience can significantly reduce chair time and boost treatment starts. When done right, it doesn’t just enhance efficiency—it elevates your entire patient journey. Seamless, engaging, and tailored to each individual, virtual onboarding is more than a convenience—it’s a strategic advantage for your business. OP

Photo: ID 277683630 © Dmitry Marchenko | Dreamstime.com


Paul Trotter, DMD, runs his family’s orthodontic practice, Trotter Orthodontics, in Augusta, Ga. He joined the practice after he earned his degree from Dental College of Georgia. As a born techie, he uses KLOwen custom braces and Grin remote monitoring to create efficiency in his practice.