The company has signed a strategic collaboration deal with 3M that includes an initiative to distribute the Grin platform—which includes the Grin app and Grin Scope—to U.S.-based orthodontists nationwide during the pandemic. 

Grin, a teleorthodontic company, announced a strategic collaboration with the 3M Oral Care Solution Division for its new remote monitoring solution developed by an orthodontist. The Grin Remote Monitoring Platform consists of the Grin App and Grin Scope, an FDA listed medical device designed to serve as an intraoral adapter. 

The Grin Scope is a proprietary device that retracts the cheeks in order to allow a full view of a patient’s mouth. After the Grin Scope is fixed to any smartphone, patients self-scan their teeth using the Grin App which guides the them through the experience. Once scanned, orthodontists use the video to assess a patient’s treatment progress via their Grin online doctor portal. Practitioners can use the remote monitoring solution to reduce in-person office visit frequency and adhere to COVID-19 social distancing recommendations. 

Grin was created by NY-based orthodontist Adam Schulhof, DMD

“Grin gives patients maximum convenience and cost-effective remote monitoring solutions that keep orthodontists in the care loop,” said Grin CEO Adam Schulhof, DMD. “Last year, my team started creating the Grin experience and I first beta tested the platform in my own practice. When COVID-19 began to spread, Grin dramatically helped me to continue responsible patient treatment from anywhere. We’re thrilled to be collaborating with 3M to get our cutting-edge technology into as many orthodontist hands as possible.” 

3M Oral Care Solutions will be the first nationwide distributor of Grin Scopes as part of the deal. The collaboration between the two companies includes a COVID-19 initiative, where 3M will distribute complimentary Grin systems to assist orthodontists across the United States in need of remote monitoring solutions during the pandemic. 

“With Coronavirus, we recognize the need for our orthodontic practices to connect with patients remotely”, said Jay Issa, orthodontic global business director, 3M. “The Grin platform will fulfill this need for 3M on a trial basis, helping provide orthodontists with a valuable tool to monitor patient progress.”

Chicago-based orthodontist Neil Warshawsky, DDS, has been using the Grin remote monitoring App and Grin Scope when the pandemic closed his office. “The word of the moment is ‘pivot’,” said Warshawsky. “If you do not pivot during COVID, then your business is going to struggle. I don’t know about other orthodontists, but I don’t lose well. I worked way too hard to build a world class practice, and I am not about to let this once in a lifetime pandemic stand between me and my patients.

“The Grin Scope perfectly filled our need for a remote monitoring solution. It allows us to communicate with ease, and most importantly, give us a heads up if there’s a problem. The scope is easy-to-use and it fully allowed us to pivot to a virtual platform almost overnight, keeping many of our patients safely out of the office but under our supervision. This is only possible because of the high quality nature of the scans. The Grin Scope is designed to ensure I can conduct the oversight necessary to be confident in my virtual assessments. We really value that the scope is agnostic, so I can use it to monitor anyone no matter what appliance I have on them…and no matter which device my patients are using be it Android or iOS.”