Improving Orthodontic Digital Workflows with VISION: A Dental Technician's View

by Maria Caro in May 31 2023

The availability of digital treatment planning software is quickly increasing the efficiency of orthodontic treatment and improving patient outcomes. VISION, the treatment planning software by SoftSmile, possesses a beautiful and intuitive user interface and flexible integration options for practitioners.

In orthodontic care, establishing a digital workflow can significantly improve patient-provider communication and ensure better accuracy for all involved. By exploring the latest trends in orthodontic digital workflows, doctors can confidently provide quality treatment that meets all industry standards.

We spoke with Maria Caro, who is the Digital Application & Education Specialist at SoftSmile about her experience as a dental technician developing treatment plans, as well as how VISION will help dental technicians create perfect smiles for patients with speed, precision, and flexibility.

How has treatment planning changed in the last 5-10 years?

I've been lucky enough to see how digital dentistry has been integrated with workflows in orthodontics. Not only with intraoral scanning but with software that allows us to manipulate what was scanned in the mouth. As dental technicians, we can present proposals to the clinician on possible scenarios of treatment by creating the ideal positioning of the dentition. VISION has really changed the way we develop treatment plans and provides great rendering of the movements with graphics of the scanned data from the patient. This creates a realistic and ideal alignment of the dentition to improve oral health and cosmetic outcomes for the patient.

How does your experience as a dental technician help you with your work on VISION?

Dental technicians learn a lot about tooth movement. We learn about aesthetics. New treatment planning software like VISION really helps us to plan and envision the doctor’s treatment plan for each patient. It allows us to understand if the doctor is moving a tooth too quickly or if the doctor wants to level out the smile line, which is imperative. I think that VISION combined with the background and knowledge we have as dental technicians will help us better execute what the doctor is envisioning for each patient.

Do you think VISION will help dental techs to do their jobs better?

Oh, absolutely. In aligner treatment, VISION allows the distribution of proximal collisions and spaces with the space managers. This helps us do our job more efficiently and helps with creating the ideal alignment that the clinician is trying to achieve. It allows us to execute the treatment seamlessly.

How are potential clients responding to VISION when they see it for the first time?

I think their first reaction is very similar to mine, which is, “Wow, this is easy to use.” It's user-friendly, it's intuitive and we can achieve a lot without having so many tools and so many overwhelming options. The software gives you the possibility of a small learning curve. You can learn the software quickly and begin to work immediately, and I think that's really attractive.

Is there anything unique about SoftSmile versus other companies that you've worked with in the industry?

SoftSmile has a great culture. I think the fact that we're interacting with people in different countries is really cool. I think we can communicate really well. We can propose ideas and possibilities of how we see a possible tool that we can enhance, and how we can make the software better. So I think that the fact that we can communicate those ideas and they're accepted and taken into consideration is a really good way for us to be involved in the development and the ultimate vision of the software.

Maria serves as the Digital Application & Education Specialist at SoftSmile and is responsible for training doctors and their staff on VISION’s digital processes and educating dental labs on integrating VISION into their workflow.