Most parents assume the important part of DentalMonitoring is the scan itself. Your child takes the photos, and then the software takes it from there.
While yes, the scan is important, there is more to the process than that. What moves your child’s treatment forward is what happens when I sit down to review that scan. At Varble Orthodontics, I review every scan myself. In a typical week, the review comes down to where this child’s teeth are compared to where they should be by now.
In this post, I’ll walk you through my review process for every scan I receive. If you’ve already got a good idea what your week looks like with DentalMonitoring, then you know how the routine works on your side. This is what happens on our side.
Before I Open the Scan, I Open the Plan
A scan by itself doesn’t tell me much. A photo of a set of teeth in week 14 of aligner treatment only means something if I know what those teeth were supposed to look like in week 14.
So the first thing I look at is your child’s treatment plan and where they are in it. This could be what aligner in the series they’re on, and how many days they’ve worn it. If they’re in braces, then I look for when the last wire change was. If they’re wearing elastics—the small rubber bands that hook between the upper and lower braces—then I’m finding what those elastics are supposed to be doing to the bite. And of course, I refer to my notes from the previous review, including anything I said I’d keep an eye on.
That context is the difference between a quick check and an actual scan review. A small gap between an aligner and a tooth on day 2 of a new aligner (families often call them trays) is expected, because the aligner hasn’t finished its work yet. The same gap on day 12 means the tooth hasn’t moved as far as the aligner expects by now. The image is the same in both cases. What changes the answer is where the patient is in the plan.
Is This Week Like Last Week?
Most weeks, yes. With the plan in front of me, I compare this week’s scan to the ones before it. DentalMonitoring lines the images up so I can see change over time, tooth by tooth, instead of judging a single photo on its own.
On those weeks, the teeth have moved the amount the plan calls for, the aligner is sitting flush, the brackets are where we left them, and the gums look healthy. That’s a good week, and it’s the most common kind. I note it in the chart, and the review is done.
I mention this because “nothing to report” can sound like nothing happened. It’s the result I’m working toward. Every on-track week is a week your child didn’t need to come in so someone could confirm the same thing in person.
What I’m Weighing When Something Is Flagged
When the system’s AI—which screens each scan before it reaches me—flags something, or when I notice something it didn’t, I work through three questions before deciding what to do.
Is it real? Not every flag is a problem. A scan taken in poor light, at an odd angle, or with a cheek retractor slightly out of place can make a normal tooth look out of position. If the image is the issue, then a simple rescan should fix it, and your child gets a prompt in the app to take it again.
Does it matter at this stage? Some findings deserve attention at certain points in treatment and not others. A slightly rotated tooth early in treatment may be a tooth the plan corrects over the next several aligners. Late in treatment, if that tooth still has that rotation, then that may call for an adjustment to the plan.
How soon does it need attention? This is the biggest question. Some findings can wait for the next planned visit, because they’re unlikely to get worse in two or three weeks. Some can also just be handled at home. A poking wire gets a piece of orthodontic wax and a note that we’ll trim it at the next visit. An aligner that isn’t fitting all the way might mean a few extra days on the current tray and some time with chewies—small foam cylinders your child bites on to press the aligner into place. And some findings mean we should see your child soon, such as a bracket that’s come off a tooth we’re actively moving, or a broken wire. When that happens, our team reaches out and we find a time that week.
That third question is why the number of in-office visits drops by about half: it ensures those visits are saved for only the biggest changes.
A Typical Review, Start to Finish
Here’s how that plays out. This is a typical case rather than a real patient, but it’s a good example of the kind of thing I see most weeks:
- The plan. A 13-year-old in Spark Clear Aligners, on day 9 of aligner 16. Last week’s scan was on track. I’d made a note to watch her lower left canine (the pointed tooth near the corner of the smile), which has been the slowest tooth to rotate.
- The comparison. This week, every tooth has moved the expected amount except that canine. The AI has flagged a small gap between the aligner and the tip of the tooth.
- Is it real? The image is clear and the gap shows from two angles, so yes.
- Does it matter now? Yes. One tooth lagging a few days is normal. This one has lagged for two trays, and the next aligners assume it has caught up.
- How soon? No visit needed. I send a message: wear aligner 16 for four more days, use chewies on the lower left for ten minutes twice a day, and scan again before switching.
- The follow-up. Next week’s scan shows the gap closed. She moves to aligner 17 on the adjusted schedule.
From my side, that’s one review and one message. From her family’s side, it’s reading that message in the app.
What a Run of Scans Shows That One Visit Can’t
A single office visit is a snapshot. A weekly scan is one frame in a longer film, and some of the most useful things I see only show up across several frames.
A tooth that’s moving a little slower each week tells me the plan’s pace is too fast for that tooth. I can slow it down before it falls behind. Elastics are another example. If the bite isn’t changing over three or four weeks of scans, the most likely explanation is that the elastics aren’t being worn as much as they need to be. That’s a conversation I’d rather have in week four than discover months later. Gum health works the same way. One red spot is a bad brushing day. The same spot getting redder over a month, or plaque collecting around the same bracket, is worth acting on, because that’s how white spots start: chalky marks on the enamel that can become permanent.
None of these would be obvious from any single image. They’re visible because I’m looking at the same mouth every week and comparing it to itself.
What You See on Your End
Most of this review is invisible to families, which is intentional. What you see is the result.
On a normal week, that’s a short note in the app confirming your child’s scan was reviewed and things are on track. If I need something from your child, the note says what and why: a rescan, a few extra days on an aligner, more consistent elastic wear. If we need to see your child, our team will reach out to schedule and explain why.
If you’re connected to your child’s account, you see the same messages they do. And you don’t have to wait for a scan to reach us. If something feels off midweek, simply message us through the app or call the office.
Getting Started
If you’d like to see how this would work for your child, start with the free VO Smile Assessment. It includes a 3D scan and a treatment plan I’ll design myself, and we’ll walk you through what weekly reviews would look like for your case. For the bigger picture of how the system fits together, I recommend checking out the complete guide to DentalMonitoring. If your child is heading toward braces, then it’s also good to know how DentalMonitoring works with braces.
We see families at our Creve Coeur and St. Peters offices. Pick whichever location works best for your family’s schedule. We look forward to seeing you.
