The shortage of health professionals is part of a structural tension: demographic aging, territorial disparities, increase in demand for specialized care. Orthodontics is not immune to this dynamic, deadlines are lengthening, chair time is becoming a constrained resource and practices are constantly choosing between routine follow-up and emergencies.
In this context, remote monitoring powered by artificial intelligence is gradually emerging as a lever for organizational optimization. The question is therefore less technological than structural: can we compensate for human scarcity by better allocation of clinical time?
A “black hole” between appointments
It is from this question that DentalMonitoring was born. Its founder and CEO, Philippe Salah, identified inefficiency in the orthodontic journey very early on. He explains to FW.media that he realized that, despite all the technologies put in place by orthodontists, “often, there was a sort of black hole between appointments”: the dentist does not know what is happening in his patient’s mouth between two consultations.
The traditional model is based on visits scheduled at fixed intervals, while some are essential, others are preventive control, and between these visits, no real clinical visibility.
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The proposed response consists of transforming this calendar logic into logic triggered by need. As Philippe Salah puts it, “we wanted to synchronize the provision of care with the need for this provision of care. Today, it is not necessarily synchronized. We don’t necessarily see the patient at the right time. »
AI as a clinical triage tool
The operation is based on a relatively simple operating mode on the usage side, the patient downloads an application, carries out intra-oral scans using their smartphone and a dedicated optical device. The images are analyzed by artificial intelligence algorithms which identify normal situations, objectives achieved or anomalies.
Philippe Salah specifies that “the artificial intelligence servers will do a triage, sort the scenarios that are important for the doctor and show the doctor the patients who have a small problem or who have an objective achieved”. If the AI does not make an autonomous diagnosis, it prioritizes the information and alerts the practitioner when the intervention becomes relevant. The example of the loose bracket illustrates this logic: “the artificial intelligence will detect that the orthodontic bracket is loose and the orthodontist will receive an alert”. The visit is no longer systematic and becomes targeted.
Clinical productivity and access to care
According to Philippe Salah, “by minimizing check-up or comfort visits, we will free up office time so that the doctor can accommodate more patients”. The organizational impact is significant, the practice can prioritize situations requiring intervention, absorb more patients or improve the quality of follow-up. The patient, for his part, benefits from faster access in the event of a problem.
A logic that is similar to that observed more widely in e-health: rationalization of flows, digital triage, targeted triggering of the clinical act.
Adoption and transformation of practices
This evolution nevertheless implies a change in workflow for practitioners and discipline on the patient side. Acceptance of monitoring is based on trust in the tool and its integration into practice routines.
Founded in 2014 by Philippe Salah, DentalMonitoring develops medical software based on artificial intelligence dedicated to remote orthodontic monitoring. The company boasts more than 2 million patients monitored, a presence in around fifty countries and more than 500 employees, around half of whom are in France, mainly in R&D.
It has just finalized a funding round of 84 million euros from ISALT in particular to accelerate its international expansion and strengthen its technological capabilities. Since its creation, Dental Monitoring has raised more than 278 million euros, notably from Merieux Capital Ventures, Vitruvian Partners and the HWA family office, which invested 5 million euros in seed in 2014.
