Editor's Review
Who this is for: DentalMonitoring is a patient app, not a consumer dental tool. It belongs to a remote monitoring service that orthodontic and dental practices subscribe to; the practice invites the patient, and the app then becomes the channel between the two. The 4.68 rating across half a million installs is unusually high for a medical app and reflects a captive, instructed user base as much as the software.
What you actually do with it: on a schedule set by the clinician, the app walks you through photographing your teeth from several angles, usually with a cheek retractor supplied by the practice. Those scans are analysed and passed to the clinician, who can confirm that aligners are tracking, that movement matches the plan, or that you should come in. Between scans the app holds appointment reminders, instructions and a message thread with the practice.
The limitation: without a participating practice there is nothing to open. It is also demanding in a small way - scans must be done properly and on time for the monitoring to be worth anything, and a rushed scan produces a request to redo it.
Features
Guided photo scans of the teeth on the schedule your clinician sets
Scan results passed to the practice for review between appointments
Appointment reminders and treatment instructions in one place
Direct message thread with the treating practice
Pros
Replaces some routine check-up visits with a scan done at home
Guided capture makes it hard to submit an unusable set of photos
Keeps clinician instructions and messages attached to your treatment
Cons
Unusable unless your own practice subscribes to the service and invites you
Scans generally need the retractor the practice provides, so you cannot start anywhere
Questions people ask
Can I use DentalMonitoring without a dentist or orthodontist?
No. Access comes from an invitation issued by a practice that subscribes to the service, and the scans you submit are reviewed by that clinician. There is no standalone consumer mode.
Do I need the scanning accessory?
The guided scans are designed around the cheek retractor the practice hands out. Some scan types can be taken without it, but your clinician decides what the protocol requires.
