The former at-home teeth aligners brand has reconverted the business to help dental clinics have a straightforward digitized system that benefits professionals and customers as they quickly get aligners and other dental appliances with zero costs for the clinic. Do you want to learn more? Keep reading.
What Is Dandy?
Previously, Dandy was a direct-to-customer brand that sold clear aligners directly to patients (first called Orthly, then Dandy) that was considered one of the best teeth aligners companies on the market. However, as Dandy has always been a dental lab, Dandy’s team decided to change its business model, and now they are focused on helping dental clinics and professionals to go 100% digital by adopting intraoral scanning and digital dentistry software. This means that customers can’t buy their products from Dandy’s website anymore: only Dentists who use Dandy’s digital lab can offer Dandy Clear Aligners to their patients.
Nowadays, Dandy is a digital dental lab that works directly with dentists. They offer an entire suite of products, including teeth aligners, crowns, bridges, implants, dentures, night guards, and dentistry digital tools and workflows. By installing their system, dentists are able to make 3D impressions of their patients and request directly to Dandy’s dental lab whatever dental appliance they need (aligners, crowns, bridges…), as Dandy has access to those impressions and patient information through their platform.
In other words, Dandy offers great digitalization, leveling up the dental practice by providing a straightforward process for dentists that patients will benefit from: no more impressions and no more long waiting periods to get dental appliances!
Some of the benefits your practice will benefit from if you choose Dandy dental lab are:
- Fewer chair-side adjustments as they capture the design and fit preferences upfront.
- Faster turnaround times.
- 24/7 US-based customer support (phone, chat, and text).
How Does Dandy Work?
As we mentioned before, Dandy doesn’t work directly with customers, but if you are a dental professional that wants to work with Dandy, the process is very straightforward.
First, you contact the brand through the website by filling out a Dandy’s contact form. Dandy will contact you to know more about your practice and create a custom plan by learning what kinds of cases you work with more often, knowing your team, your special needs, and what concerns you the most.
After talking with Dandy, they will install the digital tools and send you an intraoral scanner. Besides, you won’t have to worry about learning how to use the digital tools and scanner because Dandy’s team will also train your staff. These tools (intraoral scanner and digital tool) can cut out the time spent on each patient as dentists don’t have to prepare impressions, send them to the lab, etc. With this software, the dental lab will receive the 3D scan immediately, create the product shortly after and track the order to inform your patient as soon as it is ready. The tools are very easy to use; however, Dandy take care of their clients by providing training and webinars (on demand and live) for your staff, so you can enjoy all the benefits of going fully digital.
To provide more color, Dandy’s Aligner Mentorship Program is a 3-month course that provides high-touch training and case monitoring for up to 3 cases of alignment. The course helps dentists mage their three first alignment cases by providing hands-on treatment planning and case feedback support.
Products Offered by Dandy Dental Lab
As mentioned above, by scanning your patient’s teeth/mouth and sending it to Dandy, you can quickly get a variety of dental products made in the Dandy dental lab. These are some of those products:
- Aligners
- Implants (installed/restored)
- Zirconia crowns and bridges
- E.Max crowns and bridges
- Night guards
- Dentures
How is Dandy’s Alignment Treatment?
If you are a patient that wants to start with Dandy’s alignment system, as Dandy does not provide orthodontic services directly to patients, the first thing you should do is look for a Dandy dentist (provider) near you.
As soon as you find one Dandy dentist near you, they will take an intraoral scan and give you all the information about the treatment and process. The alignment plan is created by Dandy and backed by orthodontic specialists who train dentists and monitor cases. However, it must be said that Dandy alignment is not a 100% at-home treatment. Thus, it requires in-person visits, typically every 2 weeks. The frequency of the visits could vary, as it will depend on the patient’s case and the dentist’s preferences. These visits are required not only because Dandy does not deliver trays directly to patients, so you have to go to your dentists to get the trays, but because your dentist will supervise how the treatment is going and can contact Dandy if something goes wrong.
Regarding the treatment time, the length of treatment can vary based on the complexity of your case and the number of steps needed. But you can expect from 4 months to 24+ months depending on the case complexity. As with every clear aligner treatment, you’ll have to wear the aligners 22 hours a day for a 14-day cycle.
It might seem that at-home treatments are more convenient plans, but this type of treatment is not for everybody. For example, if you suffer from a complex malocclusion issue, these treatments do not offer in-person evaluation and supervision and are not able to provide a truly custom treatment that factors into your unique physiology. Working with your dentist is, ultimately, the safest and most effective option for clear aligners.
How Much Does Dandy Cost?
The price will depend on the dentist that offers you (as a customer) the treatment, as Dandy is only the material provider. As the brand is not direct-to-consumer, the dentist manages the treatment plan and pricing, and they will put a price on your goals and practice profile.
This fact also affects the insurance, as it is handled by the dentist. Cost varies based on your insurance benefits (that’s why we always recommend investing in one of the best orthodontic insurances if possible) and the number of clear aligners needed to perfect your smile. However, it should be noted that normally dentists offer financing options, and you can also use your FSA and/or HSA funds toward your treatment.
Regarding dental clinics, the cost is ZERO. Dandy will install and provide all the tools (an intraoral scanner costs $30k on average) needed to get started in digital dentistry for free, as they’ll earn money by creating the dental products you demand (aligners, crowns, etcetera.), and your patient is the one who pays for the product. A win-win situation, for sure!
What Do Dentists Think about Dandy?
We wanted to compare those testimonials with others found online, but we didn’t find many Dandy reviews online, as this dental lab is brand new. Google Dandy Dental Lab reviews are all related to Orthly, and there are no reviews on pages like Trustpilot.
However, based on the customer Dandy Dental Lab reviews found on Dandy’s website and YouTube, the brand has helped many dental clinics to implement a quicker and easier process that benefits the dental teams as well as their patients. Overall, all the dental clinics that talk about their experiences highlight how happy they are with working with Dandy dental lab.
FAQ
Yes, they are! Dandy aligners are totally safe, made by professionals, and tracked by orthodontists.
You can contact Dandy dental lab through Dandy’s website form or by phone +1 914-342-7794.
Dandy Dental Lab is located in New York: 115 W 27th St FL 5, New York, NY 10001, United States.
To find out if there is a Dandy dental provider near you, you will have to ask the clinics as there are no tools to locate providers.
I was one of the original Orthly customers. I thought that Dandy went out of business. I am almost done my treatment but my final aligners do not fit well. Can you help?
Hi, John!
If the aligners don’t fit well the best to do is contact customer service, they will probably come up with a solution (replace the aligner, make a new one, etc.)
Hope this helps
Best,