Scanned three weeks ago, still not approved
A patient has their records taken for aligner treatment: intraoral scan, photos, perhaps radiographs. The case is submitted to the aligner provider, for example through Invisalign's doctor site. The digital treatment plan comes back for review. The orthodontist means to look at it between patients, asks for modifications, and the revised plan comes back a week later. Then it sits.
Meanwhile the patient has been told their aligners will arrive 'in a few weeks' and has booked a fit appointment. Nobody has noticed that the plan is still waiting for approval.
Practices that use more than one aligner provider, or where several clinicians submit cases, have the hardest time, because each person checks their own cases in their own way, if at all.
Why aligner cases lose time
- The provider portal shows status, but only when someone logs in.
- Plan reviews compete with a full clinical diary.
- Photos or scans are sometimes rejected, and the resubmission waits.
- Different clinicians and treatment coordinators each handle part of the case.
- The fit appointment is booked from an estimate, not from the real case status.
Each stage is short. The waiting between stages is where the time goes.
What stalled cases cost
Patients wait longer to start and fit appointments are moved at short notice. Staff spend time checking portals and ringing patients with new dates. A practice with many aligner cases can have a significant number stuck at any time without knowing it. And patients who waited through delays are less forgiving if something else goes wrong later.
There is also the question of who tells the patient. When a case is delayed, the patient often hears it from reception, who does not know why. A tracker that shows where the case is waiting gives reception a clear, accurate answer.
The aligner case tracker we build
- Each aligner case gets a record when records are taken, with the patient, clinician, provider and the planned fit date.
- Stages are tracked: records complete, submitted, plan received, modifications requested, approved, in manufacture, shipped, received at practice.
- Where the aligner provider sends notification emails, those are read and matched to the case to update the stage. Where the provider offers an integration you are entitled to use, we connect to it; otherwise the stage is updated in one click.
- When a plan is waiting for review, the clinician gets a reminder, and a daily list shows every plan awaiting their decision.
- Each stage has a target time you set. Cases over target show in red.
- If the case will not be received in time for the booked fit appointment, reception is warned while there is time to move it.
- Arrivals are logged when the box is opened, so reception knows what is in the building.
| Stage | Who usually holds it | Prompt when overdue |
|---|---|---|
| Records to submission | Treatment coordinator or nurse | Daily list |
| Plan awaiting review | Orthodontist | Reminder and daily list |
| Modifications requested | Aligner provider | Flag to check the portal |
| Approved to shipped | Aligner provider | Flag against fit date |
| Shipped to received | Courier and practice | Warning to reception |
Treatment planning and approval are clinical decisions. The tracker only shows where each case is waiting.
Aligner starts that land on the booked date
The orthodontist sees a short list of plans waiting for them each day. Reception books fit appointments knowing the real state of the case. Patients hear about any delay early. And the practice can see where cases typically wait, which is usually the most useful thing to fix.
Is this happening with your aligner cases?
- Plans sit in the provider portal waiting for review.
- Fit appointments are moved because aligners have not arrived.
- Staff check the provider portal to answer patient questions.
- You cannot see all aligner cases and their stages in one place.