Grin is Live! and other news to smile about…
September 17th, 2020 | Dr. Adam Schulhof
The last 20 years of my orthodontic career has been amazing and I’m very much looking forward to the next two decades. The specialty has seen so many changes and I’ve been fortunate to continually partake in the innovation happening within the industry. Needless to say, orthodontics happily consumes every corner of my life and I’m passionate about advancing the specialty. In this spirit, I believe in looking towards the future by leveraging new tools that tackle today’s treatment pain points.. That’s why I am proud to announce the creation of Grin along with my co-founders Pamela Oren-Artzi and Alon Lipnik.
Amidst the evolution from within orthodontics, a new external player showed up and exposed the dangers of customers seeking care outside the supervision of experienced professionals—DIY. Consumers were now being marketed slick teeth straightening options that were advertised as convenient services at bargain prices. However, the savings came with a huge cost: the lack of real, trusted, orthodontic expertise.
Our community couldn’t deny that patients were responding to the promise of ease and affordability offered by these brands. We knew it was something they desired. However, we knew the lack of orthodontists oversight could lead to bite issues.
It was clear that patient and provider relationships were suffering. Patients required more convenient treatment options to fit their busy lifestyles. Meanwhile, conversations in our doctor circles centered around needing new digital tools to reduce chair time, increase patient volume, and ensure the utmost safety.
Through recurring conversations with orthos and being so deeply embedded in the profession, I knew there was an opportunity to offer patients quality professional care with more convenience with the help of new technological tools. That’s why we created Grin, a comprehensive digital platform that provides orthodontic solutions for all types of teeth straightening needs and connects patients to real orthodontists in their community. The Grin experience consists of the Grin App and Grin Scope, which is an FDA listed medical device. Together, under the supervision of partner orthodontists, Grin will provide a suite of capabilities. We are bringing doctors back into the care loop while still providing the convenience patients craved, and the advanced tools doctors need.
When COVID-19 hit, our offices emptied and patients were stranded without the ability to see their doctors mid-treatment. Our team was heartened when we realized that Grin could have an immediate, positive impact. The Grin Remote Monitoring Platform allows doctors to virtually see into a patient’s mouth as if they were seated for an in person appointment.
Grin is collaborating with the 3M Oral Care Solutions Division to be our first nationwide distributor for thousands of Grin Scopes. Grin also kicked-off a COVID-19 initiative to assist orthodontists across the United States in need of remote monitoring solutions with complimentary Grin systems during the pandemic.
I know Grin dramatically helped me to continue responsible patient treatment, and look forward to launching new offerings through our platform soon. We’re thrilled for this initial collaboration with 3M to get our cutting-edge technology into as many orthodontist hands as possible, and are proud of the efforts of our entire Grin team.
Thank you!
Dr. Adam Schulhof, DMD