Origins: a brief history of Smilecloud
Our story begins with the Dentcof clinic, a family business founded by the Cofar family in 1991. Dentcof matured following a clear and congruent vision, which we still see today. Presently the clinic is a worldwide known brand in esthetic dentistry, recognised for its constant innovation, quality standards and educational programs it provides.
Dentcof chose to take the road not traveled and focused on researching new concepts, techniques and tools for better dental treatments. The research division is led by Florin Cofar, international speaker on digital workflows.
In 2015 the team developed RAW: a clear protocol for gathering patient data, planning, design and treatment of restorative cases. The workflow was inspired by innovative concepts such as the skin technique by Paulo Kano and DSD planning by Christian Coachman.
2016: The beginning
With the RAW protocol in place, treatment execution was greatly improved on a daily basis. However, many issues were still unbridged by the existing technologies. The Dentcof clinic almost lost 6000 patient files after the local storage servers crashed. Collaboration was difficult due to conflicting copies or expired links and communication scattered over multiple channels. Solutions were needed to bring everything and everyone together: data, treatment team, patient and communication.
Florin Cofar, Ioan Cofar and Mihai Simonia started mapping a solution to integrate all aspects of restorative treatment planning: storage, collaboration, communication and design. Long time friend Eric Van Dooren, joined Florin and the team one year later.
2018: Smilecloud Beta
Following the initial vision, Smilecloud was constructed as a collaborative environment for dental specialists to connect in a case based architecture, plan treatments, communicate, design and access biometric libraries using powerful AI technology in order to provide the best clinically feasible options for each individual patient.
For patients it provides the opportunity to connect to specialists around the world, to make better treatment decisions and to access their personal medical file on the click of a button.
Smilecloud Beta was first available for live testing at the start of 2018. Thanks to the feedback from users we were able to constantly improve the flow and develop useful new features.
February: Smart notifications
You can mention a @team-member in the chat window for more important, direct message. He will receive a red notification on case thumb. The Chat Notifications are located on the top-bar where you can also check all unread messages.
February: Date filters for cases
These filters have been changed to give you faster access to updated cases. Use “Today” for a quick glance on what cases your peers are working on, or use “lifetime” to visualise all your cases.
May: Tandem videos
Use tandem videos to present the mockup and treatment plan to your patient.
August: Superimpose multiple STLs
See antagonists, 3D design or other STLs in the same window. Adjust color and transparency for better viewing experience.
2019: Smilecloud Official launch
On March 14th 2019 Smilecloud was publicly released. It is Dentcof’s mindset transformed into a platform that anyone can use. The patent pending innovation of the AI algorithm allows dental specialists to treat cases interdisciplinary, using an impressive biometric library, easy and efficient tools in day by day practice. What is new:
Downloadable libraries and printable designs
Intuitive Real-Time Photo realistic Design
June 2019: Improved design workflow
We’ve rebuilt the Design module to help you hit a home run with each patient. Only 5 steps from start to finish and fast way to change between them. Natural shapes are now displayed bigger in all their beauty, not only in portraits. Suggested solutions are also rendered photo-realistically.
July 2019: Adjustable premolar proportions
Every smile is different. Taper the arch shape on each quadrant independently. Choose to match patient clinical situation or change the width of the arch if you plan orthodontic treatment.
July 2019: Teeth Colour
Based on the feedback from our users regarding their experience, we are able to constantly build better features and stay up to date. Teeth colour adjustments allow you to alter colour without loosing the natural effect. Edit value, hue and chroma at the click of a button.
October 2019: Comments and Annotations
Improved collaboration on cases, from initial documentation to final photo-shoot and everything in-between. With this new release communication becomes visual and more effective.
November 2019: Image adjustments
When you communicate visually, do it without distractions: Trim off some of the edges to focus on what is important with crop, rotate and straighten photos with ease, use pre-set ratios to match your needs, make adjust that are instantly applied. Reset back to original in one click.
December 2019: iOS Beta
All your cases are in your pocket. The beta iOS app is available for testing by users. Give feedback, organise your team, upload documentation and communicate directly from your mobile.
Thankful.
Over the last years we took the road not taken and what we discovered on the way was inspiring people, new experiences and the openness to look not at what dentistry is, but what it can become.
We are thankful for all the people who believed in our project, for users who share their feedback helping us make constant improvements and for our amazing team working side by side to transform the vision into reality.
