An Interview With Nick Greenfield of Candid

Nick Greenfield (NG): We are incredibly excited to work with the Philips Sonicare team for a host of reasons, starting with their presence in the dental professional channel, which is absolutely outstanding. They have deep relationships, a very large sales footprint, and a clinically oriented approach. That partnership opens doors. Some dentists have never heard of CandidPro, but everybody has heard of Philips. Leveraging that partnership to get in front of more dentists and tell them about our solution is really exciting.

The second component is product; starting with the Zoom Whitening Kit, we have a one-click integration for adding the at-home Zoom product directly into the CandidPro experience. More product integration opportunities will come in the future. During orthodontic therapy, a patient brushes their teeth at least five times a day and flosses frequently because a higher level of oral hygiene is necessary when inserting and removing the aligners regularly. That can lead to many opportunities as our partnership grows.

The third component involves Philips Sonicare's reach to the overall dentist and hygienist base: clinical education. We are working on a much more robust clinical education program that will feature combination orthodontics with restorative, cosmetic, and of course periodontal and hygiene treatments. We are looking at a more total oral healthcare solution that is not just about orthodontics and straightening teeth; it is so much more. We are working with the Philips team on the curriculum and building that more broadly in the community to increase awareness of how to use orthodontics in combination with other therapies to deliver better outcomes for patients. The curriculum will also help doctors and their teams have more consistent conversations with patients about how straighter teeth relate to overall health.

Beyond those three core focus areas, from a brand standpoint, we are using CandidPro in connection with Philips Sonicare in our marketing assets and on our website, and that is to increase patient acceptance; the Philips Sonicare name provides credibility.

ID: Do you think this will be a continuing trend of collaborations from manufacturers in different segments as we see interdisciplinary dentistry and even medical-dental integration become more viable?

NG: There is a trend of companies that are building open platforms and collaborating. That is one direction, and I think that is the appropriate direction to improve outcomes for patients and accelerate the trend of innovation. The more innovative, earlier-stage, faster-growing companies are finding that it makes sense to collaborate on the clinical as well as on the business side. The way to combat more established brands is by increasing the speed of innovation, and I do think that will be an increasing trend. I also would expect that there will be some on the other side who close even more. It depends on the company.

ID: Of course, more competition leads to patients having more options. From a perspective of health equity as it pertains to dentistry, how important are affordable and widely accessible clear aligners as we continue to understand more about the role of orthodontics and occlusion in whole-body health?

NG: We believe that every patient who is presented or prescribed the product should have the opportunity to get orthodontics. Whether it's for long-term bite health, sleep and airway management, or setting up for a necessary restorative procedure, clear aligners are capable of significantly more than traditional orthodontics were. Just like drilling and filling or placing a crown, orthodontics should be accessible to all patients, and we fundamentally believe that. There are two components to making that possible. The first is at what price the dentist can prescribe the product and continue to maintain a margin that makes sense for their business, where they feel comfortable prescribing and overseeing the product. We have designed CandidPro to allow dentists to make the same amount of money while prescribing and selling the case at a lower fee; we accomplish that by minimizing the number of office visits and refinements needed by driving a highly predictable orthodontic solution in partnership with a telehealth relationship with an orthodontist who does the treatment planning and helps the dentists. Enabling dentists to feel comfortable prescribing and selling cases at a lower relative average fee increases access for everybody.

The second component is accessibility using remote monitoring as part of our connected treatment experience. The CandidApp reduces the number of office visits by approximately 75% versus competitive solutions, according to our dentists. For patients, that can mean less time off from work, less money spent on gas, and higher likelihood that they'll stay on target with their treatment check-ins. It is really a win-win-win.