Blockchain Cryptocurrency Paves the Way to Preventative Oral Care
Inside Dental Technology delivers updates on digital workflows, materials, lab techniques, and innovation in dental technology through expert articles and videos.
July 1, 2019
Volume 10, Issue 7, July 2019
Page(s): p. 12
An innovative, technology-based company in the Netherlands launched a dental assurance solution focusing on preventive care with strict guidelines, as well as a preventive protocol of follow-up with a dental care provider. The Dentacoin Assurance Program, administered by the Dentacoin Foundation, was first made available for the public in March 2019 during the 38th International Dental Show in Cologne, Germany. The Foundation generates and facilitates contracts directly between patients and oral care providers, focusing on all oral health needs with a preventive approach rather than a reactive approach as with a traditional dental insurance model. These contracts provide patients with lifelong preventive dental care paid to dentists in the form of Dentacoin (DCN) cryptocurrency.
According to NewsBTC, a blockchain currency news source, "Ninety percent of all dental costs are spent on problems that are proven preventable through the right nutrition, proper oral hygiene habits, and regular dental check-ups."1 Many patients forego routine checkups and other proper dental care measures because they cannot afford them, sometimes due to dental plans that do not allow for routine and preventive dental appointments. These financial decisions are detrimental to the ongoing future health of the patient and reach far beyond their immediate oral health concerns.
Establishing an individual Dentacoin Assurance contract allows a patient to forge a direct relationship with their dentist for the objective of overall oral maintenance, shifting the model from treating acute symptoms to a sustainable preventive protocol. Dentists receive regular monthly payments with the condition that all services will be provided for the patient at no charge or at greatly reduced fees. In order to fulfill these contracts, the program requires the patient to make at least three preventive/maintenance visits per year to their participating dentist. The Dentacoin Foundation arranges the contracts, payments, and notification infrastructure; sets the hard conditions in the contract; and suggests an average monthly rate that is agreed upon by the oral care provider and patient. Dentists and patients are free to decide which program works best for them and the ultimate desired outcome.
Reference
1. First Blockchain-Based Dental Assurance Has Been Released. NewsBTC. Published February 2019. https://www.newsbtc.com/press-releases/first-blockchain-based-dental-assurance-has-been-released/. Accessed June 7, 2019.
