Orthodontic apps at fingertips

BACKGROUND: Smartphone usage has spread to many settings including that of healthcare and dentistry with numerous potential and realized benefits. The ability to download custom-built software applications (apps) has created new opportunities for orthodontists to integrate technology into clinical practice and patients to collect the information about orthodontics and help them during their treatment. The purpose of this study is to provide a summary of the orthodontic apps currently available for orthodontic patients as well as ‘practicing clinicians’. METHOD: Three smartphones and two tablets were used to search three operating systems (Android, Apple, and Windows) using the keywords ‘braces’, ‘orthodontist’, ‘model analysis’, and ‘orthodontics’. RESULTS: Android and Apple operating systems accumulate all of the apps that are thought to be related to orthodontic clinicians and patients. Clinician's apps (17) are those related to orthodontic news (2), publication (4), products (3), and diagnosis (4) and practice management (3) while patient apps (17) are those related to orthodontic education (4), simulator (5), related to reminding patients about elastic wear (3), progress tracker of treatment (4), and orthodontic products (1). CONCLUSION: In the generation of technology, the use of smartphones and tablets has made life simple. The use of these technologies can be a boon both for the orthodontist and the patients as it aids both in treatment planning and progress in enhancing the treatment outcome. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40510-014-0036-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.