Analysis of the Top Five Most Rated Orthodontic mHealth Apps

Background: Orthodontic mobile apps are more commonly used in the last years and are appreciated by both doctors and patients due to their ability to obtain instant feedback between the patient and the specialist. This comparative research aims to review the top five most rated orthodontic apps available today in App Store (R) and Google Play (R). Methods: Systematic search using predetermined key words and inclusion/exclusion criteria was conducted in App Store (R) and Google Play (R) to identify the top five most rated orthodontic apps with the highest ranking and the greatest number of downloads. Evaluation of the apps was conducted by doctors, patients, and an IT App developer. System Usability Scale, Exit Interview, and Average Score were used for the assessment. Results: Some apps received good scores from the participants while other apps received poor scores. Invisalign Photo Uploader received good scores from all doctors while Tray Minder was rated as poor by other doctors. My Invisalign was the most appreciated app by the patients and received excellent scores as well as Dental Monitoring while some scores were poor for Fake Braces app. The average scores indicate that My Invisalign was the top ranked app by the patients with an average score of 82 while Invisalign Photo Uploader was most appreciated by the doctors with an average score of 74.5. Conclusion: A wide range of orthodontic apps is available on App Store (R) and Google Play (R) but just a few apps are commonly used by doctors and patients. The most appreciated feature of the apps is the instant feedback between the doctors and patients which makes the patient more compliant with orthodontic treatment.