First US Laboratory Adopts Dentacoin Cryptocurrency

Virtual currency, as a means to digitally pay for services or goods, has surged in the news recently with the tumultuous rise of Bitcoin. Also known as cryptocurrency, it does not rely on banks to confirm or authorize payments but rather moves currency directly from payer to payee. It is also a global currency that can reduce the time and fees for moving money around the world.

For Ray Alde, CEO of San Jose, California-based Arklign dental laboratory, the blockchain concept of a global digital currency was appealing. "We are a global company with partners and offices around the world," Alde says. "When I began investigating cryptocurrency as a more cost-effective and cost-efficient way to process and transfer money, I was surprised to find one specific to the dental industry." In February 2018, Arklign announced it had formed a strategic partnership with Dentacoin, joining Dentacoin's 17 dental practices around the world as well as two US-based dental practices, LifDental (Buffalo, New York) and Aura Family Dentistry (Simi Valley, California).

A Netherlands-based startup, Dentacoin (dentacoin.com) was developed to make dental care more accessible and affordable, moving the responsibility for dental health away from insurance companies and into the hands of patients and their dentist partners. A rewards-based concept, Dentacoin continues to develop tools that reward patients for providing feedback on the care received through its Trusted Reviews process and for following after-care and good hygiene habits using the Dental App. Later this year, Dentacoin plans to release its secure patient Health Database WebApp, which provides a decentralized and secure database of patient information.

"What impresses me most about the Dentacoin concept are the tools the company is building for the industry," Alde says. "In today's current workflow, the laboratory is dependent solely on the dentist for patient information written on the prescription form and impressions provided. Tools that could help dentists provide more insight into a patient's overall health as it relates to their dental treatment may also help us formulate better decisions on how to fabricate a case specific to a patient's individual needs.