The emergence of Dentacoin is a first within cryptocurrency: using Blockchain technology for the dental industry. What is Dentacoin, and can it compete with the likes of Bitcoin?
Why Dentacoin Was Created
Dentacoin expresses a hope for improved access to dental treatment by nurturing the patient and dentist relationship and removing the need for third-party insurance. The intention is to focus on the redundant $400 billion spent on dental problems by introducing a cutting-edge three-part solution to renovate and modernise dental care.
The Problems with Current Dental Care
The Dentacoin Foundation has identified three key areas that need addressing. Firstly, they note the discrepancy with dentists being financially incentivised by the amount of work undertaken, where a more problematic patient requiring more dental work will result in a greater payment. Regular routine care is thus not profitable, and patients generally want to submit themselves to minimal costly preventative treatment.
Secondly, patients want to avoid the dentist and will likely put off treatment unless the problem becomes more significant, which in turn is seen as a financial incentive for the dentist.
Finally, patient recruitment to replace those who have been treated comes at a cost to dental practices in terms of marketing, rather than funds being invested back into patient care and dental equipment like Photo Surgical Systems.
The Dentacoin Proposal
There are two tools that come within the scope of Dentacoin. The cryptocurrency can be used as a means of funding low monthly insurance premiums, where a portion goes into a reinsurance fund of shared risk. Dentists then get paid from this currency irrespective of the treatment the patient receives, thus incentivising the dentist to provide quality care and hygiene regularly rather than just when a crisis occurs. Secondly, there’s a Trusted Review Platform that enables patients to leave unedited reviews that new patients can review, thus disposing of advertising costs and allowing positive changes to be implemented based on feedback.
As of December 2017, the first practice to accept Dentacoin was London’s Dentaprime F3T Dental Clinic, and already the value of the cryptocurrency had risen 92%.
Information is safely and securely stored in the blockchain using an existing Ethereal platform to reduce start-up costs. The three-prong approach of reviews, cryptocurrency and insurance is intended to improve access and the financial state of dental care worldwide in future.
