Alinea Orthodontics, which recently opened at 2701 Ocean Park Blvd, is a collaboration between Dr. Jose Ortiz and wife and Manager Jodie Laczko, relying on the latest in orthodontist technology and a modern office space to craft customer comfort.
Ortiz met his wife while in New York City, where he completed his chief residency at the New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and his orthodontic specialty at Saint Barnabas Hospital. A creative director who has worked primarily in the beauty and fashion industry, Laczko was called Ortiz’s "secret weapon" in setting up the Santa Monica orthodontist business.
"She’s kind of spearheaded the whole thing, and I [have] just been sort of like a client that’s been saying, I like this, I don’t like this," Ortiz said. "I’ve been very, very fortunate to have Jodie."
Her assignment was to create "more of a modern orthodontist's environment you’d actually want to go to," noting that her early feedback told her that "people didn’t really look forward to going to the orthodontist’s office." Her creative choices included bringing bamboo trees into the back offices, something that "instantly calms" patients and makes them less fearful of having their mouths worked on.
"Everything [in the industry] felt very sort of old school, traditional, just like a doctor’s clinic [with] lots of fluorescent lighting, very cold and sterile," Laczko said. "So we wanted to create something that felt warm and inviting, something that really represented the authenticity of [Ortiz] and somewhere that you would love to visit. Obviously, most people don’t want to go to the doctor, but if you do, we wanted to create a beautiful environment for people to relax in."
Once inside the office, the patient enters Ortiz’s domain, with the doctor of over a decade of experience wanting to "reimagine the orthodontic experience from a patient point of view." This begins with using iTero Digital Impressions, replacing traditional mouth and teeth impressions with accurate 3D scans, providing real-time digital viewing and adjustments.
The technology changes the traditional orthodontist's model of standardized braces into one that customizes every surface of a bracket to the surface of an actual patient. Ortiz says the quality of care is "like night and day" due to the customization and ability to virtually treat a case.
"We’re going from standard, kind of cookie cutter treatment in orthodontics to all custom," Ortiz explained. "Our office is basically all custom, you cannot do anything that’s standardized. It means we scan your mouth with a very high level scanner, and then using that scan, we 3D print the model, and every aspect of your treatment is going to be catered to your needs."
Using an advanced dental monitoring system, the doctor can track treatments remotely, with patents sending updates and images via smartphones. What used to be monthly visits can now turn into once every three months, and patients who are gone during college years can be monitored virtually and only have to come in once every 6-12 months.
While Ortiz says he’s going to "miss a little bit" of the "community aspect" of seeing patients monthly, he knows the importance of providing an efficient, comfortable experience.
"With traditional braces, you have an idea, you try to get there, but it’s never [perfect]," he said. "It’s really, really difficult and it takes a long, long time to get to where you want [teeth] to be … so customization, customizing your smile, customizing how your teeth and your smile first into your face, all that is what we’re trying to accomplish and what’s possible by leveraging all these new technologies."
Now off and running in Santa Monica, Laczko said the experience of sharing a business has made her "fall in love with [Ortiz] a little more."
"When I see him with the patient, interacting and being really authentic and warm, I just saw him be so relaxed and to me, that’s been a really nice thing that I had actually never seen [before]," Laczko said. "Obviously, he comes home and we’re together on the weekends and after work, but I never saw him interacting with patients before, and that has been a really nice surprise."
To get more information on Alinea Orthodontics, call 424-428-0008 or visit helloalinea.com
thomas@smdp.com
