Frequently asked questions
Common questions about APEHK
For patients, parents, and anyone curious about how home palatal expansion monitoring works.
What does APEHK do that a traditional expander does not?+
A traditional palatal expander does the expansion but gives you nothing back. You turn the key, hope it worked, and wait weeks until your next clinic visit to find out. APEHK adds three missing pieces: a way to measure your arch width at home (the Mouthscan sensor), a console that shows progress after every session, and a cloud connection so your orthodontist sees every scan in real time and can respond if anything changes. The expander itself stays the same. What changes is everything around it.
Is the Mouthscan sensor safe for daily use?+
Yes. The Mouthscan works by gentle bite pressure, with no radiation, electrical current, or chemicals. Your child bites down on the soft U-shaped sensor pad for a few seconds while it reads the pressure map of their arch. The pads are hygienic single-patient consumables replaced on a regular schedule. The device is designed to be used by children aged 6 and up without adult assistance after a brief training session.
How is the Easy Key different from the key we already have?+
The traditional jackscrew key is a free-spinning rod with no limits on rotation and no mechanism to prevent reverse turns. The APEHK Easy Key is mechanically constrained: one push delivers exactly one quarter-turn. A torsion spring inside physically blocks any reverse rotation. After each push, the pinion tip automatically resets to neutral so you do not have to re-aim it for the next hole. Parents no longer need to count degrees of rotation or worry about undoing previous progress.
Does my orthodontist still need to see us in person?+
Yes, but less frequently and with far more information when they do. Your orthodontist configures the treatment plan, reviews AI-generated scan data, responds to escalations, and conducts scheduled reviews through the APEHK portal. These can often be short teledentistry sessions rather than full in-office visits. In-person appointments are still recommended at key milestones: start of treatment, any clinical concern, and at completion. APEHK reduces unnecessary visits, not necessary ones.
What happens if my child reports pain or a scan looks abnormal?+
The AI monitors every scan against your orthodontist's pre-set parameters. If a reading falls outside the expected range, or a pain score exceeds the threshold, the system immediately escalates to the orthodontist's queue with a flagged summary and full scan history. Your child receives an automatic acknowledgment so they know someone has seen it. The orthodontist can then review the data, send instructions, or schedule a visit, typically within the same day.
What does "almost 90% handled by AI" actually mean?+
It means that in a typical day, almost 90% of patient scans come back within expected parameters and the AI can automatically confirm the session, send an encouraging message to the patient, and log the data without requiring any action from the orthodontist. The remaining sessions, roughly 1 in 10, fall outside parameters and are escalated for clinical review. The system routes the right cases to the doctor rather than requiring them to review every single activation manually.
Is our data private and HIPAA-compliant?+
Yes. The APEHK cloud platform runs on Google Cloud infrastructure with a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement in place. All data transmitted between the console and the cloud is encrypted. Patient data is only accessible to the treating orthodontist and their authorised practice staff. Scan data and messages are never shared with third parties or used for advertising purposes.
How does billing work? Does insurance cover any of this?+
APEHK is billed by the orthodontic practice to the patient, not directly by APEHK. The practice bills the device kit, a monthly remote supervision fee, and teledentistry review sessions using CDT codes D8660, D9994, and D9995. Coverage varies by plan. D9994 and D9995 were introduced by the ADA in 2021 and are increasingly covered. Your practice billing coordinator can confirm what applies to your specific insurance. Average episode revenue to the practice is comparable to, and often higher than, the traditional in-person monitoring model.
My child already has an expander fitted. Can we switch to APEHK mid-treatment?+
In most cases, yes. APEHK works with standard jackscrew-based palatal expanders already in place. Your orthodontist takes baseline measurements with the Mouthscan at onboarding, sets up targets in the portal, and commissions the devices. The Easy Key is compatible with the standard jackscrew hole. Your orthodontist will confirm compatibility at the commissioning appointment.
What happens at the end of treatment?+
When the target arch width is reached and your orthodontist confirms the expansion is complete, the APEHK devices are returned to the practice for sanitisation, firmware reset, and re-issue to the next patient. The Mouthscan bite pads are disposable and not reused. Your scan history and clinical communications are retained in the portal. The practice then moves your case to the retention phase, typically involving a retainer rather than active expansion.
