An Interview with Duo Orthodontics

I am past the days of teeth correction and braces. I can safely bet that everyone looks back to their time in braces with a wistful sorrow, then thanks to their lucky stars, that those days are long behind them. Straightening your teeth is not a fun experience and not something many kids look forward to. Eating restrictions, rubber bands in your mouth, the sore teeth, and cut gums, it all adds up to a rough time for the subjects of this procedure. If you were to ask me when I was 10, I would have told you that I’d take crooked teeth for life over a few years of discomfort. However, I am thankful today for my younger self’s sacrifice.

The thing that bothers me is that orthodontic procedures are advancing so much that kids today have it so much better than I did. That is not fair. Why do these kids get to have it easier? The introduction of custom made aligners that are fitted specifically for the patient's teeth has made teeth straightening easier, less painful, and much less intrusive. I had the chance to interview Duo Orthodontics, a company on the cutting edge of Orthodontic practice. The staff at Duo are working hard to retrofit the teeth straightening industry, and make it so the experience of getting braces, aligners, or any dental corrective device, is not as unpleasant as it was back in the olden times of 2007.

Duo Orthodontics operates out of the state of Georgia. They have offices in Atlanta, Athens, and Marietta. This chain of clinics started with the lead orthodontist, Gordon Barfield. When asked about how he started Duo Orthodontics, he stated that

“I lost a partner orthodontist in 2015 and my wife and I decided to 'team-up'". 

This explains the Duo in the name of the company. Dr. Barfield goes on to explain how

"I've been a dentist my entire adult life. After almost 20 years of general dentistry, I decided to fulfill a long term goal."

This long term goal was the creation of his orthodontic clinic. It is clear that Dr. Barfield finds great joy in his work, and loves helping his patients develop great smiles. On the Duo website, you can find a caption in the About Us section that describes how "Dr. Barfield finds great joy in his work as an orthodontist. He can bring about lasting changes in the lives of his patients, by working with them to develop smiles that improve their self-confidence in every aspect of their life. His profession allows him to develop one-on-one relationships with each patient, getting to know them as individuals with lives that extend far beyond the treatment chair.”

The passion and enthusiasm that Dr. Barfield brings to his work are seen too in his enthusiasm for the future of orthodontic medicine. The field is constantly being innovated. When asked about future developments, Dr. Barfield responded 

“Where do I even start? It is a very exciting time!”

The amount of advancement is too numerous to list. But we can be sure that the future children of the world are going to have it even better. The advent of aligners has drastically improved the process of teeth straightening. In Dr. Barfield's words, what his clinic is doing differently is

“Producing and utilizing our very own customized in-house Duo Aligners. This system is extremely accurate and efficient. Thousands of patients who otherwise would not wear traditional braces are being treated.”

The commitment that Duo Ortho has to its customers and staff can be seen in both the bright smiles that adorn their website and social media, as well as within their logo. The two interlocking hearts logo is boldly printed on their signs and their custom aligner packaging bags. Dr. Barfield states that his wife and him, 

“Hired a branding firm to produce something that would represent our commitment to each other, our commitment to our staff and community, and our commitment to our patients.”

It is this commitment that allows Duo Ortho to provide reliable and necessary work to their clientele. It is surely difficult to establish a positive relationship with your customers when they are paying you to prod their mouth with tools and forcibly shift their teeth. But, based on their success, Duo Ortho is successful at this. These relationships are in part helped by successful social media management. Dr. Barfield tells me that social media and their online personality is extremely important for reaching potential patients.

“We utilize Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram routinely to reach and maintain contact with our customers, community, and colleagues.”

Finally, you cannot reliably ship custom aligners to hundreds of patience without protective packaging. That’s where we come in. Duo Ortho wanted a “Clean, consistent, professional” look for their packaging. They went through "4 iterations in 3 years on our search for the best combination of properties for our aligner packaging. We needed something that shouted "this product is crafted and delivered by detail-oriented professionals" Through an online search, they discovered QQ Studio, and since then we have been providing them with high-quality print work and custom packaging.

Want to achieve the same success as Duo Ortho? Try out our custom printing for yourself. 

Are you also benefiting from QQ Studio packaging? Contact me at nicholas@qq-studio.com so that I can share your story with the entire #packwithcolor family. Success stories need to be told, so help me tell yours.