Every year, more than 40 percent of men and women in the United States struggle to get dental insurance and dental treatment. This can cause many dental issues, such as gum disease, tooth decay, and other problems with teeth.
Windchime Healthcare, a startup based in Calif., has launched a new app that aims to help solve that problem.
Windchime App Helps You Book Last-Minute Dentist Appointments
Called Windchime app, the mobile app gives users the ability to book last-minute dental appointments up to 40 percent off, without any dental insurance. Windchime is the first mobile app that allows users to schedule same- and next-day dental appointments at a price that's affordable.
"The app will help people without dental insurance particularly as they have zero protection from price gouging as dental practices can charge whatever they want for a procedure as there is no regulation for pricing," Co-Founder and CEO of Windchime Health Joe Storm told Tech Times.
How To Book Dentist Appointments Via Windchime App
How does the Windchime app work? To signup, new users are asked to use their email address to create a new account. Once users are signed into the app, they will see a Green button, which is for booking same day and next day appointments. These appointments offer up to 50 percent discounts.
The Blue buttons let users browse through available time slots for the next day appointments. The discount may not be as much as the Green buttons, but it's still close to 20 percent. A bargain for those who don't have any dental insurance.
From there, the app will ask to use the current location to provide a list of nearby dental practices. Simply tap OK, and Windchime will preview nearby dental practices with available appointments. By tapping Filters, users have the ability to sort dental practices by Discount, Distance, and Time, in addition to selecting preference of distance, which users can select 5 mi, 10 mi, 15 mi, or Road Trip!
Users can also provide specifics, such as dental practices that are open late, open on weekends, offers payment plans, and accepts Medi-Cal insurance.
Inspiration Behind Windchime App
"Dentistry is one of the largest expenditures a consumer can make with little to no ability to shop. After investigating a bit we found that some of us paid 3 times as much for the same service as the other and that is how we started looking at dentistry as a commodity that people should be able to shop for like any other consumer good or service," said Storm.
Windchime Is Only Available In California
At launch, Windchime mobile app will be available in Northern California. However, the company plans to expand across major metropolitan areas across the United States, including Houston/Dallas, Chicago, and Los Angeles, says Storm.
The Windchime app is available to download from the App Store and Google Play.
