Dental aligner treatments are in great demand these days because they are convenient, invisible, and easy to use. A lot of therapy can be in Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mode. Therefore, a lot of people have started to believe that any kind of dental aligner brand/ company/ quality will do. Since all the dental aligners look the same/ similar to a pay person, people think that all are the same. But in reality, there is a lot of difference between one dental aligner and the other. The difference is primarily proper planning by the orthodontist and Research and development (R&D) that a company has done to develop the appliance.
First, it’s important to understand that dental aligner treatment is not like buying a gadget from the shelf. These are orthodontic appliances that must be planned, designed, and customized for every patient. For successful dental aligner treatment, you need an experienced orthodontist who can predict tooth movements and instruct the aligner technician on the design. Proper planning involves not just 3D scans, but also orthodontic X-rays, physical examinations, and clinical judgment.
For planning and designing, you need an experienced orthodontist who can predict proper tooth movements and he/she can instruct the aligner technician on the design of the aligner. For this, not just 3D scans are needed, but orthodontic X-rays, physical examination, and clinical judgment of the patient characteristics are very important.
For R&D, it is about choosing the right brand/company that has good enough R&D (Research and development) in developing the aligner customization, enough experience to treat a large number and variety of misalignment cases, and thereby the required wherewithal in place to troubleshoot potential issues with any dental aligner treatment. Since the mode of delivery is DIY, a lot of unexpected issues may come up during treatment, and if these are not addressed then the treatment modality gets a bad name. Companies like Invisalign, Suresmile (Dentsply), Straumann etc are backed by solid R&D and large experience in the science.
Beware of Fly-by-Night Aligner Companies
Nowadays, many fly-by-night aligner companies are entering the orthodontic ‘’market” which is actually ‘turning into a market rather than a specialty’. Nowadays procuring 3D software, aligner fabricating machines and a trained technician or even having an orthodontist at the back end is all that it takes to start an aligner company.
Direct-to-home aligner brands are also very popular these days, primarily because of the convenience and cost that they offer. But what patients miss out on in this age of social media marketing is that teeth alignment or orthodontics is more of a science than a mere cosmetic procedure. You may or may not get the desired results and then you have to go through customer care to get a solution that may never come. Most often these ‘customer care’ and ‘direct to patient’ delivery companies fall short of the expectations and desired outcome. Thereby giving the aligner science a bad name.
While scanning is a job that a technician can very well do,’ examining the oral structures like teeth and gums, facial patterns and structures analysing the smile, then corroborating with x-rays, etc is a job of an orthodontist which is completely missing in direct-to-home aligners. This means inferior planning of the case and thereby inferior results.
The Importance of Orthodontist Expertise in Choosing the Right Aligner
Dr Anurag Gupta, MDS (Orthodontics) who has 20+ years of clinical experience and worked in AIIMS (New Delhi) and currently practicing in Maximus Dental Center, New Delhi, has also come across several patients in his practice who have reported non-responsiveness of these companies in case of troubles arising later in treatment. These patients mentioned to him that the prime reason of choosing the direct-to-home aligners were attractive costs, convenience, and association with some celebrity.
They thought that these celebrities had also used those aligners. However, they later realized that the treatment/ product received by them was not as effective as the company claimed. Thus they had started to believe that dental aligner treatment in itself is a fancy gimmick and not a scientific treatment modality.
Dr Anurag Gupta believes that a physical examination by a trained orthodontist is the most important aspect of diagnosis, treatment planning, and execution of a successful aligner treatment. He/She is the best judge then, in choosing the best aligner brand for the patient, because all aligner brands are not successful for every case.
Most of the direct-to-home aligner brands are spending more on the internet and social media marketing and advertising and trying to cut out the MOST important component of this science, which is a physical examination, and diagnosis by a trained specialist orthodontist. These days influencers tell the public which dental aligner brand to choose. Many aligner brands are making out-of-the-box and eye-catching ads to procure the attention of the uninformed public and misguide them into less-than-optimal treatment.
So BEWARE and do not fall into a marketing trap when it comes to your smile and health!!
Choose only an experienced specialist orthodontist for your smile makeover or bite correction!!
Let him/her choose the best aligner brand for you.