Clear Aligners in the General Practice

The Roundtable video series is a forum for discussion and debate on key topics, trends, and techniques in dentistry. For each edition, Inside Dentistry's editor-in-chief, Robert C. Margeas, DDS, and a panel of experts examine a subject to help expand your knowledge and improve your practice. This month, our panel discusses the merits of providing orthodontics with clear aligner therapy in the general practice.

All three members of the panel believe that adding clear aligner therapy as a treatment offering improved their practice and increased their case acceptance. "To say that clear aligners expanded my practice is an understatement-they transformed the way I'm delivering orthodontic care," says Daniel German, DDS.

Andrew Ferris, DDS, MS, agrees. "This therapy has opened up an array of patients we can treat," he says. "Our case acceptance is very high with clear aligners because most adults don't want to do traditional braces."

According to Payam Attai, DMD, MBA, clear aligners were his savior, not just for esthetic smiles but for better occlusion and future restorative work. "If you don't align them, you shouldn't fix them," he says. "If we don't have a good framework, then the bite can get distorted."

The panel also deliberates whether or not wire brackets will become obsolete, with Ataii noting that "clear aligners and digital technology are going to be around for a lot longer than wire brackets" and that clear aligners can be used to improve airway for sleep therapy.

In closing, the panel discusses the current market for providing clear aligner therapy. "I don't think that you can truly compete in practice if you're not capable of treating with clear aligners," says Ferris. German agrees that clear aligners are in high demand and emphasizes that general practitioners should implement clear aligner therapy because they can help transform patients' lives for the better.

Watch the full video on AEGIS TV at www.aegistv.com.