Factors to consider before enrolling in a clear aligner course.
As a dental professional, you naturally want to provide patients with the treatments that best suit their needs and preferences. However, you must also manage a business, and that sometimes requires you to be selective about the services you offer and the cases you’re willing to refer to outside specialists.
When it comes to clear aligners or braces, you’ll need to weigh both patient demand and potential business benefits. Whether you choose to offer services for one or both, treatments should be tailored to individual cases rather than based on marketing hype.
Here are six relevant factors to consider before you sign up for clear aligner or orthodontic courses:
1. Case Complexity
The preferred modality for any case of misalignment or malocclusion will depend on the overall complexity of the issues being treated. For mild-to-moderate cases of tooth crowding or spacing, clear aligners can achieve desired outcomes in a format that’s more tolerable for some patients, as they’re removable and less visible.
However, in more complex cases of crowding or rotation, especially when paired with an incorrect bite or palate or jaw concerns, fixed appliances like traditional braces offer greater control. General dentist orthodontics courses can provide the knowledge and experience needed to determine which category an individual case falls into so that you can recommend appropriate treatment.
2. Patient Compliance
When deciding on clear aligners or braces, it’s important to understand the likelihood of patient compliance. Many patients appreciate that clear aligners are virtually invisible and can be removed for eating and oral hygiene. That said, they require 20–22 hours of dedicated daily wear.
Outcomes, therefore, depend largely on patient compliance, which may hinge on factors like age, lifestyle, and the level of personal responsibility patients are capable of practicing.
Braces are fixed, which means patients have no choice but to wear them throughout treatment. For this reason, they are typically a better option for younger patients who may not share the same resolve as adults.
3. Skeletal Versus Dental Malocclusion
Oral healthcare involves more than just teeth; it also concerns surrounding structures like the palate, jaw, and soft tissues of the mouth. Misalignment and malocclusion can be caused primarily by tooth placement and movement or attributed to skeletal concerns within the structure of the jaw.
If the skeletal base is healthy and the teeth merely need to move within the jaw to achieve proper alignment and bite, a patient may be a good candidate for clear aligners. However, skeletal discrepancies will likely require the added power and control that fixed appliances can provide.Â
Making this distinction is a core skill taught in orthodontic training because of its importance in determining modality candidacy.
4. Vertical Control
Correcting misalignment and malocclusion may involve not only moving the teeth into the correct horizontal position but also dealing with vertical movement to correct open or deep bite patterns. The complexity of such cases often calls for more directive force than clear aligners can provide.
When vertical movement is required, fixed braces offer greater control and predictability. The right orthodontic courses for general dentist training can help you understand which treatment is needed, which cases you can manage, and when you need to refer complex cases to specialists.
5. Tooth Movement Type
Misaligned teeth can be moved in several ways using clear aligners or braces, but the more complex the movement, the more robust the modality required. While clear aligners have come a long way in the last several years, they are still limited in the scope of dental movement they might achieve.
Complicated movements, such as bodily translation, extrusion, and root torque, need a level of precision and control that can be applied far more reliably and predictably with fixed appliances. Orthodontic training provides dentists with the background to determine which tools are right for each case.
6. Your Clinical Training and Confidence
As a dental professional, you want to present a confident demeanor, based on sure knowledge and experience, to help patients feel comfortable and well-served. When adding orthodontics to dental practice settings, training is of the utmost importance.
If you plan to offer both traditional braces and clear aligners, you must receive dedicated training in both modalities. Options like the Clear Aligner Bootcamp and Comprehensive Straight Wire Orthodontics courses from the American Orthodontic Society help you prepare to correctly diagnose and treat patients in need of orthodontic services.
Training Opens Doors to Expanded Patient Care
Neither braces nor aligners are universally superior. Each modality offers different benefits and outcomes. With proper training, dentists have the best chance to confidently diagnose and treat individual patients, using clinical judgment to determine suitable treatments.
Contact the American Orthodontic Society today to learn more about the Clear Aligner Bootcamp and the Comprehensive Straight Wire Orthodontics Course. We’re always happy to help you choose the right courses for yourself and your practice.
To learn more about our popular orthodontics courses for pediatric and general dentists, check out one of the upcoming events below.
