Australasian Dentist Magazine March April 2021

Category 56 Australasian Dentist 3. To purely improve the alignment of the teeth and ignore the underlying skeletal discrepancy which would ultimately leave the patient with overjet In orthodontics dental alignment can generally be achieved in a short period of time, usually 6 to 9 months on the proviso a good diagnosis is made and the case is amenable to a non-extraction and non-surgical approach, excellent bracket positioning is performed and the doctor has a knowledge of good and efficient treatment mechanics with excellent implementation. This type of Short-Term Orthodontics (STO) can be very rewarding to both patient and the general dentist, ( provided it is carried out correctly and appropriately) providing the patient with a significant improvement in their dental alignment in a short period of time. It’s very important that both the patient and dentist’s expectations are fully managed- and by that I mean – the aim of this type of therapy is to provide a significant improvement in anterior dental alignment with no aim to improve the occlusal scheme or provide the patient with a perfect overbite or overjet. As we know, patients do want straight teeth and they would like to have their alignment corrected quickly. This was the reason veneers became so popular as it was an instant fix. However, today it would be ethically and morally incorrect not to offer a conservative and non-destructive approach to tooth alignment and improvement in a patient’s dental appearance. Due to the demand of this type of service, I developed the Smilefast technique to provide the proper training to implement this approach in one’s practice and provide support required for the general dentist. In addition, as the bracket positioning is vital in obtaining a good result in a short period of time, I developed a digital indirect bonding system to achieve the best possible bracket positioning for a general dentist on the initial placement of the appliances. Today there are many dentists around the country utilising the Smilefast technique and providing a great service to many patients so they could have the alignment performed in a conservative manner without any tooth reduction, in a short period of time with minimal discomfort and at a reasonable cost. Hence, provided it is all explained to the patient with total informed consent- and on the basis that nothing is done orthodontically that is non-reversible, an STO approach may be the best option for certain patients based on their concerns, desires and even financial situation. This type of option should be part of everyone’s armamentarium to provide adult non- growing patients all options that may be appropriate to their specific needs. u Dr Geoffrey Hall, Specialist Orthodontist and director of the OrthoED Institute, geoff@orthoed.com.au, 1300 073 427 clinical Figure 12 Adult patient with significant upper crowding – before and after photos 5 months of TX Figure 13 Adult patient with significant upper and lower crowding – before photos-8 months of TX