Australasian Dentist Magazine Nov Dec 2021

Category AustrAlAsiAn Dentist 119 ColUMniStS i like to use the analogy of washing a white tee-shirt when discussing tooth whitening and discolouration. Brushing and flossing are like putting your white clothes through the wash regularly to keep them white. However, if you’re not careful and keep eating stain-causing foods, then your nice white clothes will eventually stain and you will then need to potentially bleach them. if you’re too rough with your clothes, then eventually they’ll wear thin and you’ll start to see the underneath as they discolour. if you are going to eat foods that stain your teeth, then it’s always a great idea to quickly rinse or drink plain water as quickly as possible to limit the interaction with your teeth, similar to when foods stain your white tee shirt! Tooth whitening tips Here are some tips to help your patients get the best out of peroxide-containing tooth whitening products: 1. Always use a professionally recommended product from a reputa- ble brand, not simply one endorsed by a celebrity on social media. 2. if using a take-home kit be sure your patient knows to use custom-made trays, and make sure they use the gel for the indicated length of time. 3. remove surface plaque by brushing teeth with plain water, and then pat the teeth dry before application of the whitening product, which will better allow the whitening product to contact and penetrate into teeth. 4. For the period whilst whitening teeth as well as a few days after, avoid foods and/or drinks that can stain teeth, as they will undo all the hard work that the whitening has accomplished by allowing the stains back onto/into teeth. 5. Once teeth are white, maintain a healthy oral regime to minimise the plaque accumulation and acid wear. A great product i always recommend is Colgate Optic White, which will both mechanically remove the extrinsic stains/plaque as well as intrinsic stains with hydrogen peroxide in the formula, as well as keep your teeth healthy and acid-resistant with its fluoride-containing formulation. u References Carey, C. (2014). tooth Whitening: What We now Know. J evid Based Dent Pract. 14 supp, 70-76. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ article/abs/pii/s1532338214000499?via%3Dihub in fact, there is another great fallacy to the argument of this bracket approach to treatment. As i understand their philosophy, students are taught with this system to finish the case with a .019 x .025 dimension wire – and by doing this they still lose at least 12° of torque as the bracket slot is not fully engaged by the wire and hence they are not obtaining the full prescription of the bracket. in other words, to have a bracket with an extra 3° of tip or 3° of rotation and by using a .019 x .025 wire in a .022 slot – one would never express the clinical difference that they are suggesting – the bottom line -if they do not fill the bracket slot fully with an arch wire -the approach that they are suggesting is not of any clinical relevance. the only possible clinical relevance would be with regards to the proposed torque (labiolingual inclination) of the teeth – for example in an upper premolar extraction case where they might use a 22° torque bracket rather than a conventional 12° labial crown torque/lingual root torque bracket – but even in this scenario, with a .019 x .025 wire in a .022 slot, there would be 12° of play in the system, once again making the final torque they are suggesting to be present at the end of treatment totally incorrect due to the play between the orthodontic bracket and arch wire. One you understand the biomechanics and orthodontic principles. q3 Dear geoff, i am now starting to explore the aligner space – but i hear so much about different aligner companies. How can i decide which aligner system i should be using? Dr rr, sydney Response 3 Dear rr, i hear this question so often from my clients – and there are many aspects to choosing a good aligner system. unfortunately, many people just look at the cost, but i think the following is really important: u the software and the ability to be able to move the teeth and place attachments as required – rather than leaving it to the companies default position u the available attachments which are present u the ease of navigating through the software u the quality of the set ups u Can you change the staging of movements with the particular system u the ease of case submission u the effective communication between aligner company/technician and dentist u the customer support u the type of material the aligner company utilises u How long has the aligner company been in existence u What type of scanner do i need for the aligner company or can i also use PVs impressions for case submission u Ongoing support and education with aligners u Finally and lastly – the cost of the aligner system As you can see, there are many factors that should be considered when choosing which aligner company to be involved with – and i believe that there are several very good aligner companies in the market at this particular point in time. However it’s very important not to see price as the only consideration in choosing one aligner company over another. there is no doubt that there is a long history with invisalign – and it still probably is the gold standard when it comes to aligner software, but everyone has to make their own individual choice as to which aligner system will suit them and suit their business requirements. u Dr Geoffrey Hall Specialist orthodontist BDSc (Mel) Cert Orth (Uni of Penn) MRACDS (Orth) Founder and Director of OrthoED, Smilefast and CAPS geoff@orthoed.com.au TEL: 1300 073 427 03 9108 0475 Orthodontic Clinicians’ Corner... Continued from page 119 Dr Sam Koh is a general dentist in private practice, with special interests in Cosmetic Dentistry and Orthodontics. Dr Koh has been awarded with prestigious fellowships from the International Academy of DentoFacial Esthetics in New York, the Pierre Fauchard Academy in London, as well as a fellowship in Orthodontics. He is the co-founder of the Young Dentist Hub, a mentor for DentalX, and a speaker/Key Opinion Leader for several dental companies. Dr Koh is a founding member of the Colgate Advocates for Oral Health Editorial Community.