Dr. Shalin Shah returns this week with another clinical tip, courtesy of CDOCS, that will benefit your dental patients who are undergoing orthodontic treatment.
Video transcript
"Hi, this is Shalin from CDOCS. Today's tip of the day is managing the aligners within the patient in terms of the insertion and retrieval and really helping our patients be able to not only put them in properly but then to also get them out once the aligners go in the mouth, especially if there's a lot of attachments.
"Sometimes it can be quite challenging to remove those trays. Some of the tricks that can really help with this is going unilaterally and trying to lift up one side. We highly recommend to actually start on the posterior of either the right or the left by pinching against the aligner and slightly popping it off that terminal tooth.
"What can happen is you or the patient can get better leverage to start to peel it across the arch. Peeling it across the arch makes it far easier for both you and the patient to be able to remove that aligner.
"There are going to be a lot of noises in that process. And of course, yes, the patient may ask, 'Is there a chance for the aligner to break?' Well, we need to be able to get that aligner in and out and to do it with ease for that patient, so we always share that.
"Of course, there could be that risk if the aligner can break, but they are going to be there for just a short period, whether it's one to two weeks, depending on your iteration of wearing those aligners. You know, it's just a handful of days that that actually has to last. And generally the aligners, which are 0.030 in size, can withstand that type of force or that torque application on removal during that period.
"Also, when looking at an option for which side is better than the other, if there is a side that has less attachments than the other, that's the side to actually start out with and the terminal tooth. It's quite rare to actually have attachments on those terminal teeth --- usually those second molars and even potentially those first molars.
"So we're all in a winning position to be able to squeeze on those terminal molars, to start to bring that tray down, then to be able to grab it, and then to peel that off.
"I hope that this is of help, and don't forget to always enhance that orthodontic and restorative relationship. And always refer your patients by the age of 7 to your local orthodontic team. Thank you so much."
