Aligner Therapy

Clear Aligners are an additional tool which allows the orthodontist to move teeth without the application of braces. It is an esthetic alternative for many adults and adolescence when braces do not fit into their lifestyle, but desire both the esthetic and functional improvement that aligners provide. 

There are many companies that produce clear aligners. The way to successful treatment is in the customized design of the aligners and timing of the tooth movement. Dr. Zachary Lawrence not only has specialty training in aligner design and fabrication but also works with leading aligner experts in advancing and designing customized aligner attachments to enhance the movement and make aligner treatment an option for more advanced dental malocclusions. Dr. Zack is currently the Director of Clinical Orthodontics for Orthobrain, a company that provides education and digital diagnosis and treatment planning assistance for dentist worldwide to help them provide orthodontist quality treatment for their patients. In his position he has gained experience in planning thousands of aligner cases for successful treatment and worked alongside and learned from some of the world’s leading experts in aligner treatment.

Although Aligner therapy is an option for most adult bite problems, it is not for everyone. Braces are fixed applications that are ‘glued’ to the teeth and act as handles to allow Drs. Lawrence to move the teeth. With the exception of hygiene and possible rubber band wear, they require minimal patient compliance. Aligners however, are removable. They are removed for eating and brushing but must be worn at least 22 hours in a 24 hour period to work. It takes discipline and compliance on the patient’s part for treatment to be successful- if you have the disciple they will work, if not worn enough they will not only work slower, but may not work at all.

Lawrence Family Orthodontics works not only with a major aligner supplier but also has in office, a state of the art 3D printer lab and aligner production facility that is the finest in the region. This allows us to not only customize aligners but to provide cost effective aligners for minor tooth movement, such as those that occur with orthodontic relapse. This allows you to keep that corrected smile for a lifetime. 

Digital work flow for aligner development

No gooey impressions. The first step in producing aligners is digital imaging of your teeth. You can watch on the monitor in front of you as your teeth magically appear on the screen. This modern technology provides a cleaner, more accurate, and more patient friendly alternative to traditional gooey molds. These images along with other diagnostic records (x-rays and photos) are then securely and digitally sent to the aligner fabrication facility where your teeth are ideally aligned and attachments designed in consultation with Drs. Lawrence. The computer program then breaks the tooth movement into small segments. Each segment of movement requires an individual unique aligners, which are then produced in sequence to move the teeth to the desired esthetic and functional bite. The aligners precision attachments and tooth size adjustment are precisely determined and planned to provide the desired results. The aligner prescription along with the initial set of aligners are then fabricated and shipped to the office for deliver to the patient. 

Appointment Sequence

In general, movement is designed to occur over a two week period, thus the aligners are changed every two weeks. With the ability to provide patients with multiple aligners, appointments are less frequent with aligner treatment in comparison to treatment with braces. Initial aligners (2) prepare and initialize tooth movement. The heavy work generally begins at aligners #3, where attachments are placed and tooth contacts adjusted if needed. After the placement of attachments several aligners can be provided (2-5 months) with the change of aligners every two weeks. If at any time you feel the aligners do not fit properly, do not hesitate to call, we can often video chat to check or set up a quick appointment to ensure that the aligners are tracking properly and treatment is progressing well. 

At the completion of the initial set of aligners it is sometimes necessary to rescan the teeth and order a few more aligners to fine tune the bit to ideal. Perfection is always our goal. Eventually, you will reduce your aligner wear to nighttime only to maintain your beautiful new smile.