Advances in Clear Aligners

The Roundtable video series is a forum for discussion and debate on key topics, trends, and techniques in dentistry. For each edition, Inside Dentistry's editor-in-chief, Robert C. Margeas, DDS, and a panel of experts examine a subject to help expand your knowledge and improve your practice. This month, our panel explores some of the latest advances in clear aligner therapy.

The conversation begins with Sabiha Bunek, DDS, explaining how clear aligners have changed the way that she practices during the last 3 years. She notes that if she is going to do anything restoratively, she makes things easier for herself and her patients by moving the teeth, when indicated, so she doesn't have to prepare right into the pulp. Payam Ataii, DMD, MBA, then expands on the overall impact of clear aligners. "The profession is moving toward putting teeth into occlusion first and treating cavities and decay, but avoiding that veneer setup," he says. "I think that is an ideal scenario to be in." Loray Spencer, DDS, explains that she introduced clear aligner therapy at her practice because she had patients with mild to moderate malocclusions who were requesting orthodontic treatment to help fix them. She wanted to be able to offer her patients a convenient and economic solution that would help to increase compliance.