Patient-Driven Treatment: Addressing Patients’ Esthetic Needs With Clear Aligner Therapy

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Explain how a patient’s perceptions about his or her orthodontic problems may differ from those of the clinician, and how addressing a patient’s chief complaint first helps facilitate standard of care treatment 
• Describe tooth movement concepts in the context of clear aligner therapy 
• Identify advantages and disadvantages of clear aligner therapy

Clear aligner therapy has been experiencing extraordinary popularity over the last decade, primarily in response to increasing patient demand for an esthetically pleasing smile.

Although many patients may not initially be amenable to dental recommendations beyond treatment of the esthetic problems that they personally perceive, clinicians may, by duly addressing the patient’s primary concerns first, extend the potential of clear aligner therapy to treat multiple issues related to malocclusion.

This article will discuss how clinicians can help “manage expectations” for patients who would otherwise be focused on limited orthodontic problems, and how clinicians can thus integrate standard of care with patients’ esthetic needs.

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