Beginning Steps:
1. Diagnostic Records (Intraoral 3D Scan, Radiographs & Intraoral/Extraoral Photos) will be taken to allow for Dr. Gutman to properly assess your smile/bite to make a personalized treatment plan for your specific case.
2. Treatment Design & Aligner Fabrication: (~4 weeks) Your personalized treatment plan will be designed by Dr. Gutman using state-of-the-art digital design technology
3. Bonding Appointment: At your next appointment, attachments (“bumps”) may be bonded to your teeth, with the exact placement of attachments determined by what is necessary for specific movements of each individual tooth.
4. Interproximal Reduction/IPR may be needed for your specific case. Dr. Gutman will let you know ahead of time if this is needed. This is “re-shaping” of teeth in very minimal/completely safe amounts (maximum of 0.3mm per tooth side) in order to make enough room for crowded teeth or to bring teeth back. This is done with either Hand Files or with a Light Mesh Disk.
5. Initial Aligner Set & Refinement Aligner Sets. Your “Initial Aligner Set” is the set that does the bulk movements and gets you ‘most of the way’ to our end goal. Your “Refinement Aligner Sets” (Usually at least 1 is needed) do the remaining movements to ensure we achieve your desired smile.
6. Estimated Treatment Time: Estimate given during consultation. Failure to wear the appliances for the recommended number of hours each day may lead to longer treatment time
Clear Aligners Home Care
1. Hours: Aligners should be worn at least 22 hours/day. (Should only be taken out when eating/drinking/brushing your teeth). Failure to do so may cause teeth to ‘lose tracking’ and aligners may not fit as well, leading to longer treatment times.
2. Chewies’ or Bite Sticks: These may be used to help improve poor fit of aligners. We will provide these if necessary.
3. Aligner Change Interval: Should be changed every week unless directed to wear them for longer/shorter periods by your orthodontist)
- Before changing to a new aligner, ensure the aligner fits perfectly against teeth so that no extra plastic can be seen (as shown above). If you believe some teeth are “non-tracking” you can wear that aligner for a couple extra days until the aligner fits properly.
4. Hygiene/eating habits:
- Never eat/drink anything besides water when wearing the aligners.Remove aligners and place them in case provided (never into a napkin- they will be thrown out.)After eating brush your teeth before putting aligners back onto your teeth. If it isn’t possible to brush at that time, at the minimum rinse your mouth and the aligners with water before putting back in your mouth.Beware of foods/drinks that easily stain your teeth (coffee, red wine, curry, turmeric, etc.)! It is strongly advised to brush after eating/drinking these. They will stain your teeth quickly if any amount remains on your teeth after you put your aligners back in.
- Retainer Brite/Polident/etc. can be used to soak aligners in for 30 minutes if you wish to clean aligners even more.
5. Sharp edges/discomfort:
- Nail File/Emery Board: Can be used to smooth out sharp edges without coming to the office. Do not take off too much at once, just smooth edges little by little.
6. Lost/broken aligners:
- Depending on how long it has been, it may be okay to move onto new aligner (Call our office to confirm)
