Lower incisor extraction treatment with the Invisalign^® technique: three case reports

A selection of abstracts of clinically relevant papers from other journals. The abstracts on this page have been chosen and edited by John R. Radford.

Abstract

ClinCheck^® (invisalign-g6.com/en-XA/files/ClinCheck-Pro-FAQ-en-XA.pdf) is a 3D tool that allows the dentist to plan out the intended movement of teeth before the fabrication of the aligners.

Main

Giancotti A, Garino F et al. J Orthod 2015; 42: 33–44

For those not familiar with Invisalign^®, this orthodontic technique uses a series of removable aligners. At first Invisalign^® was used to correct mild malocclusions by dental tipping, but its applications have been developed to treat more complex malocclusions such as open bites and Class II malocclusions. It is now more than 10 years since this technique was first described to align the lower anterior sextant. This latest paper illustrates the treatment of three patients following extraction of a lower incisor tooth. The following points are made: 1) the treatment goals are set out using ClinCheck^®, before fabrication of the aligners; 2) rectangular vertical attachments allow three-dimensional control of tooth movement and horizontal rectangular attachments facilitate vertical anchorage; and 3) treatment involves a first phase and then a second refinement phase, the first phase using upwards of 30 or so aligners, particularly in the arch receiving treatment.