We followed the same simple attachment placement steps outlined in Sheena's update.
After first trying the attachment template for fit, we used a basic bonding technique to etch, wash, dry and bond the bonding material to the specific teeth scripted for attachments. TPH composite material was placed in the attachment reservoirs and light cured. Excess material was removed and the aligners were delivered.
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Let’s outline the specifics of delivery:
- First the staff outlines the use of the two aligner cases. One is red and the other is blue. There is a rubber “baffle” in the blue case. The baffle will reduce the noise of the aligners moving in the aligner case. The blue case with the baffle is intended to be used for the brief periods when the aligners are removed for eating and cleaning. The red case is intended to be used to store the last aligner stage in the event that the active set is lost, broken etc. Note that the baffle may be removed and will easily fit in either the blue or red case.
- The staff reviews the patient instruction brochure. They remind each patient that although the brochure states to discard each aligner after use is complete, we would like the patients to save the last few aligners. Often movement lag may be corrected with saved prior aligner stages. The staff reviews aligner removal and placement. Stephanie adapted quickly to the aligner placement/removal techniques.
- An “Aligner delivery schedule” is created to give the patient. This is created from the “tools” section of the ClinCheck access page of your VIP page (see figure 1). This is a useful tool to give the patient an outline of the tentative dates for each aligner change. The schedule is easy to update and patients seem to appreciate the information.
- Another useful item to include at delivery is to cut a small 2 inch x 3 inch piece of ScothBrite type A very fine polishing material. This is the very same material used to polish aligners, shaped as 7/8 inch wheels. Patients will use the material to “rub” any areas that seem to irritate the soft tissue. This virtually eliminates the patient visits to “smooth” the aligners.
- The staff gave Stephanie some basic instruction to clean the aligners. Basic cleaning consists of tooth brushing with the same tooth paste used for cleaning the teeth. We also give our patients a “sonic” cleaner to help keep the aligner fresh. They are inexpensive and may be used for our other patients with removable prosthetics.
- All of the above things are packaged into the Align delivery bag, which looks much like a “designer" bag! We package the aligner delivery schedule, the aligner red and blue cases, the delivery instructions, the ScotchBrite polishing pad, a sonic cleaner and of course the first three Aligners packaged in the soft plastic delivery packages. All this is given to the patient in the opaque Align delivery bag.
Stephanie is a crowded case and IPR is planned to resolve crowding. We will outline the basic IPR techniques that I will use in the next update.
Stephanie left the office excited to begin her Invisalign treatment!!
