Article
One thing that continually surprises me is how long it takes some people to complete a course of orthodontic treatment. Having had the privilege of working with many really talented clinicians over the past 37 years, I have over the years, drawn up a checklist of top tips that I now teach to the next generation of aspiring orthodontists.
Understanding these key points will ensure that their clinical ministrations are both efficient and effective. As a result, all but the most difficult of cases should be finished, to a high standard, within the often promised 2-year timeframe.
One vital thing is for the treating clinician to develop the skill of identifying at every visit, which particular aspect of the malocclusion is furthest from the ‘finishing line’.
If they can do this, and they ensure that at each and every visit this aspect of the malocclusion is fully addressed, treatment should progress speedily. Failure of the clinician to use this cardinal rule will, however, mean that time is wasted dealing with irrelevancies, which could be addressed at any point during the next 18 months. Wasting time on these issues, at the expense of the crucial aspects of the malocclusion, contributes nothing to shortening the overall treatment time.
In impacted canine cases for instance, until you are actually pulling on that buried tooth, almost irrespective of whatever else you are doing with your fixed appliances, you are actually getting no closer to the finish line. I discourage messing around, ‘watching and waiting’ and creating space, if you have any desire to treat the patient in a reasonable length of time.
Most of our teenage patients rightfully have an expectation that their treatment will be completed efficiently, and that the risk of harm to their dentition, as well as the physical, economic and psychological burden of treatment, will be minimized.
Think of orthodontic treatment as a journey and, as with every journey, it is important to fully understand both where you are actually starting from and, specifically and explicitly, exactly where your final destination lies.
Clinical photographs and specific measurements formally made every visit, help with the former. Complete familiarity with high-quality end results will allow the operator to realize when they have achieved the latter. What could be simpler …