Invisalign; how computers changed orthodontic care
At one point, computers were simple. If you had a task that involved lots of calculations and ordering data in spreadsheets, you could see an immediate application for computers, in dentistry not so much, beyond the reception desk.
Things have changed a lot now. When we think about the digital revolution and the way it has altered our everyday lives through rapid communication, smartphones and web apps, it seems obvious that it would change so much. In dental clinics the best example of this is probably Invisalign in Plymouth.
Dental splints to clear aligners
Dental splints were the cognitive precursor to all clear aligners, including Invisalign in Plymouth.
Research in the 1970s showed that well-designed and hand-crafted plastic aligners could indeed alter the position of teeth over time, and that this was a viable orthodontic process. It also showed the required man-hours to design each of the aligners in a sequence and then produce moulds that could bend to be used in injection moulding would have made the treatment prohibitively expensive. The idea was considered economically non-viable compared to the ‘off the shelf’ braces components, which could be mass manufactured and then mixed and matched to meet the needs of each patient without uniquely manufacturing each brace.
Automation and software
What changed all of this was the progress of computing and by the 90s, the ingredients were there for clear aligners to become a major player in orthodontic treatment. The first step was to take the collective knowledge of a professional orthodontist and automate the designing of a treatment schedule. The partial solution that was created was the Clincheck design software.
Clincheck
Clincheck approaches the problem of designing aligners from two inputs; a 3D model of the patient’s current dental alignment and a final idealised end-of-treatment stage. This idealised completed treatment model is created with the aid of a qualified orthodontic technician who re-orientates each tooth in the original model into an optimal alignment.
From these two models, a high fidelity anatomically correct simulation is calibrated acting as a proxy for the patient. The entire orthodontic process is then reverse-engineered with the movement paths of the teeth passing from the initial model to the idealised model predicted. Then it determines what forces are required to generate the desired motion.
Once it is known which direction forces have to be applied to the teeth at every stage of the treatment process, a set of aligners can be designed to apply those forces. This is an application of the design and it results in the geometric form of the aligner that is minimalistic yet functional.
3d printing
The last stage in making Invisalign in Plymouth is the printing. How do you do this with a reduced manufacturing cost to each liner with the completely unique geometry and very precise dimensions? 3D printing became the practical alternative. Medical grade UV-cured resin is used to produce each aligner layer-by-layer. If you were to run your fingernail along an aligner, you can actually feel the individual print layers ingrained in the finished product.
As a modern dental practice, we at Smile Care Cosmetic Centre are proud to offer a treatment made possible by the digital revolution. If you’re interested in Invisalign, book an appointment with us today.
