AAO
AAO PREVIEW
American Orthodontics Empower® 2 Self Ligating Brackets
A
merican Orthodontics has taken its Empower® line of self ligating brackets, the industry’s most complete self ligating bracket system, and made it even better. Empower’s metal brackets and molar tubes will now be known as Empower 2 and will feature upgrades designed to enhance the bracket’s strength and dependability. Empower 2 metal brackets and molar tubes include new micro-etched Maximum Retention™ bonding pads, which increase bond strength 15%-30% over non-microetched pads. A new modified clip shape also helps seat wire into the slot during clip closure. This enhanced clip is 20% thicker and stronger than the previous generation,
and increases wire seating force while reducing clip deformation. A chamfered slot entrance also reduces friction from wire binding. Empower brings you choice like you’ve never had before. The Empower family includes bracket and system options that put control back in your hands by allowing you to treat your patients your way. You get the most features, prescription choices, and treatment
possibilities all in one quality, unified system. Multiple bracket options include metal, clear, and molar tubes; and system choices include a fully interactive system, a fully passive system, or the innovative Dual Activation™ system. This combines interactive brackets on the anterior teeth with passive brackets on the posterior teeth in one unified system. Learn more about Empower 2 and the entire Empower family by visiting www. americanortho.com/Empower.
Visit American Orthodontics at Booth No. 1341
AOA customizing the MARA™ since 1994
A
OA released the first generation of the MARA™ back in 1994 and has since worked with many doctors, introducing multiple enhancements, all designed to make sure we’re delivering one of the best Class II appliances for doctors and patients. Today’s version, the MARA 3.0, offers a sleek, forged lower arm designed to withstand natural mastication forces and provide a smaller profile than that of previous designs.
AOA currently produces more than 10,000 MARAs annually! “As the orthodontist becomes comfortable in the performance of the appliance, the
48 Orthodontic practice
simplicity of design becomes more appreciated since there is little to master,” says Jerry Engelbart, AOA’s lead MARA technician since the MARA first made its debut.
The basic MARA consists of: • • • •
Four crowns or bands Upper and lower archwire tubes Lower arms soldered to the crowns Upper elbow tubes soldered to the crowns • Upper elbows shimmed to support the desired advancement. Ball end hooks for ligation • Lower lingual archwire soldered to lower crowns/bands The MARA can also easily be combined with a variety of different expansion screws to incorporate both transverse correction and mandibular advancement into one simple design. Another benefit of this appliance is the option for placement at various stages of patient treatment. It can be just as easily placed in a mixed dentition as it can in a
permanent dentition due to its compact size and ease of delivery. Its ability to combine with upper and lower brackets, 5-5, can have an influence on reducing overall patient treatment time. To hear more, visit AOA at the Ormco Booth No. 1021, or contact our Customer Care Team at 800-262-5221. To learn more, connect to www.aoalab.com. Visit AOA at Booth No. 1021 Volume 7 Number 2