STEP-BY-STEP
Reliance Orthodontics Perfect A Smile™ pontic paint An elegant solution to a unique problem with clear aligners
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ith an increasing number of orthodontic offices implementing or currently using CAT (Clear Aligner Therapy) with selected patients, many unique but minor problems have been discovered. These items include: bonding an attachment to an aligner, creating a hole or “window” in the aligner to clear an attachment bonded to the tooth, or the issue of maintaining patient esthetics if a tooth is missing or lost during treatment. Many resourceful solutions have been used to create a missing tooth in the aligner, but they have met with limited success. The most popular solutions devised include using a tooth-colored wax or trying to bond a plastic pontic tooth into the aligner socket. The problem is that this was a short term solution at best since neither “filling” would stay anchored in the aligner socket for long. Reliance Orthodontics has introduced an elegant and simple solution to this problem. Perfect A Smile™ is a “pontic paint” that is applied to the inside of the aligner tooth socket of the missing tooth. Perfect A Smile™ is a light-cured pontic paint that comes in three popular generic vita shades – A1, A2, and B1. It cures and bonds directly to the aligner plastic. Three coats are typically applied to the facial, mesial, and distal area of the socket to achieve the proper color and coverage. Each coat is light cured. Perfect A Smile™ is the simple, fast, inexpensive solution for maintaining patient esthetics while wearing their aligners. A side benefit is that patient will be more inclined and motivated to wear the aligner to avoid an embarrassing “toothless” grin. For more information, please contact Reliance Orthodontic Products at 800-323-4348 or visit the website at relianceorthodontics.com. OP
A typical example of a patient with missing laterals.
Same patient with aligner laterals finished with Perfect A Smile™.
1) To apply: Simply clean aligner socket if needed, and dry with compressed air. Paint a coat of Perfect A Smile™ using a bristle or microbrush. Cover the facial, mesial, and distal of the inside of the tooth socket. Light cure for 10 seconds.
2) Apply two additional coats of Perfect A Smile™, light curing each coat.
3) Finished aligner ready for insertion and immediate wear.
This information was provided by Reliance Orthodontics.
60 Orthodontic practice
Volume 4 Number 3