Orthotown May 2020 - 34

office visit

anything as long as it is good, and my top
favorites are Swiss chocolate, ice cream,
pasta, salmon and tostones (mashed fried
green plantains).

What's something you'd like to
see orthodontics do differently,
as a profession, within the next
10-15 years? What technological
advances would you like to see?

predictably successful, all the while looking
for an optimal functional occlusal result.
In our practice, we use as many dental
techniques as possible to achieve long-term
aesthetics. We begin with a superior anterior
bracketing technique and increasing the
vertical dimension of the bite when needed,
including referring for Botox to decrease
masseter strength for adults when indicated.
(This can also be achieved with aligners
and attachments.)
We recontour teeth to address mamelons
and small amounts of wear or chipping, and
do temporary composite or refer for bonding
of any larger areas of deficient enamel due to
trauma or congenitally narrow teeth. We also
do interproximal reduction not just in the
case of "black triangles" but also to lengthen
the contact area. Instead of waiting years for
spontaneous tissue remodeling after torque
corrections, we immediately address gingival
discrepancies with a soft-tissue laser. We

34

aim to finish our patients with a smile arc
that matches the curvature of the lower lip
and adequate gingival display. I even have a
standing order to our Invisalign technicians
to never intrude upper anterior teeth unless
specified by the doctor!

What do you like to do
in your free time?
I've always loved to play outside! I end
up swimming about 5 miles a week and
trail running 30 or so miles a week, and
sometimes I mountain bike, snowboard,
rock-climb and go salsa dancing. For me,
that's fun with friends or family (or "chillax
time" if out alone). It's not like working out
in a gym, with all the grimacing and misery
that can be associated with that.
It's probably good that these two favorite
things go together but, aside from active play,
I also really like eating great food, preferably
shared with family and friends! I will eat

It would be nice to see us reclaim our
status in the public eye as health care
professionals, but I'm not sure that's realistic.
I got into this because I wanted to do
for others what had been done for me, and
I've worked really hard at school and in my
practice to be the best I could be for my
patients. I think that patients "get it" once
they're in the practice, but there is more and
more confusion about what orthodontics is
and whether it matters whom you go to for
care. The difference used to be between going
to a modern orthodontist and an antiquated
one; then there were "ortho-dentists," and
now DIY. Technology is awesome, but at least
for the next 10-15 years, it will still be better
for the patient's health and aesthetics if the
application of technology is overseen by an
experienced, trained specialist in the field.
As far as technological advances, I'm
already very ready for being able to print
the aligner material in-house with amazing
software. At the moment, the printable
aligner material is too stiff for treatment and
the in-house aligner software, though good,
still is not equivalent to the capabilities of
the Invisalign software. The laser scanners
for aligners need to reduce to the size of a
pen, the way the diode lasers did, and the
refinement scans done by the patients using
their cellphones should stitch the new data
onto the initial scan anatomy for accuracy.
Further optimization of simultaneous
tooth movements would be a way to finish
treatment much faster in a healthy and
comfortable fashion. n

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Orthotown May 2020

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