For the past 21 years, Invisalign has been the premier clear aligner therapy on the market. Align Technology has put millions of dollars and 21+ years into the research and development of the clear aligner system of moving teeth. At first, you had to be an Orthodontist to deliver Invisalign to patients. Then, Align sought to train General Dentists to deliver this “much sought after” treatment. This has proven to be highly successful and many patients have loved that their family General Dentist could provide this treatment for them.
In the past year or two, several companies have come out with a “similar” product, once Aligns’ patent expired. I can honestly say, I still haven’t seen a product that can do what Invisalign can do. It is still the most unique product out there, and the most reliable.
The problem didn’t stop with other companies offering clear aligner therapy, as they still involved the presence of a licensed doctor performing them. Now, there is a new method of clear aligner therapy that has emerged onto the market called DYI (Do It Yourself) Aligner Therapy. This new treatment modality has the entire dental profession, including the Orthodontists, up in arms. Not because it has the potential to take treatment from us, but more importantly, because there is NO DOCTOR SUPERVISION!! That’s right, NO Doctor supervision AT ALL!!
At first, these companies would send the patients a “kit”, asking them to take impressions of themselves and send them back to the company. Clear aligners would be fabricated from these impressions. I have to tell you, there are many problems with this process.
Patients have no idea most times whether or not they are good candidates for clear aligner therapy
They do not know the severity of their orthodontic problems
They do not know if they have decay or periodontal disease because most have not seen a dentist in years
It takes YEARS to become skilled at taking and mixing impressions, and people are expecting they will be able to take ACCURATE impressions without this training
There are no attachments or interproximal reduction (making space) to assist in moving the teeth, which is almost ALWAYS necessary to achieve good results
Finally, and most importantly, there is no Doctor supervision to ensure you are tracking and doing the treatment correctly and to make sure you do not have any major dental problems that would prohibit you safely moving your teeth through the bone
Recently, some of those companies have “borrowed” Aligns’ technology of the 3-D scanning shops to scan patients’ teeth instead of having them take their own impressions. This should yield a better fitting aligner, but the plastic is still inferior to Aligns’ plastic, and the above problems still exist.
So yes, you SHOULD be scared of the DYI clear aligner therapy. I liken it to doing your own Botox injections. You could probably get a hold of the product and inject it yourself, and save a lot of money, but you still won’t have the knowledge or the skill that comes from years of schooling and experience to do the job safely and properly. Major, irreversible mistakes could be made.
With the DYI products, the result you get is on YOU, not the company that provided you with the tools to do it. I have already had to redo some of the patients who have gone this route, and it didn’t save them any money. In fact, they had to pay twice.
Please, heed my advice and come see us at Tempe Smile Design, where we care about YOU and that you get the safest, best possible professionally-supervised treatment.