CLEAR ALIGNERS DONE AT THE OFFICE BY A BOARD-CERTIFIED DENTIST VS. MAIL-IN ALIGNERS

Mail in aligners are certainly more convenient than making an appointment with your dentist, and at times, could ultimately be cheaper, however, my colleagues and I, sincerely believe that mail-order-aligners are incredibly dangerous to our patients. When teeth are moved, they move within your jaw, and no part of your body should be moved without the direct supervision of a doctor. A lot of these mail in aligners, never consult a doctor, or even have a doctor supervising the case. When a mail in order aligner kit comes in, your simple task is to take some photos of your smile with a basic camera app and send in impressions that you take yourself.

Some places may have you come in for a digital scan, taken by an employee with no dental background and no dentist on site. In both these setups no dentist examined your teeth before putting you in aligners, which poses the risk of exacerbating cavities and gum disease. This is not what a dentist or orthodontist would do. A dental professional would look at your x-rays to make sure there is no active decay, or periodontal disease prior to any treatment. They would look at skeletal anatomy of your face, as well as the anatomy of the teeth, in order to determine the mechanism of your unique tooth movement. You will also notice that mail-in aligners have a lot of consents protecting the company from their customers coming after them for a poor result, it is because it happens, a lot.

I have over ten patients that had to undergo corrective orthodontics in order to fix the damage caused by a mail in aligner. Some cases involve open bites, crossbites, underbites, that were not there previously. Moving teeth is not a simple thing, and cannot be done by you in your Livingroom, or at a brick in mortar scanning mill, but needs to be done by a trained professional that understands head and neck anatomy, orthodontic movement, and how to diagnose and treat teeth and gum disease prior to getting aligners. Dentist take so many factors into account when moving teeth that the results are a lot more predictable, healthy, and long lasting when done by a board-certified dentist.