OrthoFX or Invisalign—Which to Choose?
Remote work has allowed a shift in business attire. When video conferences started to replace in-person meetings, the result was a wardrobe focused on the neck, or waist up. Fuzzy bunny slippers? Perfectly acceptable—after all, no one can see your feet. However, those video closeups that focus almost exclusively on a person’s face have made people increasingly self-conscious about their smiles, or crooked teeth. According to one international orthodontic survey, social factors like video conference calls have caused a surge of adult patients seeking orthodontic treatment to straighten out their smiles.
Patients have a few options when it comes to tooth straightening for a more confident smile. Among orthodontic appliance options for proper tooth alignment, adults can get traditional metal braces, or a removable and practically invisible brace.
Dentists and orthodontists can make recommendations for the preferred method of treatment, depending on the severity of the correction required, but for patients with mild to moderate issues, the removable system might be a better option. Removable alignment systems can help straighten out an overbite, underbite, a gap in the teeth or crowded teeth.
The two major removable tooth straightening systems are OrthoFX and Invisalign treatment. The materials or polymers used for each treatment option are similar, and the techniques for straightening the same. The major difference is the integration between the patient and the aligning technology company. This integration can mean the difference between system effectiveness or an expensive oral experiment that doesn’t supply the results the patients hoped to attain.
Professional Prescription Personalizes Tooth Alignment Process
There are some treatment options that allow the patient direct access to email the company, take a personal impression at home, and receive aligners, without ever seeing a doctor. This is through the Invisalign Smile Direct Club.
OrthoFX requires the doctor to scan the patient’s mouth and send the digital image of this to OrthoFX through a prescription. The treating dentist and the orthodontists at OrthoFX communicate. Some of the decisions include
- The treatment plans
- How many trays will be required
- How long is the projected time of treatment to last
- Can we achieve the patient’s goal?
- What is the cost?
Personalized Attention Kicks off a More Successful Start
The second difference would be the amount of personal communication provided by OrthoFX and the prescribing doctor. OrthoFX contacts the patient personally to explain financing options, the number of steps necessary to reach their goal, the importance of home care and follow up.
OrthoFX monthly financing brings within reach the goal of a confident smile with straighter teeth. Most alignment programs are within $100 to $200 per month, with most averaging towards the lower figure.
A few weeks after the program starts, a representative from OrthoFX reaches out to ask the patient about their early experiences with the program. Thereafter, the patient will receive regular emails or texts to remind them about the regularly anticipated progress photos and other steps necessary for successful goal attainment.
Progress Checks Help with Diagnose Necessary Adjustments/Program Flexibility
Program compliance is probably the biggest factor related to either success or failure. OrthoFX schedules progress checks to help with monitoring, subsequent adjustments, and overall compliance. Every few weeks the patient is prompted to take a photo or photos of their teeth, for their attending dentist.
The photos allow the doctor to monitor the patient progress toward getting teeth aligned. It is easy during a medical review to determine whether the patient is being compliant with wearing the aligning technology according to plan. In addition, it enables the patient to obtain this professional advice without having to visit the office every two weeks.
The practicing physicians at Empire Dental Arts do ask the patient to come into the office every 8 to 12 weeks (about 3 months) for a personalized assessment. During this visit, the doctor can make necessary adjustments or recommendations to help correct the misaligned teeth. This personal attention highlights another major program difference—the OrthoFX system is flexible to accommodate individual bone densities and situations, while the Invisalign system offers no such flexibility.
For example, under Invisalign, if a patient is scheduled for a 20-week alignment process, that person receives 20 aligners or invisible braces. These are swapped out once per week for 20 weeks (about 4 and a half months), without professional assessment along the way.
OrthoFX allows the practitioner individual decision making. The doctor can, for example, recommend the patient slow the pace. Instead of switching out the invisible brace weekly, it might shift to a two-week schedule instead, if the teeth are not realigning as quickly as originally calculated.
The lack of shifting and necessary adjustment can be due to a number of reasons. Sometimes the bone is denser, in which case the teeth will shift more slowly and require a lengthier period of time for the new alignment.
Realistic Timeline Aids Patient Compliance
Invisalign promotes the idea that 80% of tooth alignment cases will finish on time, while 20% might take longer or require further impressions.
Empire Dental takes a more realistic approach based on experience with hundreds of patients who have used invisible braces. Realistically, the opposite is true. Eighty percent of cases need a continuation, and this expectation is relayed to the patient from the start. Patients should anticipate adding another third of that time in case additional treatment and care is required.
Time might be extended because computers and forecasting models cannot predict the behavior of an individual’s human tissue. Setting expectations aid patient compliance.
Any Program’s Success Depends on Commitment
End user compliance is the number one factor for program success or failure. A removable guard, in comparison to braces, is just that—removable. However, in order to achieve the goal of straight teeth and an attractive, confident smile, the aligner must be worn 23 hours a day. It should only be removed to eat and prior to reinsertion, home care needs to be exceptional.
It is vitally important to brush and floss immediately after eating. And the aligner must be worn at night while sleeping.
Once the teeth have shifted and are aligned in a straight, pleasing manner, the patient must commit to wearing a retainer every night for the rest of their life. No matter what brand of aligner technology is used, the chance of teeth shifting back to their original crooked alignment is 100%. This is known as rebound. Rebound occurs due to tissue memory, most common in adulthood. The same rebounding effect can occur with some as young as 21, who have had teeth realigned but refuses to wear a retainer. In just a few years, the teeth will shift back to their original position.
The first retainer is covered in the initial cost of the program, as are the 8 to 12 week (about 3 months) follow up visits at the dental office. Once the teeth are properly aligned, when patients make their twice annual dental visits, the office professionals can help assess whether the retainer should be swapped out every six months or more frequently.
Many patients have experienced renewed confidence by straightening their teeth for a more perfect smile. Still investigating alignment technology options as part of your oral health plan? Reach out today to get started on your journey towards a more perfect smile.