Between the day you decide to align your teeth and the day you wear your first aligner there is work you never see. It is worth describing, because that is where the result is decided.
1. Collecting the data
You do not plan on an impression «by eye». Complete data is needed: an intraoral scan of both arches and the bite, standardised photographs of the face and arches, radiographs appropriate to the case. They are the starting picture, and will also serve later for comparison.
2. The case study
This is the phase that separates a plan from a tray. Occlusion, available space, tooth inclination, profile and periodontal health are analysed. We decide what has to move, by how much and in what order — and also what must not be touched.
It is also when we establish whether the case is genuinely treatable with aligners, with fixed appliances or with a combination: the choice follows the case, not the request.
3. The simulation
From the digital model a movement simulation is generated, step by step. It serves two purposes: designing the sequence and showing it to you. Seeing the starting position and the planned one makes the decision far more concrete.
An honest clarification: a simulation is a plan, not a promise. It represents the planned objective, while individual biology and consistency of wear influence the real path. That is why we hold check-ups and, if needed, re-plan.
4. Production
From the plan, aligners are generated or the fixed appliance is customised. Each step corresponds to a programmed movement of limited extent: it is the sum of small displacements that produces the result.
5. Check-ups, where the plan meets reality
At check-ups we verify that teeth are following the simulation. When reality diverges — it happens, and it is normal — we act: attachments are added, timings are changed, and in some cases we rescan and re-plan the remaining part.
What depends on you
With aligners, a great deal: they must be worn consistently according to the schedule, removed only to eat and to clean your teeth. A perfect plan with intermittent wear gives an intermittent result. It is the variable that weighs most, and the only one we cannot control.
Sources
- Italian Ministry of Health — Dental health — diagnostic appropriateness and the care pathway.
- FDI World Dental Federation — international reference on dental technologies.