StraightSmile Solutions®

I am asked this question quite often by my consumer followers. First of all, it’s a personal decision. In the right hands with an EXPERIENCED doctor, almost everything that can be done with braces CAN be done just as well with aligners. There’s a few one offs for me: jaw surgery cases. mixed dentition and […]

To get started, we only recommend that you make in-house “lifetime” retainers if you have the proper armamentarium, including a pressure-vacuum former like a Durfomat or Biostar. A standard vacuum-former doesn’t give enough detail/fit for long-term retention. If you don’t have the proper equipment, it is best to refer your retention out for fabrication to […]

Broken brackets are a pain for both parents, patients, doctors and teams. It is critical that the doctor solve the broken bracket mystery so that the case can get back on-track. Every broken bracket is often at least another month in braces. I normally don’t count brackets that break within 24 hours of bonding and […]

This is an analogy I like to use about aligner staging:Picture a big river with lots of stones to use to walk across. (This is a hypothetical analogy).We only have “so much” asphalt to manufacture the stones.We could have 10 big stones, each 2 feet from one another…OrWe could have 20 little stones, each 12 […]

Anterior openbites are frustrating in every patient. Too often, I see doctors just jumping-in and trusting the treatment planners into a plan that isn’t predictable or retainable long-term.I always say, doctors should never take an openbite case until they’ve been a detective first. They need to find all the etiologies and treat those FIRST and […]

Non-Compliance can be very frustrating in orthodontics. As you scale up, it is unfortunately inevitable that you’ll experience non-compliance on a regular basis. The key to overcoming it is to have a plan of action.Establish Expectations Upfront with Parents and PatientsBefore I even get started, I always discuss expectations in the contract with parents and […]

There is no one size fits all approach to this. I often talk to new doctors about how to take that initial step of introducing orthodontics into a GP practice. Each doctor and office will need to consider several aspects in making the decision and each will need to create their unique pathway. These aspects […]

I like to think about orthodontic case selection for general dentists as falling in to either green, yellow or red light categories:1. Green Light:These criteria apply to all general dentists, regardless of experience level. • Class 1 molar AND canine. • No missing or impacted teeth except 3rd molars.• No history of present or past […]

StraightSmile Solutions believes that all doctors should invest in an intraoral scanner. It is a “no brainer” to us.By now we are aware of the benefits of intraoral scanners and what we should be looking for when purchasing one: speed, improved carbon footprint, accuracy, an open system, and flexible workflows. There are so many scanner […]

If you are a frequent reader of my blog (www.straightsmilesolutions.com/blog) or a subscriber of my YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/Straightsmilesolutionsortho), you’ve become accustomed to my tricks and tips on attachment and auxiliary design and placement. And you probably know that I think “optimized” attachments are mostly an over-hyped, proprietary feature of Align Technology. Below, I have compiled […]