What You Need to Know About Bolton Discrepancies

Bolton discrepancies can often seem like funny cases. However, this shouldn’t have to be the case, and we’ve summarized some of the key things you need to know about Bolton discrepancies and how you can resolve them with clear aligners and Invisalign cases.
What are Bolton Discrepancies?
Before we look any further at how Invisalign and clear aligners can help, we first need to clarify what Bolton discrepancies actually are. A Bolton discrepancy is a measure of the alignment of tooth sizes in a patient. These are usually provided as 3:3 (canine to canine) discrepancies and 6:6 (molar to molar) discrepancies.
It’s worth considering that almost all people have very minor tooth discrepancies. However, larger scores may need additional treatment, which is something that you may be able to tackle with Invisalign or clear aligners.
How Aligners Can Help
If you’ve chosen to use clear aligners or Invisalign, you’ll find that space will usually be left on one of the arches in your patient’s plan. It’s worth making sure that you add details for this in your preferences for the patient to get the best possible results from the case.
Generally, we recommend that you go for IPR over spaces to help prevent patients from getting upset. The best way to approach this is to discuss the topic with your patient directly during their initial appointment to help ascertain their preferred approach.
Make sure you’ve taken a deposit before getting started, of course! And, if you find yourself in need of any further ideas for your patient’s discrepancies, don’t be afraid to reach out to our team here at Straight Smile Solutions today.