Growth Rate of By-Mail Orthodontics Raises Red Flags

A recent TechCrunch article announced some big technology news: Smile Direct, one of the newest orthodontics-by-mail companies to hit the marketplace, will be investing in 49 state-of-the-art 3D printers to print up to 50,000 orthodontic molds per day in their warehouse. But while this is great news for the 3D printer manufacturers, and arguably for Smile Direct, it may not be such a good idea for your teeth.

Ever since 2014 when Smile Direct entered the orthodontic marketplace, people have been flocking to the company to save money on orthodontic work. It works like this: You see an individual for a mouth scan. This person may or may not be a dental technician. They take 3D photos of your mouth and send them off to a lab. A few weeks later you have molds in your hand. You wear them for a predetermined amount of time and then make an impression at home, sending that back to the lab. New aligners are mailed to you.

Seems easy enough, right? But not everyone agrees with the business model. Namely, dentists and orthodontists.

“The problem is, you are relying on untrained consumers to take accurate molds of their own mouth, then hoping that mold makes it safely to a lab, and then sending the aligners back and hoping they fit,” says Dr. Allison Lesko, a dentist in Fort Collins, Colorado. “And that’s just what could go wrong immediately.”

Lesko says the other issue with this type of treatment is that over time as the teeth shift, more problems could arise that, without input from a trained dentist or orthodontist, could cause big problems for the patient.

“If the teeth move in the wrong direction or a cross bite develops, for example, it can be hard to correct that if without a dentist or orthodontist there to point it out,” Lesko says.

Worse still, finding a dentist or orthodontist to correct the damage from at-home aligners could cost more money than just going to one for treatment in the first place – not to mention how much time it will take to correct any damage caused by the aligners.

“It may not be a quick fix,” says Lesko. “It could take months to redirect your teeth, and it could cost you hundreds to thousands of additional dollars out of your own pocket.”

That’s because many insurance plans with orthodontic coverage have a lifetime max, so if you use it on the initial treatment, you have no coverage for subsequent follow-ups. And that can be a problem once treatment is finished, too

“What happens once your treatment is done and in two years your teeth are shifting? You’ll need to find a new orthodontist and pay him or her out of pocket, too,” Lesko says. “With by-mail aligners there’s nobody to go back to when you need help.”

Lesko says while she applauds the desire to take control of one’s oral health and save some money, cutting out the middleman isn’t always the answer.

“In this case, the middleman is the dental professional – and he or she is vital to your treatment’s success,” she says.

Contact The Fort Collins Dentist Family & Implant Dentistry:

970-221-5115

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

2001 S Shields St Bldg L
Fort Collins, Colorado
80526


Caring for Braces

If you or your child just got braces, congratulations! You’ve taken the first step toward a straight, beautiful smile. If you are new to wearing braces, you may not realize that caring for braces is different from caring for “naked” teeth – it requires special tools and extra steps. But don’t get overwhelmed with braces care. Here are the tools you need in your orthodontic care toolbox.

Toothbrush and Toothpaste

You will never not need a toothbrush, no matter if you have braces or not. The challenge with braces is cleaning around the brackets as well as cleaning the brackets themselves. Failure to properly clean the teeth while undergoing orthodontic treatment not only increases your risk of tooth decay, but can also cause white spots on the teeth called orthodontic white spot lesions, or WSLs. After spending all that time getting your teeth aligned, the last thing you want is for them to be discolored.

Floss and Threaders

Floss is essential to a healthy mouth. In fact, if you’re not flossing you’re missing about 30 percent of the surface of your teeth. But flossing can be difficult even under the best of circumstances, let alone with braces. That’s why we recommend using a disposable device called a floss threader, which will allow the floss to be threaded underneath the wire in your braces to reach the gumline.

Water Flosser

You may wonder why you need a water flosser if you’re already using dental floss or threaders. But water flossers are a great complement to traditional floss and can help remove some plaque and debris from between the teeth. For braces wearers, a water flosser is best used to clean away the plaque and debris from your braces brackets.

Dental Wax

Because the teeth shift with braces, they can often cause pain weeks after adjustment in the form of poking wires. These wires can rub against your cheek, causing injury. That’s where dental wax comes in. Dental wax is soft, pliable wax that can be put directly onto a poking wire to insulate that wire from the rest of the cheek. Of course, this is just a temporary fix, so if you find yourself needing to use wax to avoid pain, call Dr. Lesko’s office and schedule an appointment to have the wire adjusted.

For more information or questions or concerns about your braces, call Dr. Lesko’s office at 970-221-5115.

Contact The Fort Collins Dentist Family & Implant Dentistry:

970-221-5115

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

2001 S Shields St Bldg L
Fort Collins, Colorado
80526