110 degrees magazine - Index

110 degrees magazine - magazine_08 - Index

BLOOM I HYGIENE
Dr. Gorczyca said that this should save a typical
patient at least three months’ treatment.
Another advantage of the digital technology is
in providing a dentist who might be doing veneers,
implants, or restorative work to see where the teeth
will end up at the end of the process. That technology
delivers the patient from the necessity of
returning for an intermediate assessment.
For example, if you lost a tooth and needed an
implant, Dr. Gorczyca said that she would have to
put on braces to get the roots aligned just right for
the implant. The oral surgeon would have to determine
if there’s sufficient room, and the patient’s
general dentist would approve of the process.
The new imaging and manipulating technology
can take care of all that in pre-treatment eliminating
separate visits to the orthodontist, dentist, and
oral surgeon.
“This is the wave of the future,” Dr. Gorczyca
said, “starting with the end result before the
beginning of the process has provided us with
the ability to make custom-made braces.”
FITTING BRACES PERFECTLY
Dr. Gorczyca said that the limitation in the past
came from the fact that every set of braces was
created to a common prescription, but the
dental anatomy of each person is unique — to
the point that you can identify a corpse with no
more than his teeth.
For example, if a person is bitten, criminal
investigators can tell from the bite who the biter
was. “The occlusal anatomy matches in a
distinct way,” Dr Gorczyca said. “Bite marks are
admissible as court evidence, since each
person’s mouth is unique.”
A person’s teeth differ from the teeth of everyone
else in the world because of such factors as
individual tooth size and shape, the shape and size
of the jaw, the way your teeth come together, and
a number of other clinical variables.
People’s mouths are as unique as their fingerprints
so no prescription or system could ever be
66 www.110mag.com January/February 2008
“THOSE SMILES HAVE BECOME THE BEST PART
OF THE MANY WAYS THAT MY LIFE OF SERVICE
IN CARING FOR OUR EAST COUNTY KIDS IS
BRINGING SATISFACTION TO MY HEART”
designed to provide braces that would perfectly fit
everybody. Or, for that matter, fit anybody.
That being the case, the thankfully outmoded
process of fitting an appliance with a common
shape into a mouth that had an absolutely
unique shape, obviously required a lot of finetuning,
trial-and-error bending of wires and
twisting of parts. Now in Dr. Gorczyca’s office,
she and her staff can customize exactly fitting
braces for each patient.
This is possible because the 3-D virtual model of
a person’s skull created by the high-resolution scan
provides precise graphical information about the
size, shape, and placement of the parts of the
patient’s mouth and teeth.
The software then uses elaborate algorithms to
determine the characteristics of a set of braces
that would precisely match the individual’s
particular case.
Dr. Gorczyca is able to use the software interactively
to make changes directly to the 3-D
model to create the desired effect. The technology
gives her the ability to take complete
control over all aspects of the treatment, including
the design of the braces.
The computer generated final result makes
possible customized orthodontic appliances with
custom brackets and wires to create perfect fit and
placement. Dr. Gorczyca can create a solution for
any patient that is perfectly suited to the requirements
of his/her problem.
Less hardware is required for the new braces
because they are passive and “self-ligating,” which
removes the need for unsightly “O” rings, metal
ties, or elastic straps. The new dental appliances
employ advanced-technology wires that require
fewer adjustments than the old braces.
Some of the new braces actually replace the
wires with ceramic translucency appliances that
blend in perfectly with the patients teeth. People
notice the patients’ smiles and not their braces.
Some report getting compliments on their smiles
even before the braces are removed.
Not only are the new braces fitting more naturally,
but the technologies are also making
dental appliances more comfortable for the
patient while providing a more natural appearance.
Since the new appliances are more
comfortable, they cause less pain and discomfort
to the patient’s cheeks and gums.
As an added bonus, the smaller brackets are
much easier to keep clean than were the older elastics-and-ties
braces; plaque build-up is minimized.
Being able to create a custom fit means that Dr.
Gorczyca is able to provide a level of facial proportion
and harmony that wasn’t possible with the
older technology.
Her office was the first to offer custom-made
orthodontic appliances. In a few years every orthodontic
office will be providing these, because the
custom smiles that she is able to provide will
increasingly be demanded by everyone seeking
orthodontic services.
New treatment approaches now align patients’
teeth and corrects their smiles without requiring
painful extractions or rapid palatal expanders.
The technologically advanced products
reduce treatment times. Patients can often have
their seriously problematic smiles completely
treated with as few as 14 to 16 months’ worth of
visits, which are about four months fewer than
the standard treatment required, with 40
percent fewer appointments.
The new braces have a slide mechanism that
exerts less pressure on patients’ teeth and moves
them to their correct positions in a more comfortable
manner, using much less friction than was
common before.
In other words, the new technologies reduce
treatment time, require fewer and shorter appointments,
while providing better results.
PUTTING TEETH
ON THE INTERNET
Dr. Gorczyca says that another advantage of digital
technology is linking dentist offices to each