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If you have a patient with Orthosnap clear aligners or retainers, you may experience lost or broken aligners.
Regardless of the reason, the patient needs a solution.
How to Handle this Scenario
If your patient tells you that their aligner is broken or lost, follow these steps. First, find out which aligner step they are on and how many days they have worn that particular aligner. Then, you need an immediate solution. Patients in active orthodontic care who don't wear their aligners for more than a day can see some significant relapse.
Here's what to do next. Either:
Move on to the next aligner step if it fits
Make a provisional retainer in your practice - a simple suckdown is better than nothing.
Move back to the previous aligner if steps 1 and 2 fail.
Guidance to Patients
Advise your patients to call you right away if they lose or break an aligner. Many patients have been known to keep quiet and just advance to the next step. While this will work in most scenarios, it's important to document and manage this situation.
Advancing to the next step too soon may not always work.
If a patient has worn their existing aligner for a few days already, they may be able to go ahead and move to the next set. Especially if there is not an additional movement being applied to the same teeth from step to step (Orthosnap stages alternating movements in our treatment plans).
However, this is a decision only you, as the treating doctor, can make after evaluating the patient.
Prevention is the Best Solution
Patients love the convenience of removing aligners, but they can easily get into trouble with this. Educate your patients on the importance of always having their aligner case with them so they can safely store them when they’re out of their mouths.
It may sound like an inconvenience to carry the case around, but aligners are not meant to be put in pockets, wrapped in napkins, or left on the dashboard.
When you have this conversation with your patient, also let them know you won’t scold them if they do need a replacement. It can be an embarrassing thing for some patients to admit, and you don’t want them to hesitate to call if something happens.
Also, inform your patients about the importance of not putting anything in their mouths while wearing aligners. Eating or chewing gum can easily break or damage them. And while it is okay to drink water while wearing aligners, hot beverages can warp them, and colored or sugary drinks can crack or discolor them.
Related Topics and Information:
Click to learn more about Tips on Taking Impressions and Case Revisions.
If you have questions or need to speak with someone at Orthosnap, please reach out to us at support@orthosnap.com.