Align Technology’s inaugural Virtual Orthodontic Summit hailed a success

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  Posted by: Dental Design      9th April 2021

Align Technology has reported that its first virtual Align UKI Orthodontic Summit for British and Irish orthodontists and orthodontic therapists on 26th and 27th February 2021 was attended by nearly 200 delegates.

The UKI Summit was opened by Align Technology’s senior vice president and managing director, EMEA Markus Sebastian who underlined the untapped opportunity of 150 million patients in the EMEA region who could benefit from straightened teeth. He stressed the great strides the company has achieved with its most recent innovations, including advances to the aligner function with the introduction of G8 which optimises tooth movements and further improves predictability when treating crowding, crossbite, and deep bite cases. Also new is a software upgrade with the introduction ClinCheck Pro 6.0 with the introduction of 3D controls, and the new iTero Plus Element Series which facilitates the complete digitalisation of orthodontic practices.

The two-day event was held to showcase these advances in the hands of experienced orthodontic specialists including Drs Graham Gardner (UK), Willy Dayan (Canada), Susana Palma (Spain), Rafi Romano (Israel), Catherine McCanny (UK), and Alastair Smith (UK).

The presentation by Dr Graham Gardner was an opportunity to show delegates how he uses virtual monitoring to oversee his cases and to describe how to troubleshoot issues early and manage any tracking problems which may arise with the objective of getting the teeth back on track without necessarily requiring additional aligners. As he commented: “The ClinCheck software is analogous to the architect`s plans. Not only must the plan be achievable and practical, but just as a builder reviews plans continuously to achieve the required building, so the orthodontist should regularly review the patient’s ClinCheck and treatment plan to make sure the required outcome is on track. The combination of the Invisalign system and remote monitoring has allowed us to improve the efficiency of the orthodontic treatment while simultaneously improving treatment outcomes with the addition of remote monitoring tools. I am thankful that the majority of my practice is Invisalign-focused as this has allowed us to weather the Covid-19 storm far more effectively”

In his lecture Dr Willy Dayan took delegates through his 20-year biomechanical journey with the Invisalign system, sharing some of the most complex and challenging cases and expanding on what he can achieve with meticulous planning that he cannot achieve with fixed braces. He advised delegates that “Orthodontists try complex cases, and sometimes they don’t achieve the desired outcome, so they think it is not working and then they fall back to their old ways. If they learn to put their feet in the water, work out how to transition through challenges with aligners and undertake complex cases, this will result in faster and better treatments with less appointments and less effort on the part of the clinician, and with happier patients. The current pandemic has highlighted how much easier it has been treating patients, leveraging digital tools and clear aligners. Aligner patients need fewer appointments and less repairs, whilst brackets and wires require services that are much more challenging”.

His comments were echoed by Dr Susana Palma who has achieved international awards in recognition of her work in solving complex orthodontic cases using the Invisalign system. Her presentations focused on the diagnostic and biomechanical considerations in planning an array of different malocclusions. She explained how she harnessed the Invisalign system to treat complex adult and teen cases, and travelled through some of the perceived obstacles orthodontists raise about treating complex cases with the Invisalign system, to show them how to achieve exemplary results with clear aligners. Dr Palma commented: “I treat almost all my patients with the Invisalign system as no matter how complex cases are, it allows me to achieve the best results with the maximum comfort for my patients. I do not have any preference about the age of the patient, as I believe it is the best system to treat all my patients”.

Dr Rafi Romano shared the steps he took as he worked through some of his most challenging cases, addressing the interdisciplinary digital workflow required when treating complex ortho/restorative cases. He concluded: “My advice to peers is to try treating with Invisalign clear aligners. Not because you might lag behind other local doctors who are embracing it, but because you need to arm yourself with the best tools now for where you want to be in a few years to come”.

Dr Alastair Smith also commented on the Align digital practice tools and showed delegates how to achieve a fully digital practice. He stated that the Covid-19 pandemic had accelerated the adoption of digitalisation and the Align tools are now more pertinent than ever at

dismantling any perceived barriers which might have prevented patients from having orthodontic treatment. He commented: “4 years ago, the majority of our work was the treadmill of fixed braces. Now, we are 80% Invisalign-focused and 20% fixed. We are treating more patients with less clinical time and less clinical staff. It is a new paradigm for us and we are not planning to go back”.

Dr Smith talked about the opportunity to leverage the latest advances in technology and the willingness of consumers to embrace this technology. He stressed how it is important to make the team an integral part of the patient journey, and to rethink how to plan and treat patients, creating a smarter more streamlined environment, and most importantly to design the true outcome before starting to build it. He concluded “Think of other industries and imagine an architect or engineer not designing an outcome before starting to conceive a car or build a bridge”?

Dr Catherine McCanny shared her personal growth experience using the Invisalign system for complex teen cases, and gave delegates tips on how to increase the number of teens and younger patients asking for treatment with the Invisalign system in preference to fixed appliances. She admitted how sceptical she was three years ago and how she changed her mind-set and is now following an Invisalign teen-focused strategy. “If I can do it, you can do it too”.

On the second day, Dr McCanny emphasised the importance of the role of a Treatment Coordinator in the patient journey and recommended her peers try to see the time during the pandemic as an opportunity to reset the button and embrace digital technology, even more so with the numerous new digital tools provided by Align Technology.

Align’s Marketing Director Dan Parsons provided delegates with an overview of 24 years of Align innovation and expanded on the most recent software innovations including ClinCheck Pro 6.0 and In-Face Visualisation, along with aligner advances including new G8 features. He described how the company leverages data from more than 9 million patients across the globe to help doctors enhance their skills and the patient experience.

Senior Technology Fellow for Align Technology, John Morton detailed the engineering fundamentals behind the Invisalign system and focused on the latest G8 innovation with SmartTrack and SmartForce aligner activation which integrates optimal forces to treat crowding, cross bite and deep bite cases more effectively and predictably. As he stated “It is better to design everything upfront via digital system to make sure that you minimise the probability that it is going to go off track. We are able to control the force system with high precision and this is where the future comes to be. The application of the shapes of the aligners and attachments to temporarily alter the shape of the teeth will allow us to get better control over treatment and treat much more difficult cases as time progresses”.

Senior Business Optimisation Consultants Vikki Young and Rachael Hart from Align Technology presented the new Align Digital and Practice Transformation (ADAPT) consultancy service now available to orthodontists. The service is designed to help optimise their practice’s operational workflow and processes to enhance patients’ experiences and increase customer and staff satisfaction, leading to higher growth and greater efficiencies. So far 100 ADAPT projects have been carried out across EMEA in 20 countries with results showing an increase of 109% of approved Invisalign treatment plans and an average 31% growth in practice revenue.1

They were followed by Director of Consumer Marketing for Align Technology, Brooke Radich, who shared insights into the dramatically changing consumer landscape and explained that the company accelerated the development of new digital products to keep dental professionals connected with patients and treatments on track during a most challenging year. Brooke also challenged the audience to do things differently: to be present, accessible and consistent, in order to take advantage of the unprecedented consumer demand.

The Summit was closed by Align’s General Manager UKI (Specialist Orthodontists), Abigail Lander, who stated that 2021 is a year of opportunities, as the orthodontic community is making huge strides and starting to embrace all things digital, implementing new practice development programmes, and participating in the wealth of virtual education and forums available, especially over the past 12 months. She concluded that Align Technology will make continuous investment in marketing to drive consumer demand to practices, including a focus on parents and teens. For more information about Align Technology please visit https://www.aligntech.com/.


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