Here’s a great case using the Inman Aligner.
The Inman Aligner is a removable aligner that normally straightens teeth in 6-16 weeks.
This case involved alignment of the upper and lower teeth followed by tooth whitening and bonding.
The Inman Aligner took 12 weeks per jaw.
Learning how to use the Inman Aligner for cosmetic orthodontics was one of the most significant moments in my dental training. It’s not just about the appliance itself but more about the philosophy of Progressive Smile Design.
Progressive Smile Design is all about allowing my patients to fully visualise each options available to them before moving onto other, more complex stages. This allows then to stop treatment when they are happy with the way their teeth look, giving them the control and allowing me to be less prescriptive. The great news for patients is that they often need less treatment, at less cost than they expected. The great news for me as a dentist is that I can be less invasive than ever before.
My smile of the month is a classic example of this.
My patient came in wanting to address her protruding upper lateral incisor teeth. She was open to all options but assumed that veneers were going to be the best option for both final aesthetics and also speed.
Luckily we could avoid veneers as, in her case, they would have been very invasive. I used an Inman Aligner and the case was complete in only 6 weeks!
She could have taken this further with some simple whitening or even bonding BUT she was happy just like this! That’s the magic of Progressive Smile Design – visualising your options.
Less expense, less time, happier patient!
Sat on the train back to Shropshire, reflecting on an amazing few days in the USA teaching the Inman Aligner course.
We landed in Las Vegas on Wednesday, had a day to relax (not easy in Sin City) before running the course on Friday. Dr Ross Nash, dental legand and new Inman Aligner trainer was there to help Dr Tif Qureshi and myself.
We then flew to Orange County to run the course on Saturday. LA was hot and sunny, unfortunately we only got to see it through the window at lunch! This was probably my favourite Inman Aligner course ever. We had Dr Ross Nash helping again, Dr Rick DePaul was there fresh from running his Six Month Braces course. A massive thanks to him for helping us with the success of this event.
Dr Pascal Magne was also there as a delegate! This was a huge honour, even more so as he was so keen to get onto the course. The Inman Aligner and our concept of Progressive Smile Design fits perfectly with his philosophy. He has been a huge inspiration to me so was great to spend some time with him. Such a humble guy for someone so talented.
A slightly longer flight home than planned due to the US storms diverting our flight from LAX but almost home… for one day. Then off to Verona where I’m speaking for as an opinion leader Ivoclar Vivadent at their ELO meeting. Combo this with an Inman Aligner course in Manchester on Friday, Embarrassing Bodies filming on Friday evening – can’t wait for the weekend!
