What would you do?

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By now you’ve treated multiple aligner cases- It’s time we switch things up and pick your brain as well!

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The following case presents to your clinic, at first glance would you treat or would you not treat? What options would you provide the patient?

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What did one of our specialists have to say?

At quick glance this case may seem simple; however, a deeper look at specifically the lower occlusal will show that this case has the potential to be a challenging case due to the position of the LR5.

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The following options were given:

Option 1: Correct position of LR5 utilizing elastics and clear aligners. This would require the use of a cross elastic to help upright the LR5.

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Option 2: Extract LR5 and close space utilizing a hybrid of clear aligners with fixed orthodontic appliances. This would result in a compromised result - the lower centre line moving further to the right and a residual overbite and overjet.

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Option 3: Accept the position of the LR5 and plan for anterior alignment only. This would result in accepting / compromise of the following:

(1) Crossbite on the UL4 region
(2) Lower centre line shift
(3) As we are only aligning the teeth, it will be difficult to ensure an ideal overjet at the end of treatment.
(4) Both fixed and removable retainers will be required to maintain the position of the LR5.

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While this GDP decided to refer to a specialist, were any (or all) of the above options you had considered?

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