Safe implementation of clear aligners
- Jesper Hatt DDS
- 9. aug.
- 4 min læsning
After weeks of careful staging, you hand over the final aligner tray—and watch your patient leave beaming. Six months later, she returns with shifting incisors. That proud moment suddenly feels like a crushing defeat. Suddenly your victory feels like defeat. You wished you had been introduced to a safe implementation of clear aligners rather than just a clear aligner certification.
This happened to Dr. Larsen, a busy practice owner who treats 10-30 patients with clear aligner each year. What went wrong? Dr. Larsen’s “perfect” 3 mm premolar expansion, simulated in five aligners, crashed against dense bone and a thin biotype. No generic software alert picked up those red flags, and her patient suffered the consequences.
In her submission form, Dr. Larsen had typed "Improve canine & molar relationship", "improve overbite", “expand as needed” "Correct midline - match upper to lower". She typed generic cues: “improve overbite,” “expand as needed” and assumed the technician would translate them clinically. In reality, most technicians follow the prescription form, not your judgment, and that assumption set the plan up for failure. Second challenge: The biology didn’t cooperate, and neither did her patient.
Transforming the treatment planning
Now imagine a different path. Instead of doing it all alone, you upload that same scan, photos and clinical notes to SmileCloud (3Shape smiledesign or the like). Within 24 hours, an expert team:
An aligner‑focused dentist or orthodonitst having treatment planned 18,000+ cases
A periodontist who knows biotypes inside out
A functional‑occlusion specialist
A dental technician specialised in functional occlusion
All co‑create your setup in collaboration with you.
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When you illustrate the desired end result initially and share that with your chosen team of experts. You are able to create the needed backwards planning in a collaborative efford. Such a plan may reveal the needed orthodontic changes. Then the clear aligner experts help you work out a predictable and realistic virtual treatment plan in your preferred aligner software, that includes a perfectly staged expansion, the needed attachments, staged IPR to prevent round tripping (and gingival recessions). In addition a description of a two‑phased plan where you know from the beginning, there will be a need for a refinement after approximately 23 aligners to ensure predictability due to complex movements. The plan even contains a 2 stage retention plan, that has been worked out with the dental technician to ensure stability during the restorative provisional phase.
The result?
Every aligner fits like a glove, and months later the smile is rock‑solid with no unpredicted corrections needed.
Why does this matter to you?
Spot Risks Instantly: When your calendar is full, who has time to catch a subtle root‑movement hazard? A specialist who reviews only aligner setups does - in minutes. Do you?
Give Clear, Actionable Instructions: Instead of instructions like: “use less IPR and align better” your online expert makes the needed adjustments in your aligner software using 3D controls and sends the following specific message to the aligner technician: “rotate tooth 23 mesial by 20°, 0,5° per aligner; add 0.3 mm IPR between 12-14 at stage 6; maintain 2 mm overbite.” and makes sure you don't have to control the resulting plan.
No more guessing games, no more mid‑treatment tweaks.
See the Whole Iceberg: Scans reveal crowns, but what about roots, bone density, TMJ health, or patient compliance? Share every data point, and experts catch hidden red flags before they become nightmares.
Ground digital dreams in biology: Software may promise perfect torque and rapid expansion, but only biology decides what’s possible. With an expert team, every ambitious move is vetted against real‑world bone limits and occlusal forces.
Plan retention from day one: Stunning finish is just the beginning, without a tailored retention plan (Essix/Hawley/Jensen/Vivera, bonded wire, phased protocols and check‑ins at specific intervals), relapse is almost certain. Protect your reputation and your patient’s smile.
Scale your confidence, Not your expenses: You don’t need a full‑time in‑house expert. Online portals let you tap world‑class insight when you need it. This lets you plan faster, refine less, and spend your energy growing your practice, not firefighting.
Safe implementation of clear aligners
What if every borderline‑complex case you face had a 24‑hour expert “checkpoint”?
What if your team celebrated clearer instructions instead of scrambling to fix tracking issues? How much stress - and how many canceled check‑ups - could you eliminate by swapping solitary guesswork for proven workflows?
Collaborative digital planning isn’t a luxury. It’s the bridge between a beautiful on‑screen simulation and a healthy, stable smile in real life. Next time a moderate or challenging case lands on your desk, ask yourself: Will you risk another surprise, or will you co‑create for predictable success?
Want the full co‑creation blueprint? Discover how to plug this “expert checkpoint” into any aligner system - free - inside our online course on Safe Implementation Clear Aligners.
Sign up for the blog for more insights, free tips, and tricks on clear aligner treatments.
Kind regards
Jesper Hatt DDS
P: +41 78 268 00 78
AlignerService
We are dentists helping dentists create realistic, safe and predictable treatment plans with clear aligners.
Currently more than1500 dental practices in 19 different countries use our service on a regular basis. We offer expert guidance in the following clear aligner systems: Invisalign, SureSmile, ClearCorrect, TrioClear, Angel Aligners and Spark.
AlignerService is a preferred partner of ClearCorrect and TrioClear.
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