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by rancar2 84 days ago
This isn’t the case with 3D printed bracket systems. Studies have shown that the 3D personalized bracket system from LightForce will cut down treatment time over 40%. The refinement phase is also spot on and finishes much faster, and recent studies have shown further improvements. Also, the more complex the case, the larger the delta on the performance. Not all orthos are practicing this way but this is where the future is going whether it is LightForce or another company. The physics just works out better than the best plastics.

Disclaimer: I’m a health nerd and was an employee a couple years ago.
1 comments
ivan_gammel 84 days ago
LightForce still requires a lot of visits to the doctor. Nice source of revenue for orthos. Aligners may become more accessible to patients, because that tech is more scalable by design.
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rancar2 83 days ago
Ivan worked at Align and was CTO of European DTC competitor. I agree with Ivan that both technologies have their sweet spot. I disagree with the scale piece and the frequency of visits as there are practices doing both those things differently using the placement and remote monitoring technology.

For younger patients that haven’t had braces before which is the majority of historical patient populations and future ones, 3D printed personalized braces systems are better as the tooth movement needed is more clinically substantial at tougher angles. Many younger patients forget and lose their plastic aligners.

That said: what is chosen should be what for the whole person at multiple levels.

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ivan_gammel 83 days ago
This sounds like AI-written comment, at least in the first part. What I do not get is why are you dismissing the argument about number of visits. 3D printed braces are still braces. They require manual adjustment for each treatment stage. Aligners do not need that - they may need a check-up in the middle of the treatment, maybe one or two mid-course corrections, maybe an appointment for installation of attachments, but that's it. You change aligners at home without visiting doctor.

>Many younger patients forget and lose their plastic aligners.

They can get a new one easily by post.

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