4 UNDERSTANDING PATIENTS ’ DESIRES Before embarking on explaining to your patient what you can , with Oralign ’ s help , achieve for them be sure that you clearly understand what they would like to achieve from treatment . I remember many years ago , advising some treatment to a patient who wanted some new dentures . In due time , I produced some dentures which , to us , seemed to be the bees knees .
They fitted very well , were stable and looked like natural teeth . She could speak well with them indicating that I had got the teeth in the right position and that the lengths of the anteriors was right – we had her trying all the explosive consonants and tongue twisters – but the patient hated them . She reverted to her old NHS dentures because all the very detailed gingival contouring and the simulated rugae - a copy of her own natural rugae – felt strange . We finished up removing all this lovely contouring and converting them to an upgraded version of her old NHS dentures because ‘ they felt right ’. I was heartbroken and so was the technician who had laboured long and hard to no avail .
What I got wrong was that I did not explore fully enough what she liked about her old dentures and I solved problems she did not have . So , make absolutely certain that when you are embarking on orthodontic treatment that you fully understand what the patient would like you to achieve . Then when you write up the notes on the Oralign system you give a full explanation of what is expected to the supervising and planning registered orthodontic specialist who will diagnose and monitor your patient ’ s treatment in order to be sure we achieve the patient ’ s desires . If the patient ’ s desired result cannot be achieved Oralign will tell you so before treatment is accepted .
5 ESTABLISHING THE DO ’ S AND DON ’ TS I have always believed that patients have obligations when they undertake treatment with us in the same way that we , as professionals , also have obligations to provide efficacious treatment . So , over the years I have always found it wise to point out to my patients what is expected of them and what is expected of me .
With removable orthodontic appliances , my daughter proved many years ago to the chagrin of her treating orthodontist , Hans Eirew , that if the appliance is not actually in the mouth it will not move the teeth . This patient compliance aspect should be clearly outlined in detail before the start of the treatment . Aligners which are left in the drawer / handbag will benefit no one and your patient ’ s teeth will not miraculously rearrange themselves into the desired positions . Wearing the appliance for less than the optimum time per day will extend treatment
time considerably . Aligners which have not been worn for some time will , usually , not fit back in because the teeth will have relapsed so the patient may have to revert to a previous aligner to re-start the treatment .
There is a definite benefit to using fixed appliances ; which is that they are in place and cannot be ‘ forgotten ’. However , we , at Oralign , have experienced a patient who seemed to have the knack of detaching the brackets and wires whenever she had a ‘ special ’ social occasion to attend and then blamed the dentist for not fixing them properly . Any semblance of fairness in these things Oralign has , by experience , learned does not exist .
There are some patients who will use all the tricks to get what they want and lay the blame elsewhere . This was grossly unfair to this practitioner because it cost him added time and added expense to replace the brackets and wires . Life can be very hard and very unfair .
One final tip is always under- promise and over- deliver ; it leads to greater patient satisfaction .
The above is not an exhaustive list but it is a good sound basis upon which to build .
CONTACT lester @ oralign . co . uk www . oralign . co . uk
THIS PHOTO AND BELOW : A Class ii malocclusion – moving the uppers forward will align the teeth but will increase the overjet – moving the lowers at the same time will alleviate a feeling that the bite has become dysfunctional
34 Dental Practice Magazine