SANTA CLARA, California--Align Technology has introduced new and enhanced product features designed to provide improved results for clinical demands, including extrusion and rotation of teeth, root movements, and interproximal reduction.
"This continued evolution of our product line and our technology is based on extensive customer research and the treatment data and experience gained through more than one million Invisalign cases," said Sheila Tan, Align Technology's vice president, marketing and chief marketing officer.
"We believe that these improvements will give doctors greater confidence in what they can achieve with Invisalign, and help deliver the outcomes doctors expect in more clinical applications."
The new product line features are designed to overcome barriers to treatment by addressing clinical issues that doctors have traditionally perceived as challenging in Invisalign treatment, such as extrusions and rotations, and by implementing improvements and best practices frequently requested by doctors:
New optimized attachments for extrusions and rotations are now custom designed to be patient-specific and tooth-specific to consistently deliver the correct aligner forces to the teeth. This helps to increase predictability of the desired movement.
Power ridges, previously available only with Invisalign Teen, are used in place of attachments to provide additional force in cases where certain types of movements--including lingual root torque--are prescribed.
Velocity optimization provides more controlled movements for the entire tooth, including the root, and is designed to limit the speed of tooth movements to optimal ranges.
Previously, doctors had to identify movements that might require velocity adjustments and request those changes as part of the treatment planning process. The velocity adjustment will now be accounted for automatically in the case set-up.
Interproximal reduction protocol improvements address a frequent doctor request regarding timing of IPR during treatment. IPR can now be set up in later stages of treatment when teeth are better aligned and contact points may be easier to access.
New Invisalign attachment kit and attachment material have shown to deliver greater bond strength, wear resistance, accuracy, and ease of use.
Invisalign Assist--expanded capabilities for a wider range of cases
The new features are being deployed in all Invisalign products: Invisalign, Invisalign Teen, Invisalign Assist, and Invisalign Express.
Additional features have been added or enhanced in Invisalign Assist, expanding its capabilities and giving doctors the confidence and control necessary to treat a wider range of patients. Invisalign Assist has been used primarily for simple anterior alignment and aesthetically-oriented cases that can be treated with aligners only.
Thanks to the improved ability to achieve extrusions and rotations with optimized attachments, plus the new ability to deliver lingual root torque and up-right retroclined incisors with power ridges, Invisalign Assist can now be used to treat a broader range of cases while maintaining the benefits of built-in support.
Additional enhancements include:
* More input and control regarding case set-up and ClinCheck modifications
* Improved progress tracking reports with more tooth-specific detail
* More information for case-specific clinical tasks, including bonding attachments, performing interproximal reduction, and monitoring treatment progress
* More information and tooth-specific details should a case fall outside of Invisalign Assist treatment parameters.
Invisalign Assist is the only Invisalign product that includes built-in product support throughout treatment, and was designed to meet to general dentist demand for an instructive, integrated approach to case selection, monitoring, and finishing.
New and enhanced product features are available at no additional cost and are being released through a phased roll-out with full availability to all Invisalign-trained doctors in North America by mid-October.
To learn more about Invisalign or to find a certified Invisalign doctor, visit Align Technology.
To read more about Align Technology, go to Align Technology.
To comment on these products, go to PennWell Dental Community site.
