What Is a Digital Orthodontist? Gilbert

Digital Orthodontics:  A Newer, Better, & Faster Way to Straighten Teeth

No worries, this is kind of like when everyone was like, “What is streaming” or “What is the cloud?”

New technologies are always unfamiliar in the beginning, but let me clear things up.

A digital orthodontist leverages technology to digitally plan on a computer every comprehensive orthodontic case. 

It's like if I asked you to draw a circle freehand--anyone could do it, but in order to get it just right, you would have to erase a little and redraw various parts until you got it perfect.

Orthodontic team member taking digital scans of a patients teeth

How the Digital Orthodontics Process Works

In digital orthodontics, we scan each patient's teeth and upload that into a computer. Then we use the computer to get the teeth exactly where we want them. This means we know what every case will look like when finished before we even put the braces on because we designed the smile on a computer first. 

Once the case is planned, we send that information to a company that then manufactures a set of custom brackets (braces) that will only fit you. So when we start, we eliminate any inefficiencies of small course corrections (like erasing parts of the circle to get it better) and just move the teeth straight to their final position with perfect occlusion. 

Orthodontist showing a patient a screen with a digital impression of their teeth

The Benefits of Digital Orthodontics

This digital planning allows us to decrease total treatment time, require fewer appointments, give better results, and it all costs the same as traditional metal braces. If you’re still a little confused, no worries, we were too when we first learned about digital orthodontics a few years ago! But after putting in the hours and the effort, we’re now experts, and you can schedule a consultation here at Larson Family Orthodontics, where we can better explain in person.