Ellen Cummings reviews the online launch event for Align Technology's Invisalign Go Plus.
Releasing a new product in the midst of a global pandemic, without the benefit of exhibitions and in-person demonstrations, is a difficult feat – but one which Align Technology pulled off with its online launch event in September. The event introduced Invisalign Go Plus, an addition to the Invisalign Go system, which is now available to general practitioners in the EMEA region.
Invisalign Go is suited for mild to moderate malocclusion treatments from the second premolar to the second premolar, with 20 aligners treating up to 6mm crowding in the upper and lower arches, up to 3mm of spacing in the lower arch (upper arch is variable) and 4mm arch expansion with no AP correction. Building on this, Invisalign Go Plus allows general dentists to treat from the first molar to the first molar, with 26 aligners able to treat up to 8mm of crowding in the upper and lower arches, up to 4mm spacing in the lower arch (upper arch is variable), 5mm of arch expansion and up to 2mm AP correction at the canines.
The event began with Markus Sebastian, Align Technology’s senior vice president and managing director of the EMEA region, outlining Align’s objective with Invisalign Go Plus – making clear aligners relevant and accessible to all dentists and providing more opportunities to patients who don’t have access to an orthodontist.
Zelko Relic, chief technology officer and senior vice president of global research and development at Align Technology, revealed that Invisalign Go is used by 8,000 general dentists worldwide. The extension of Invisalign Go with Invisalign Go Plus includes: better visualisation, more control and greater connectivity, and increased patient access by broadening the treatment remit available to general dentists.
To help demonstrate the benefits of Invisalign Go Plus for non-orthodontic dentists, the event featured Affan Saghir – a cosmetic dentist and chair of the BDA’s West Yorkshire section. Affan has completed around 700 Invisalign Go treatments and showed a couple of them in his presentation.
One of Affan’s case studies regarded his dental nurse, whose friend had travelled to Turkey to have veneers fitted. The dental nurse wanted to achieve a similar look, but Affan convinced her not to have veneers since the patient had very good teeth and he didn’t want to sacrifice so much healthy enamel. Affan instead suggested aligners, at-home whitening and composites. This case involved crowding, crossbites and 21 stages of aligners with rotation of molars and arch formation; something that, without Invisalign Go Plus, would have required an orthodontist.
The English-speaking attendees then broke off into a series of sessions hosted by Camilla Morrison, a general dental practitioner and clinical instructor with Aligner Consulting. Camilla discussed how the digital workflow can be used to aid case assessment and conversion, and how successful assessment leads to successful treatment choices. She also highlighted the importance of the 'In-Face' Visualisation as a tool for case acceptance, as well as the role of a SAFE assessment as taught by the SAFE Orthodontics training course. Camilla effectively outlined the benefits of the Invisalign Go systems, claiming that the systems allow GDPs to push themselves further whilst delivering safe, predictable results for patients.
In her second breakout session, Camilla spoke about the importance of ClinCheck reviews and explained more about the innovations provided by Invisalign Go Plus. This included the tooth movement table and the Bolton analysis, which provides a comparison of upper and lower teeth widths and allows the clinician to plan ortho-restorative treatments accurately. Camilla then held a live Q&A with members of the Align team, answering a number of insightful questions from the audience.
Align Technology’s online event provided GDPs with an insight into their potential to treat orthodontic cases, supported by testimony from their peers. The opportunity for practitioners to broaden their horizons is exciting – especially at a time when they may have felt their abilities were limited due to the Covid pandemic.