OrthoCAD

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#1 Post by **SnowSara** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:55 am

My orthodontist used OrthoCAD to put my brackets on, and it seems to be a pretty cool technology. Anyone else's ortho use it? He's claiming that braces time is significantly shortened, and the results are more predictable. All I know is that I only have to see him every 8 weeks for a total of 18 months, probably less.

What are your experiences, is it really as fast as they say?

For those who aren't familiar, it's similar to the process used for Invisalign in that 3D computer models are used to "move" the teeth before the braces are even put on, then brackets are placed where they need to be to get to that result. It's like working backwards. Supposedly less visits and adjustments are needed, and the whole process is faster. It was quick to put my braces on, too, the brackets came in 4 molds made for me that put them all on at once precisely where they needed to be. Here's the website: http://www.orthocad.com/

#2 Post by **SnowSara** » Sun Apr 08, 2007 8:47 am

Hmm, I'm having trouble finding anyone who's already been through it, so it must be fairly new?

I'm not sure what my ortho's whole story is, but I know he was part of the first invisalign test case in the US back in the '90s, and he's going to be doing a lecture on OrthoCAD in the future. (His assistant explained that to me when she took photos of my teeth at my adjustment, he's using the photos in his lecture.) Also, I don't think he's using it on every patient that comes in the door. Apparently I was a good candidate. He "straightens" my teeth with the computer first, moving and adjusting each tooth in the 3D model to exactly where he wants it to end up. It's kinda like he's a virtual orthodontist, weird! Since the program then works backwards and figures out exactly where the bracket needs to be placed to get to that result, there's no fine tuning. I don't think we're talking about knocking off incredible amounts of time, but more that it takes fewer visits and adjustments and no guess-work in the beginning.

I'll let you know how it goes I guess, still hoping to find other orthoCAD patients out there!!

(maybe this should be in the other main forum topic?)

#3 Post by **SnowSara** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 9:04 am

Ahh, thanks!! I never would have found them.

#4 Post by **laurene** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 8:08 am

Hi, I just had my top braces put on a couple of days ago. My ortho used the orthocad system. It really is quick! I had moulds made a month or so ago of my upper and lower teeth. They sent this in to orthocad, and what came back was 2 trays, almost like invislign type trays, with a space in front of where each tooth is for the metal brackets. This whole tray was placed on my uppers (after etching of my teeth and glue applied to each upper tooth) and four minutes later, after the glue has set, the ortho took the tray out and, voila, all my brackets were on each tooth!

The only thing I didn't like about this is that before they placed the tray on, I was given this 'contraption' to keep my lips away from my teeth, and to hold my tongue back. I felt like I couldn't breath. This was on for only a short time, enough time to etch my teeth and glue the brackets on.

Hope this helps.

#5 Post by **SnowSara** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 12:08 pm

Hi laurene! Nice to meet someone else who is on the orthocad system! It will be exciting to see if we do indeed get fast results. I've only been in braces 4 months, but I can tell you I'm stunned at how fast my teeth have moved. I go to my ortho about every 8 weeks and each visit the ortho is impressed with how speedy things are going. Also, I found out at my last adjustment that I won't need to wear rubber bands, which is nice.

Good luck with your treatment, keep me posted with your progress!

Here is where I started on Feb 1, 2007:

And here I am today, June 9, 2007, just over 4 months later:

Holy progress! Look at those spaces, they're almost gone!! I haven't looked at them side by side like this before, I can hardly believe my own eyes.

#6 Post by **bracedintx** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 9:56 pm

My ortho did not do that for my lowers, but did do it for my uppers. I've had brackets repositioned more than once on both arches, so i think it helped get the initial set of brackets on more quickly but did not change the treatment...that has been my experience. It could certainly be different for others

#7 Post by **SnowSara** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 1:44 pm

I had an exciting adjustment this week, my 4th!

So I guess my ortho's really impressed with how my treatment is going with OrthoCAD (and so am I!!). At my adjustment this week he even had some colleagues come over and look at my teeth, saying "We put these on in February with OrthoCAD." At which point a woman said "Wowwww..."

He said I'm getting close to done and talked about a couple teeth he'd like to tweak at my next appointment to make them come up a bit to be level with the rest of the teeth. Other than that, all my teeth are already perfectly aligned, I'm so excited. The best part of the appointment was getting my front teeth sanded down, they were already straight, but now it really shows

4th (7mo) adjustment, you can see the 2 little teeth on the bottom right that are going to be pulled up starting next adjustment:

#8 Post by **SnowSara** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 4:02 pm

Ooh, thanks for reminding me, gotta post 'em in the lig color thread!

#9 Post by **cwatt1** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 5:15 pm

Wow, Sara, your teeth look fantastic!!

#10 Post by **TsuKata** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 1:44 pm

My dentist used OrthoCAD on mine. The brackets all came in a little mouth mold, and she just basically had to put the molds in my mouth, do the blue light, and then pop the mold off, and the brackets were all set in the right place. It took less than ten minutes to put on all of my brackets, which she said is like half to a third of the time that it normally takes. (They timed it, because the OrthoCAD method is still relatively new for her, so they wanted to see if it really made a difference. It did mean that I had to do an extra impression, but that didn't bother me at all...I thought the impressions were fun.)

#11 Post by **LithpingLitha** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 2:27 pm

SnowSara, your teeth look fantastic!

The initial placement for my upper brackets was done similarly with the brackets pre-fit inside clear trays. The trays were put on my teeth and the brackets bonded. My ortho uses a sophisticated computer program, but I can't be sure of the name.

#12 Post by **SnowSara** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:39 am

Thanks everyone! I am very impressed with how quickly my treatment is going. (I do understand that my situation was pretty mild, but with an original treatment time of 18 mo and now just 8 mo in I'm seeing the finish line). I have my 5th adjustment coming up in a couple weeks and I'm anxious to hear from the ortho how much longer he thinks I have. One thing still hangs over my head: the removal of my wisdom teeth! Yikes, I've been putting it off for years. At my next adjustment I'm going to bring it up to my ortho that I think I'm ready and I'm curious to know if it will affect my treatment at all.

Just gotta say, this is the coolest thing I've ever done for myself and I'm so excited to see the final result!

#13 Post by **SnowSara** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 3:47 pm

An update!

So I had my 6th adjustment yesterday and my ortho again brought some colleagues over to marvel at my speedy progress

They would look at me, look at my chart and exclaim "wow, she started in february??"

I'm one adjustment away from being done, which will put me at 12 months in braces, 6 months short of my original plan of 18 months! The reason I'm posting this here is because he also attributes my quick progress to OrthoCAD, every case he's seen so far has been faster than traditional braces. I did have a mild case to begin with, but I am so so so pleased with how fast I progressed along and how easy each step along the way was. I think we'll be hearing more about OrthoCAD in the future!

Also, an update to the question I posed myself in the previous post: The ortho says we'll look at my xrays when we're done to see how my wisdom teeth look, but he doesn't see any reason to have them out just yet.

#14 Post by **SnowSara** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:15 pm

Thanks Karen! Crazy too, that my overbite was fixed as well! I never knew that my teeth were supposed to fit together like a nice puzzle piece before

Now I feel like I have a "Super Bite", CHOMP

#15 Post by **LadyJ** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 7:24 am

Very encouraging news!

I'm having my brackets placed with OrthoCAD in January. It's new in my ortho's office, and he's pretty excited about it. From what I read, it looks promising. We use computer-simulated treatment planning in my field (radiation therapy) so it makes sense that it would be used in others as well.

I'm also looking forward to less chair time on b-day.

I hope my teeth move as quickly as yours (but my case is slightly more complicated, I think).

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