Although we always explain the process of treatment with invisible aligners -called Clincheck in Invisalignfor example - during a first orthodontic visitObviously patients forget certain things, so when it's time for one of our 'scan and photo' or refinement appointments, they often ask: "How can I be re-scanned during my treatment?
Yes, and not only that, but it is also very likely that we will change your attachments. Let me tell you what this phase of orthodontic treatment, also known as the 2nd phase, consists of.
Once we have used up the total number of aligners that were planned in the first phase of treatment, the aforementioned Clincheck, it is time to re-evaluate the state of your mouth to see where we stand: the aim is to continue improving and perfecting your smile and occlusion.
This is why it is so important to take up-to-date records, both with photographs and an intraoral scanner, and this is what we call 'a scan and photo appointment'. This intraoral scanner iTero is a state-of-the-art tool with which we can take highly accurate scans to see the state of your mouth and plan your invisible orthodontic treatment, as it captures exact measurements of the teeth as well as soft areas such as the gums and generates 3D images, where we can see exactly the patient's occlusion.
So, with this scan and record taking, we can proceed to this second phase of planning, in which, as in the first phase, we must decide with millimetric precision all the movements we want the aligners to make in your mouth, deciding where each attachment will go, the shape, the thickness, whether or not elastics and buttons will be necessary... a lot of details that we have to take into account!
Once this new batch of aligners has been received, the attachments are changed if necessary (normally it is) and the treatment is completed. This second phase can be extended as long as necessary to ensure that everything is finished in the optimum way, although in most cases it lasts much less than the first phase and only lasts a couple of months.