In House Aligners;
Dr. Carlson offers In-House Aligners as an alternative for orthodontic treatment when the amount of tooth movement and type of movement makes it possible. Generally, patients who can use this treatment modality fit one of the following criteria:

• minor tooth alignment
• patients who have completed orthodontic treatment that have had relapse due to loss of their original retainers
• patients who are in orthodontic treatment with traditional braces and would like to finish their case with clear aligners towards the end of tooth movement
• spaces between teeth that need to be closed or increased.

These invisible aligners, also called repositioning retainers, fit closely over the entire tooth surface to allow accurate and precise tooth movement. The treatment involves fabricating 3 to possibly 4 sets of aligners worn over a prescribed length of time to achieve the movement necessary with each set. Initially, impressions are taken of the both upper and lower arches, along with a wax bite.

These impressions are given to our in house Lab Technologist where they are poured in stone and then trimmed to the patients wax bite. Dr. Carlson reviews these models and makes his determination which teeth are to be moved and by how much. Then, our experienced Lab Technologist works to fabricate each set of aligners to achieve the amount of movement necessary to complete the desired results over the course of treatment. These movements are monitored very closely to achieve the optimum result. New impressions are taken each time a new set of repositioning aligners is necessary.

Depending on the amount of movement, these aligners sometimes take a few days to seat completely.They need to be worn 24 hrs a day, only to be removed during eating. Unlike other offices our in-house repositioning retainers are not sent to an outside lab. Our Laboratory Technologist has been working very closely with Dr. Carlson for over 20 years. This relationship has benefited the patient along with the doctor to achieve results unlike any other dental office.

The cost is about 1/3 of full orthodontic treatment and gives our office the ability to treat minor orthodontic cases reasonably.