WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT CLEAR ALIGNERS

What_We_Know_About_Clear_Alignersapak

PROBLEM SOLVING, TIPS AND TRICKS IN ALIGNER THERAPY

Gözde Çobanoğlu1 Ebru Çetinkaya Tokmak2 Burcu Ece Koru Akan3

1Private Practice of Orthodontics, Ankara, Türkiye
2Private Practice of Orthodontics, Bursa, Türkiye
3Bahçeşehir University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Orthodontics, İstanbul, Türkiye

Çobanoğlu G, Çetinkaya Tokmak E, Koru Akan BE. Problem Solving, Tips and Tricks in Aligner Therapy. In: Hancıoğlu Kırcelli B, editor. What We Know About Clear Aligners 1st ed. Ankara: Türkiye Klinikleri; 2025. p.171-181.

ABSTRACT

Clear aligner treatment has become an increasingly preferred method in contemporary orthodontics, offering a comfortable and aesthetic alternative to conventional fixed appliances. Despite its widespread clinical adoption and advances in digital planning, achieving predictable and controlled tooth movement with aligners remains a biomechanical challenge—particularly in complex cases such as torque control, root parallelism, incisor extrusion and intrusion, and rotational correction. This chapter presents clinical strategies and biomechanical principles aimed at enhancing treatment efficiency and predictability in such challenging cases.

Key techniques include the use of temporary anchorage devices (TADs), cantilevers, power arms, and force couples to optimize force systems and overcome the inherent mechanical limitations of aligners. Specific approaches are detailed for molar torque control, root parallelism in polydiastema and implant cases, extrusion and intrusion of incisors, rotational correction, and the use of skeletal anchorage in bimaxillary distalization. Additionally, biomechanical methods for managing impacted teeth are described, highlighting the role of hybrid mechanics when clear aligners alone are insufficient.

This chapter emphasizes the use of auxiliary mechanics and the strategic application of elastics to control force vectors and enhance the predictability of tooth movement. Clinical examples and radiographic evidence are provided to support the implementation of these techniques in daily practice.

Ultimately, the success of clear aligner treatment depends on the clinician’s ability to integrate digital tools with efficient biomechanical strategies and to recognize the limitations of aligner mechanics throughout the treatment course. The methods outlined in this chapter contribute to closing the gap between virtual treatment setups and clinical outcomes, enabling more reliable and stable results.

Keywords: Digital orthodontics; Clear aligner appliances; Orthodontic anchorage procedures; Tooth movement techniques; Biomechanics; Auxiliary mechanics; Temporary skeletal anchorage devices; Clinical efficiency

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