According to "Dr. Wo" Wm. Randol Womack, DDS, Editorial Director, Orthotown Magazine

Orthodontics at "Warp Speed"


Wm. Randol Womack, DDS
Editorial Director,
Orthotown Magazine
I am so fortunate to still be actively practicing orthodontics today because technology is exploding with advances in diagnosis and treatment techniques. We now have digital imaging/photography and chartless offices. We have self-ligating brackets with new innovations coming on line almost monthly, like the Dentauram Discovery bracket. We have TADs from most orthodontic supply companies providing different designs and applications for enhanced anchorage control in treatment. We even have referral management on the Internet available to us. It's amazing and somewhat overwhelming.

Since the first of this year, when I attended the AAO Technology Symposium, the ideas that were "on the drawing board" then are entering the profession as realities today. Perhaps the most amazing advancement and application could be the CBCT scan. In the past four months I have used the CBCT scan on a half dozen cases involving tooth impactions. This information has influenced and enhanced the treatment regimen for treating these cases like nothing else in the past has done.

Even beyond this clinical application, the CBCT scan is now becoming part of bracket placement programs like Insignia. SureSmile is close to making CBCT scans applicable to their software program. Invisalign is very close to utilizing CBCT scans to produce a model accurate enough to produce aligners. Stand-alone software programs like Anatomage are available to enhance the display and evaluation of CBCT scans. Technology is definitely approaching each clinician rapidly, or as Captain Kirk would say, "At warp speed!"

In July 2008, the Second International Congress on 3D Dental Imaging was held in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Industry experts presented the latest in techniques to capture the patient's true anatomy to see and plan orthodontic treatment as well as surgical procedures. The high level of participation and attendance reflects the very strong interest in this technology. There is much to learn but much to gain about improving diagnosis and patient care.

One thing that caught my eye about this meeting was the discussion regarding the practitioner's responsibility to the patient while examining CBCT scans. I am sure this topic will be getting more attention in future CE programs and on the regional and national meeting agendas. I think I will check into attending the Third International Congress on 3D Dental Imaging next year.

As I stated in the article "Internet Marketing" in the May issue of Orthotown Magazine, "It's time to make your decision: either get up to speed right away or be left behind on the technology super-highway."

As the waves of new technology keep bringing in new applications to orthodontic diagnosis and treatment, the amount of effort to get "up to speed" appears to be increasing at an alarming rate. That is the stimulating thing about orthodontics today. It seems that it is becoming brand new all over again – about every six months
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