Elastodontic Therapy: the new frontier
Aesthetics and non invasive orthodontics are the main focus for modern dentistry. Minimally invasive techniques which leverage biological mechanism help dentists to achieve excellent aesthetics and a predictable functionality for our patients. The term bio-orthodontics means a new approach to orthodontic treatment which respects very important principles such as: being minimally invasive, respect for the oral tissues and the simplification of treatments; we are therefore referring to preventive and interceptive orthodontics whose purpose is the treatment of skeletal malocclusions from the onset, through minimally invasive devices that require little cooperation of young patient; at the same time
we speak of sensitization to an adequate culture for the physiological growth of facial structures.
Since 2005, immediately after graduation, specializing in orthodontics at the university of Milan, I developed the desire to create an innovative approach for paediatric patients, in order to make therapies more possible and more simple early to require a reduced cooperation and at the same time more rapid effective, so as to reduce possible recurrence. The Elastodontic therapy allows to treat patients in the most natural way, making the most of the growth and at the same time allows to obtain a physiological occlusion as dental elements are positioned in the elastodontic space, the equilibrium zone between the muscles of the lips and tongue, all this without resorting to extraction with a great advantage from the point of view of the aesthetic face of the patient.
Elastodontics is the orthodontic treatment which uses light and biological forces of elastic type to correct malocclusions in young patients, affecting growth, eliminating functional disorders and correcting the position of teeth. Orthodontic treatments play an important role in the context of modern dentistry. Preventive interceptive orthodontics provides treatments undertaken at an early age, during the most active stages of skeletal and dental growth, when skeletal structures are characterized by remarkable plasticity and capacity of adaptation, aimed at removing the factors responsible for malocclusions. The therapy using elastodontic devices represents an extraordinarily effective treatment that has multiple indications. These devices can be preformed or made of soft plastic material, manufactured respecting the fundamental keys of a functional occlusion and suitable to play a skeletal and dental action; to act simultaneously on both arches and this shortens the duration of treatment and results in a more stable correction.
Benefits deriving from elastodontic therapy are significant, the most important one being the possibility of treating patients at very young age (i.e. 2/5 years). Another very important advantage is the rapid result that is obtained by using preformed or individualized devices that are able to function in a three dimensional manner in the oral cavity unlike classic devices which have a two-dimensional operation that makes the therapy incomplete and prone to relapses. The elastodontic therapy's development is considered an important step forward in the field of preventive orthodontics since it is able to resolve most orthodontic problems (around 90% of cases) quickly and easily as well as transforming most of these cases in ideal occlusion, in functional and aesthetic terms that do not require additional orthodontic treatment.
Today when we talk about paediatric dentistry it is essential to consider the interaction with and the education of young patients towards the explanation of their treatments. In fact, only with the right psychological approach adopted by professionals allows the young patient to overcome fears, sometimes transmitted unknowingly by a new parent’s dental phobia because of past negative experience and to deal with serenity the dental treatment. My innovative approach consists in continuous interaction and explanation of the treatment through slides and art-works, in addition to minimally invasive care that are conducted in a dedicated environment for the youngest patients. The effectiveness of the techniques is substantiated by the number of dentists who come to my courses and who have been able to experience the effectiveness during their clinical activity.