Forty Years of Finishing Techniques... and Still Learning

Having witnessed a profession that has transitioned from all bands to mostly all bonds, from "straight bracket" to "straight wire,”from hand tracings and manual measurements to digital, and delays of multiple days or weeks to immediate viewing of pre-treatment records, how have finishing techniques changed? This lecture will focus on techniques that have been successfully used in my private practice to strive for ABO quality finishes as a routine goal, but unfortunately, not a routine result. Techniques that have worked and those that have failed will be presented.

Learning Objectives:

• Determine when to begin the finishing procedures.
• Recognize tooth positions that “settle” well, and those that don’t, and what to do to enhance those situations.
• Identify when to say “go” and when to say “no’ to an appliance removal.