The Importance of Communication and Establishing Value when Planning Treatment for the Interdisciplinary Patient

Today, many patients seek orthodontic treatment to address minor esthetic concerns associated with mild malalignment. However, there is a growing number of patients, who have completely different orthodontic needs including missing or malformed maxillary anterior teeth or a deep anterior overbite due to significant incisal wear. These patients are commonly referred by their restorative dentist to have orthodontic treatment in order to facilitate their comprehensive interdisciplinary treatment plan. In fact, they often present with multiple questions, most of which center around…”I’m happy with the alignment of my teeth, so why exactly do I need to do this?” This just illustrates the fact that they are unable to visualize the need - why is this part of their interdisciplinary treatment integral to realizing optimal function and esthetics? As a result, we must spend time educating and “establishing value” in why proper tooth position influences final restorative success. This lecture will not only illustrate the importance of interdisciplinary interaction between the restorative dentist, orthodontist, and periodontist, but will also discuss, demonstrate, and compare three possible methods that help to generate treatment value for your patients.

Learning Objectives:

• Help patients visualize the orthodontic and restorative treatment outcomes utilizing technology available on your iPad.
• Understand the importance of establishing value for our patients when planning treatment that requires orthodontics to facilitate a future restorative treatment plan.
• Be familiar with how to quickly simulate pre-restorative, orthodontic progress images for patients to recognize treatment need.