Treatment mechanics has always been of tremendous interest for all practicing orthodontists.
Since the beginning of the specialty, orthodontists have looked for the best, fastest, more consistent, and easiest way to achieve the orthodontic correction for our patients.
This continuous quest has allowed emerging technologies to integrate, although slowly sometimes, with everyday practice until they become a routine.
As a consequence, new materials, improvement in design of appliances, and innovative ideas repeatedly transform the way orthodontics is practiced.
It is important for the contemporary orthodontist to be knowledgeable of current changes, to gain the benefits of such innovation.
Today, after the first decade of the 21st century has already passed, orthodontic fixed appliances have experienced an interesting blend between technologies that have been around for decades such as the straight wire appliance (SWA), self–ligating brackets (SLB), and low deflection heat-activated arch wires.
$210.59 (2023)
This integration, in my opinion, represents an improvement that, when correctly applied, facilitates the practice of orthodontics.
The main objective of this series of three articles (parts 1, 2, and 3) is to introduce the concepts of treatment mechanics within the CCO System™.
Part 1 will review how the SWA integrates with SLB to produce an appliance that, when combining with specific arch wires on a specific sequence, can help the orthodontist to correct different types of malocclusions.
Relevant characteristics of active SLB, a newly introduced prescription (CCO Rx) along with a review of the three stages of treatment mechanics will be discussed.
Part 2 will focus on bracket placement, arch coordination, leveling the occlusal plane, and vertical problems.
Part 3 will focus on anchorage management in extraction cases.
