adhesive using an explorer or scaler. Here’s a clinical pearl; use a keychain blacklight to help highlight excessive mate-rial during removal. (Fig. 6) ᕥ Cure each bracket for 10 seconds mesially and distally with an LED curing light.(Fig. 7) Fig. 4 Fig. 6 Aligner Connect by GC Ortho Benefits ᕡ Adaptability: Aligner Connect is highly adaptable, making it easy to apply and shape for precise attachment placement. ᕢ High Filler Content: With a high filler content, Aligner Connect offers excellent wear resistance, ensuring that attachments maintain their integrity throughout the treat-ment. In the author’s opinion, this is the biggest advantage of this material. I always preferred the adaptation I experienced with flowable composites versus packable composites for attachments. The issue with flowable resins however was that they had an accelerated wear rate. The more wear at the attachment, the less engagement of that attachment in the aligner, leading to less effective biomechanics. This material, due to its high filler content, is the best of both worlds for me. All the adapta-tion of a flowable, and the wear resistance of a packable. Fig. 5 Fig. 7 the tooth structure is founda-tional to bonding success. Make sure to clean the tooth surfaces to be bonded with pumice and water and dry thoroughly. rial to the tooth and helps prevent both voids and debonding. ᕧ Remove transfer tray from teeth and finish using standard tech-niques. CLINICAL PEARL: when removing transfer trays, roll the tray out from the lingual towards the buccal. When trying to take trays out from the buccal the tray meets the resis-tance of the attachments. If the template tray or aligner is too rigid, this could cause the attachment to debond. ᕢ Etch the tooth surfaces for 15-30 seconds depending on the strength of etchant of your choice. Teeth restored in porce-lain, metal, zirconia or compos-ite should be treated with the appropriate conditioner. ᕣ Apply a bonding agent of your choice. You can use self-etch-ing adhesive such as G-Premio BOND by GC or Scotchbond Universal by 3M. You can also use an orthodontic primer you’re currently using like Transbond XT by 3M or Assure by Reliance. Valuable Bonding Tools Ortho Connect and Aligner Connect by GC Orthodontics offer valuable tools for enhancing your orthodontic practice. Ortho Connect simplifies the bonding process, improving efficiency and consistency, while Aligner Connect provides supe-rior adaptability, wear resistance and esthetics for aligner attachments. By incorporating these two prod-ucts into daily workflows, we can enhance patient care, increase opera-tional efficiency, increase profitabil-ity, improve patient experiences and achieve better treatment outcomes. Materials that are able to simplify the process while maintaining high quality are the goal. I believe that Leonardo Divinci said it best: “Simplic-ity is the ultimate sophistication. ᕣ Excellent Color Matching: The composite provides superior color matching, blending seamlessly with the natural tooth color for an aesthetically pleasing result. Here’s a clinical pearl; the shade I use most in clinical use is A1 as I find the material has an excellent chameleon effect and blends very well with teeth running from B1 to A2 shades. Instructions for Use ᕤ Dry for 5 seconds using oil-free air and light cure. ᕥ Place the dispensing tip as close as possible to the transfer tray to minimize any air pock-ets or voids in the material. ᕦ Set transfer tray on teeth and light cure each attachment for a full 20 seconds. CLINICAL PEARL: I like to take cotton pliers, place the arms on the mesial and distal of the attach-ment I’m curing, and push the template against the tooth while curing. This helps ensure proper adaptation of the mate-ᕡ Much like above, adequate cleaning, etching and drying of www.orthodontics.com Summer 2024 7
Journal of the American Orthodontic Society Summer 2024: Page 7
