CDEN0210

I 07 MICD _ Inman Aligner I cosmeticdentistry 2_2010 _The Inman Aligner For over 30 years, spring aligners were used to correctminortoothmovements.Earlydesignswere developed for minor tooth movements and to treat slight rotations. Previous spring aligners were use- ful,butseveralproblemsalwayslimitedtheamount oftoothmovementachievable.Theiractivecompo- nentsweremadefromstainless-steelwire,whichis relativelyinflexibleandlacksanyinnatespringiness. As a result, traditional removable appliances re- quired periodic reactivation, leading to short-lived force application that limited the speed of tooth movement, owing to the need to allow the bone around the roots of the teeth being moved to ‘rest’ between successive activations. In addition, the di- rection of force application with traditional springs waslesseasytocontrol,leadingtoamousetrap-like forcethattendedtounseattheappliance.Thesefac- tors limited the degree of correction that could be accomplished. For larger movements, single appli- ances were insufficient to complete the movement. In developing the Inman Aligner, Donal Inman CDTcreatedapatenteddesignthattakesadvantage of the gentle, steady and consistent forces gen- erated by NiTi. The design relies on piston-like com- ponents driven by NiTi coil springs. Inman designed lingual and labial components to function or move in parallel to the occlusal plane, eliminating the mousetrap-like unseating forces and allowing ac- tualphysiologicalmovementofteeth.InmanAlign- ersareideallywornfor16to20hoursaday.Studies havedemonstratedthattheremovaloforthodontic forcesforfourhoursadaymassivelyreducestherisk of root resorption1 and that risk of root resorption is lower in removable versus fixed appliances.2 A standard Inman Aligner as described in the fol- lowingcasesconsistsofbothlingualandlabialcom- ponents. The forces have the effect of squeezing the teethintoalignment.Thecomponentscanbeusedin isolationtoretractteethwithamoresteadyforce,re- quiring less adjustment than a standard labial bow retractor.InCaseIII,auniqueapproachthatincorpo- rates an expander on the Inman Aligner is described. Patientselection Case selection for the Inman Aligner is critical. The following criteria should be met before treat- ment proceeds: 1. Cases should require movement of incisor and/or canine teeth only. 2. Root formation of the teeth to be moved must be complete. Fig. 3_Occlusal view before treatment. Fig. 4_Occlusal view after treatment. Fig. 5_Occlusal view before treatment. Fig. 6_Occlusal view after 13 weeks with an Inman Aligner. Fig. 6Fig. 5 Fig. 4Fig. 3