A young, urban quarter that is breaking new ground: this is Schwabinger Tor in Munich. Right in the middle: The Andaz Munich Schwabinger Tor hotel, where Solventum (formerly 3M Health Care) hosted the event “Synergies of biomechanics in traditional and digital orthodontics – a 360° perspective” on November 15, 2024. Around 40 orthodontists from Germany discussed success strategies with proven and new solutions from the company.
Anja Tulies, Sales Manager for Solventum’s orthodontic products in Germany, explained why Schwabinger Tor is a good fit for Solventum as a vibrant district. Both have a long history and are now focusing on a realignment that will make room for upcoming changes. Solventum is using the broad foundation of a multi-technology group, the numerous existing patents and its more than 70 years of experience in orthodontics to take off as a health care company. The aim is to develop solutions that enable more excellent, more individual and more efficient treatments. The presentations at the event showed how these solutions can contribute to improving patient care. Moderator Dr. Mahdi Hakmouni, Scientific Affairs and Education Manager at Solventum in the EMEA region, led through the program.
Welcome to those present by Anja Tulies
Moderator Dr. Mahdi Hakmouni
Dr. Ute Schneider-Moser, specialist in orthodontics from Bolzano, opened the event with her presentation “The future of orthodontics: successfully combining traditional and digital solutions”. Her focus is on excellence in clinical practice, which is achieved through sound diagnostics, precise treatment planning and the targeted use of the right appliance.
Dr. Ute Schneider-Moser
According to the speaker, digital technologies provide valuable support in these steps: Digital Smile Design promotes patient involvement, while a digital setup facilitates individualized, goal-oriented treatment planning. Monitoring during treatment enables early adjustments to be made, while quality assessments at the end of treatment provide valuable insights that can be incorporated into future decisions.
Dr. Schneider-Moser used three case studies to show that comparable malocclusions can be treated equally well with different appliances. According to the speaker, it is crucial that the practitioner masters the appliances and adapts them to the patient’s individual needs. She often combines traditional mechanisms for larger movements with aligners for fine-tuning. To ensure not only functional (without good function, the result will not last) but also aesthetically excellent results, many of her patients receive composite restorations in conclusion.
Open discussion at the end of the presentation
Dr. Dirk Kujat, specialist dentist for orthodontics with his own practice in Groß-Gerau, focused on the presentation of various hybrid treatment techniques and the latest innovations in digital orthodontics. According to him, the combination of different appliances should serve to avoid compliance problems, improve the predictability of tooth movements and develop a suitable and individual form of treatment for each patient.
Dr. Dirk Kujat
The presentation focused on Dr. Kujat’s own experiences with indirect bonding. After several experiments with third-party and in-house production of trays, Dr. Kujat now relies on 3M™ Digital Flash-Free Bonding. The 3M™ Digital Bonding trays are ordered via the 3M™ Oral Care Portal and the planning based on the patient’s own wishes is evaluated. According to the speaker, it is important to check the planning carefully and learn to read the digital data records correctly in order to avoid errors in the appliance. In practice, the trays supplied are fitted with brackets with 3M™ APC™ Flash-Free Adhesive Precoating. This eliminates the need for excess removal. A little care is required to ensure that the non-woven material soaked in adhesive on the bracket base is not damaged. The procedure can be learned in an internal training course. When inserting the trays, pressure should be applied from the buccal side and never from the occlusal side.
Dr. Kujat’s verdict: digital bonding is a valuable addition that reduces chairside time and can increase quality. At the same time, he emphasized that resources are required for familiarization with the system and planning.
For Dr. Christian Groth, DDS, owner of orthodontic practices in Novi and Birmingham, Michigan, efficiency is paramount. He has made it his goal to be as efficient as possible with his patients’ time. For him, this means that his treatments are carried out in as few sessions as possible with as short chair times as possible – with excellent results. Efficient mechanics are the key to success; emergencies due to bracket loss etc. must be avoided.
Dr. Christian Groth
According to him, those who know what they are doing and choose the right case will fare very well with Clear Aligners. They cause practically no emergencies and are very efficient from a clinical point of view. The latter advantage is also offered by the digital bonding of multi-bracket appliances, as this ensures that the brackets are positioned correctly. For him, too, the prerequisite for the efficiency of the system is a bracket with 3M™ APC™ Flash-Free adhesive pre-coating: “If you look at even other digital indirect bonding systems, having to apply adhesive on the bracket base and then have to clean the flash off afterwards really ruins a lot of the efficiency you gain with the digital system.” He uses digital flash-free bonding in around 95 percent of cases. Direct bonding is only used if there are only a few teeth or if a patient does not want to wait for tray production.
When it comes to aligner treatments, Dr. Groth relies on 3M™ Clarity™ Aligners Flex & Force. The Flex variant is used for most patients, while he only starts with the Force variant in cases with a very deep bite. After successful intrusion of the anterior teeth to open the bite, he switches to Flex. Aligner treatment is also ideal for Dr. Groth in periodontally compromised patients, as it allows micromanagement of movements and planning in an interdisciplinary team. In his eyes, the precise fabrication and placement of attachments remains a challenge. If they are inaccurate, this has a negative impact on the efficiency of the entire treatment. According to Dr. Groth’s initial assessment, the new 3D-printed 3M™ Clarity™ Precision Grip Attachments have the potential to significantly improve the efficiency and precision of aligner treatments. In order to minimize the number of treatment appointments, he relies on dental monitoring and standardized patient management in 100 percent of his aligner cases.
The team of speakers agreed that digital technologies and new appliances are valuable tools, but that they cannot replace traditional knowledge and clinical experience. In order to be prepared for the future, in which dentists will increasingly also offer certain orthodontic treatments, it is important to continue training. Complex treatments at a high level and an individualized approach remain the key to long-term success.
The team of speakers at the Andaz Munich Schwabinger Tor
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