ortho - the international C.E. magazine of orthodontics

ortho1_2012 I 25 technique_ lingual ortho I Dr. Roncone MTM No•Trace Case Fig. 4a_Pre-treatement. Fig. 4b_Initial placement. Fig. 4c_At 12 weeks. bracket as part of an orthodontist’s offerings to his or her patients due to the high demand for an invis- ible solution. Yet,withalltheimprovements,lingualorthodon- tics remained difficult. For the patient, speech prob- lemscouldbeovercome,butitwasnotaquickoreasy adjustment. Patients also took a long time getting used to the tongue irritations. Gingival hyperplasia was also a common problem. Even when the orthodontist mastered the “me- chanics” of lingual, it was still difficult to ligate the wire to the brackets. Wire tying stainless-steel ligatures to each bracket or using special ties, such as the “double over” tie, were very time consuming and difficult. With these thoughts in mind, the next stage of lingual treatment necessarily led to lingual self-ligation. Several years ago, in conjunction with GAC, we began the development of the In-Ovation “L.” It is currently in use in many areas of the world. The bracket is small: 1.5 mm in thickness and 2.2 mm in width.Theclipisveryeasilyopenedandclosed,which eliminates the difficult and time-consuming task of wire tying or placing elastomeric modules. Thesamebasicphilosophyoflightwiretreatment that is part of the In-Ovation “R” and “C” protocol canbeusedonthelingual.Withalloftheseadvance- ments in technology, the highest degree of quality stillrequiresindirectproceduresforfulllingual.Many excellent methods of indirect are currently available. As an offshoot of this self-ligating bracket (SLB), it is very easy to treat simple cases requiring no basic changesinocclusionwiththeMTM® No•Trace(MTM = minor tooth movement) System. Mild to moderate crowdingoftheanteriorteethcanbeeasilytreatedin a matter of weeks. All of the cases that our office has treated have been completed within the six-week to 4.5-monthperiod.Mostoftheseareunder10weeks. MTM No•Trace utilizes a reduced base size and is designedtoaddressthesesimplecosmeticcases.The Fig. 4c Fig. 4b Fig. 4a