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Dental TribuneAsia Pacific Edition | 1+2/2016 06 WORLD NEWS The European Aligner Society is an international organisation estab- lished in 2013 that aims to promote education and research in aligner therapy.TrainedinSouthAfricaand with 22 years of clinical experience, Dr Graham Gardner has been run- ninghisownprivatepracticesinthe UK since 2008.In an interview with Dental Tribune, the EAS President shares his ideas and views about theimportanceofalignersinortho- dontics and about the EAS, which he believes will become the society for aligner therapy. Dental Tribune: Dr Gardner, you have been working with aligners for more than a decade now. What convinced you initially of this treatment method and what are the main advantages in your ex- perience? Dr Graham Gardner: From the be- ginning of my career in the early 1990s, a time when ceramic brack- ets and lingual braces became available, I was certainly aware of the fact that aesthetic appliances were going to be the future of orthodontics. In 2001, I was fortunate to at- tend a certification course for In- visalign, which was truly a water- shed moment in my orthodontic career because I saw the value and potential of aligner therapy for both dental professionals and patients. In my opinion, aligner therapy opened the door for a hugecohortofpatientswhowould not have considered orthodontic therapy in the past mainly owing to aesthetic concerns. In addition to aesthetic benefits, aligners are far more comfortable than fixed appliances, as they are removable and hence facilitate oral hygiene during therapy. They also move the teeth more gently with less pressure, which is favourable with regard to patient comfort and from a biological perspective too. Today, I treat over 75 per cent of patients with Invisalign in my practices. In recent years, clear aligners have become a favourable treatment alternative to fixed appliances, andtheglobalorthodonticsupplies market is expected to reach about US$3.9billion(€3.6billion)by2020. In your professional opinion, how will this market develop in the near future? Over the past decade, aligners have become mainstream ortho- dontics and I definitely see this trend continuing and expanding. With the technological advance- ments, including 3-D and CAD/ CAM, that allow the clinician to diagnose, plan the treatment and confirm biomechanics in a far more in-depth way than ever be- fore, orthodontics is now catching up with the high-tech world we live in—it is twenty-first-century orthodontics. When aligners were first intro- duced to the market, there were some limitations and we could only treat mild malocclusions. However, aligner therapy has come of age and is now a genuine appliance system with which we can treat the majority of mal- occlusions. At the moment, however, aligner therapy is still a fairly ex- pensive form of orthodontics. Thus, I hope that improvements in materials and 3-D printing will rendermanufactureandtheprod- uct itself more cost-effective. For example, 3-D printers could allow individual practices to print their own aligners in the future. Overall, with technological ad- vancements and increasing pa- tient acceptance, we will be able to treat pretty much everything in the future in my view. How have developments in the European and the overseas market differed? Dentistryasaprofessionisvery conservative and dentists in the US, for example, are perhaps a bit more progressive. However, with regard to aligners, I no longer re- allyseeagreatdifferencebetween Europe and America. The move- ment is global and I suspect the advancements we are now seeing in Europe will match those in America and Asia, where aligner therapy is also very popular. There are always regional differ- ences, also partly related to legal restrictions, but the trend to- wards aligner therapy is a global phenomenon. How does the EAS address the current trends in orthodontics? Aligner therapy has seen huge advancements over the past decade, with an increasing num- ber of manufacturers offering different systems today. Thus, the mainmotivationbehindthefoun- dation of the EAS was to establish a neutral body—an international society that is independent of any aligner company and open to all dentists using aligners for ortho- dontic treatment. The work of the EAS is charac- terised by three cornerstones. The first is education, namely ar- ranging conferences and regional meetings and introducing clinical online forums, through which members can interact and share experiencesandideas.Thesecond column of the EAS’s philosophy is communication. We aim to be a neutral organisation that patients can turn to for comprehensive information about aligner ther- apyandthatmemberscanconsult for guidelines. Research is our third column, which is currently lagging behind. Eventually, we hopetohaveourownalignerjour- nal or magazine and grant annual awards for excellence in aligner therapy. With the help of our sponsors, the EAS will grow and become an international umbrella organisa- tion to help promote education andresearchanddevelopmentfor aligner therapy. The EAS is a fairly young organisa- tionandhosteditsfirst congresson 13 and 14 February in Vienna. What was the idea behind this event? The EAS’s primary objective is education because, obviously, ed- ucation underpins every profes- sion and without it we simply stagnate. Therefore, we decided that our first event should be a congress held in the heart of Europeofferingabroadspectrum of informative lectures and a showcase of different systems andproducts.Atthefirstcongress in Vienna, internationally distin- guished speakers shared their views and expertise about aligner therapy. Moreover, the event of- fered manufacturers an inde- pendent forum for exhibiting their solutions. Can dental professionals look for- ward to another EAS congress next year? Based on the success of the inaugural event over the past weekend, we definitely want the congress to become a regular eventinthecalendar.Whileweare planning to hold the EAS congress every two years, we will be organ- ising smaller regional forums on a continuous basis throughout every year. Thank you very much for the inter- view. “We will be able to treat pretty much everything in the future” An interview with Dr Graham Gardner, UK, President of the European Aligner Society Dr Graham Gardner. “...aligner therapy opened the door for a huge cohort of patients who would not have considered orthodontic therapy in the past...” “...the advancements we are now seeing in Europe will match those in America and Asia...” DTAP0116_06_Gardner 12.02.16 12:59 Seite 1 DTAP0116_06_Gardner 12.02.1612:59 Seite 1