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ePaper created 2016-03-29, 15:23:51 | version 1.38.0
nose,planthetreatmentandconfirmbiomechanics in a far more in-depth way than ever before, ortho- donticsisnowcatchingupwiththehigh-techworld we live in—it is twenty-first-century orthodontics. When aligners were first introduced to the mar- ket, 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 malocclusions. At the moment, however, aligner therapy is still a fairly expensive form of orthodontics. Thus, I hope that improvements in materials and 3-D printing will render manufacture and the product itself more cost-effective. For example, 3-D printers could allow individual practices to print their own aligners in the future. Overall, with technological advancements and in- creasingpatientacceptance,wewillbeabletotreat pretty much everything in the future in my view. How have developments in the European and the overseas market differed? Dentistry as a profession is very conservative and dentists in the US, for example, are perhaps a bit more progressive. However, with regard to aligners, I no longer really see a great difference between Europe and America. The movement is global and I suspect the advancements we are now seeing in EuropewillmatchthoseinAmericaandAsia,where feature interview | 25 cosmetic dentistry 1 2016 “...the advancements we are now seeing in Europe will match those in America and Asia...” dentistry 12016