Orthodontic 4-Minute Mile: Treatment Completed in Just 3 Visits

Records are made to be broken and as far as I know, this achievement will stand alone for our profession. The search for the “Holy Grail” in orthodontics has been pursued by our fringe innovators seeking to: 1. shorten treatment time by pushing physiology to its limits. 2. Reduce the number of appointments to complete treatment. The February, 2025 edition of Compendium features a successful outcome on a busy adult patient completed in only three office visits. Seeing the pre and post treatment photographs are impressive Board quality results. Brian Gray is to be congratulated.

Yes, office visits were eliminated, but the time spent with virtual remote monitoring and 24/7 clinical tracking with scanbox devices, mobile phone, and sophisticated computer software truly account as the substitute for office visit time. Personally, I enjoy seeing my patients in person, hands on, but accept the” Wow! Gee whiz!” influence and benefit of AI assistance.

As with all clear aligner treatment, there were necessary revisions “No-Go” messages picked up by the monitoring system to allow extra time for teeth to track to the aligner, sometimes requiring 21 days before changing to the next aligner. Patient compliance with holding back prevented unwarranted waste of time and new set of aligners. Of particular interest was that no attachments were bonded to any teeth. The aligner system used was CandidPro.

Anyone out there that can beat three office visits?

John B. Harrison DDS,MSc