Orthodontic treatment is all about going through a beautiful journey toward a healthy smile that’ll last forever, and it’s important for parents and patients to understand just how important every step of the process is.
The very initial step of orthodontic treatment is commonly to undergo an online smile assessment, which is applicable for both braces and invisible aligner treatment plans. This preliminary stage is crucial, because it helps point your orthodontic journey in the right direction.
It’s common for people to be confused about online smile assessments, because this is a relatively new trend that became popular during the COVID pandemic. Below we’ll be exploring what you should know prior to you or your child’s next online smile assessment!
What Exactly is an Online Smile Assessment?
An online smile assessment is a thorough evaluation of a patient’s oral aesthetics and health, and these assessments entail comprehensive evaluations of a patient’s bite alignment, gums and teeth.
What makes online smile assessments different than in-person consultation is that they take place remotely over FaceTime or other video conferencing programs. This means that patients can relax at home while their orthodontist conducts their initial appointment.
Your orthodontist will look for common issues like crooked teeth and overcrowding as they assess your oral health status, and the primary goal of these assessments is to prepare an orthodontist’s team for a patient’s first in-person appointment.
Some of the key elements associated with both online smile assessments and in-person consultation appointments include:
- Medical History Review: Your orthodontist will thoroughly review both your dental and medical history, and this is partly because he/she will need to verify if you have any pre-existing conditions that might impact your treatment process.
- Visual Examination: Your orthodontist will then visually examine your jaw alignment, gums and teeth. They’ll be looking for visible signs of dental issues like misalignment, gum disease, cavities, crowding, etc.
- Digital Imaging: This mainly applies to in-person consultations, but it’s crucial for parents and patients to remember that x-rays and 3D scans are very important for orthodontists at the beginning of the treatment process. These images go a very long way to help orthodontists more accurately examine a patient’s jaw and teeth structure/alignment.
- Bite Assessment: Orthodontists always evaluate a patient’s bite during online smile assessments, and this particularly pertains to how a patient’s lower and upper teeth come together. Common issues like underbites, overbites, open bites and crossbites can alter how your treatment process will go.
- Tooth Alignment Evaluation: Your orthodontist will be on the lookout for teeth alignment issues like rotated teeth, wide spacing and overcrowding.
- Oral Health Assessment: This can include tartar/plaque presence, gum health, and all sorts of oral disease warning signs.
- Aesthetic Assessment: It’s also important for orthodontist’s to evaluate a patient’s oral aesthetics, which includes things like tooth shape, tooth color, tooth size, and how your teeth contribute to your overall smile.
- Feedback & Discussion: Once your orthodontist has completed their smile assessment, they’ll give you their feedback and go over your best treatment options.
How Online Smile Assessments Impact Invisible Aligner Treatment
Online smile assessments are typically the foundation of a successful invisible aligner treatment process, and this is because these assessments allow orthodontists to develop accurate, effective treatment plans that are oriented around a patient’s unique needs.
Although there are many ways that online smile assessments impact invisible aligner treatment plans, the following are some of the most important impacts:
- Fully Tailored Orthodontic Treatment Plans: Online smile assessments are incredibly important for orthodontists as they begin to design a fully personalized invisible aligner treatment plan on your behalf. Orthodontists will be able to determine the general severity of your alignment issues, and also suggest an aligner sequence that’ll help you achieve efficient results.
- Complication Prevention: Online smile assessments are also very important when it comes to detecting dental health issues long before they potentially impact invisible aligner treatment. By being able to identify these types of complications early on, your orthodontist will be able to adjust your treatment journey and ultimately increase your overall likelihood of a smooth and successful treatment process.
- Realistic Expectations: Another great benefit of online smile assessments is that they give patients realistic expectations about their invisible aligner treatment. This type of transparency is incredibly important in terms of helping you initiate your treatment journey with achievable goals.
Reach Out to Dr. James Karpac of JK Orthodontics to Learn More About Online Smile Assessments!
There’s no denying how online smile assessments will continue to grow in popularity throughout the foreseeable future, and this is a great change for both orthodontists and patients who want to jumpstart the treatment process without having to deal with in-person consultations.
Although there’s still a lot that patients need to do prior to actually beginning their treatment journey after their online smile assessments, these assessments are great opportunities to better understand what your treatment process will entail.
You can learn more about online smile assessments when you click on the link at the top of this page and speak with the renowned Dr. James Karpac of JK Orthodontics!
