Large Crowds, Plenty of Product Launches at AAO on Saturday

Aligner materials, orthodontic software, imaging and photography, and the latest in 3D printing all were on display when the exhibit hall opened Saturday for this year’s American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) Annual Session at Chicago’s McCormick Place West.

The definitive event for orthodontists and their ortho teams drew a large crowd Saturday for the event, which runs through Monday. Whether you want to master a new clinical technique, check out the latest product offerings, tap into the power of 3D printing technology or learn how to overcome current labor shortages, the AAO’s Annual Session has you covered.

Here’s a quick look at some of the many products that were drawing attention on Saturday.

DentalMonitoring
Philippe Salah, the chief executive officer at DentalMonitoring, demonstrated the company’s ScanBoxpro to a group media members Saturday morning. Part of DentalMonitoring’s family of devices and software solutions including SmileMate, for engagement, triage and patient conversion and DentalMonitoring, the only available AI-based remote monitoring solution available to both fixed and removable orthodontic appliances of all brands.

With ScanBoxpro,which can be used with any smartphone,patients can take a full scan of their mouth in just 1 minute in a “super cool way,” Salah says. It’s lightweight, portable and can easily join patients on-the-go, anywhere, for high-quality scans powered by AI. It also allows clinicians to have control at every stage of treatment and helps automate their workflow while enhancing their patient experiences.

Salah adds that DentalMonitoring’s Smart STL technology, currently in use in Europe, should be available in the US sometime in 2023 after it garners FDA approval. Smart STL is said to bring the only platform in the oral healthcare industry capable of creating updated STL files 100% remotely. This addition to remote oral healthcare technology supports clinicians in providing treatment in convenient and cost-effective ways that have previously been impossible.

Salah says the technology allows patients to use Smart STL without needing to come back to the practice for intraoral scans. A company, for example Ormco and its SPARK clear aligner system, can create new aligners for the patient based off the STL file representing the most up-to-date model based on a patient’s current smile.

Meet Iggy™
Capital Dental Equipment kept busy demonstrating its new, natural hand hygiene system. Iggy is described as a natural and sustainable solution for health and wellbeing.

Manufactured by 30eScientific, Iggy cleans hands in 7 seconds using a miniaturized ozone generator and mechanical water spray. The eco-friendly system is free of alcohol and harsh chemicals, and is said to leave skin feeling clean and soft. Iggy uses aqueous ozone, a potent disinfectant that occurs naturally when electricity meets water.

Proclaim Custom-Jet Oral Health System
Designed to improve gum health in 7 seconds a day, Proclaim utilizes intraoral scanning and 3D printing to craft a customized mouthpiece that contains up to 60 pressurized jets. Jets send precision pulsing water between the teeth and gum line, automating the irrigation system for patients at home.

Fresh Health, which is demonstrating the system at its booth #609, is designed to personalize and automate patient’s at-home oral care. It is said to reduce gingival bleeding by 82 %. The customizable irrigation tool is proven to reduce bleeding, plaque, and inflammation and to allow patients to improve their home care hygiene routine, improving teeth and gum health.

Chief marketing officer David Yin demonstrated just how fast and effective the system is and also shared studies indicating that Proclaim is more effective than flossing. Households can have customized mouthpieces made for each person, with the ability to each use the same Proclaim system. For more information, visit proclaimhealth.com.

OrthoFX Launches NiTime Aligners
OrthoFX's new NiTime Aligner, the first aligner system that is explicitly designed for overnight wear, is being showcased at the AAO Annual Session at booth #641.

OrthoFX announced the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k)clearance of their NiTime Aligners just ahead of the AAO meeting, and on Saturday the company’s co-founder and president Nichole Garcia talked with Dental Products Report® about the launch .

The hyper-elastic polymer maintains biologically favored force levels, allowing predictable tooth movement with less wear time, says Garcia, who has been wearing the new NiTime Aligners herself at night. The latest offering from OrthoFX is described as the first aligner system cleared by the FDA and supported by clinical studies that demonstrate treatment efficacy for reduced duration of wear.Additionally, it’sthe first aligner system that reduces daily wear time to 9-12 hours without increasing the number of stages in the treatment.