Clinical Tips for Efficient Lingual Orthodontics

抄録

　One of the utmost concerns that constantly linger in my mind is what disrupts lingual orthodontic procedures as originally planned, which causes enormous stress amongst orthodontists. Since a number of studies as well as clinical case reports have been conducted and presented upon its devices, techniques and basic mechanism for quite some time, I have to believe that those who are already somewhat familiar with orthodontic procedures can now easily start practicing and explore such procedures. Nonetheless, many have said that they run into unexpected problems which were never envisioned as the procedure progresses. As I happen to have gone through the same experience, I have always been reexamining what I have done, and I would also like to take this opportunity to investigate this matter thoroughly.
　As soon as a patient express his/her wish to go through lingual orthodontic procedure, my mind immediately sets to believe that I am about to begin a special procedure, which at the same time usually makes me to concern that I might experience difficulties as soon as a procedure begins. In other words, despite I didn't have any problems while working on the labial orthodontic procedures, I somehow totally forget about it at one moment, and I start to feel like I now have to work on something completely new as if I were possessed by 'evil tooth fairy'.
　There are certain steps that have to be assured each step by step in order to make sure that proper procedures have been followed from a simple leveling to space closure. While I have accepted and treated substantial number of patients who were transferred over to me in the middle of treatments due to their residential relocations, I learned that not a few of them were already going through anterior retraction before their leveling work was fully completed. Such incomplete leveling works, I came to believe, are caused by the impatience of their attending orthodontists. Of course, there are occasions where dentists become weary since they feel as if they were being dictated by patients because the leveling takes up too much of time. And it would lead anterior retraction to cause too much of tension which could end up causing the loss of torque.
　In short, I would be more than happy if this literature would help any of my fellow dentists to take extra caution to attain the satisfactory outcome when they run into the situation that I have described above.