OrVance has added a bright shade and a clear retention indicator to its Aligner Pontics product, now available through major distributors. In an interview with Orthodontic ProductsOrVance’s Mike Smurr discusses the updates and their impact on patient care and practice efficiency.
OrVance has added a new Light Shade to the Aligner Pontics product and included an indication for use with clear retainers. The product is now available through major orthodontic and dental distributors.
Extensive use for retainers
In addition to use with clear aligners, OrVance Aligner Pontics can now be used with clear retainers, including Essix retainers. The extended indication meets the needs of patients who use retainers for extended periods after procedures such as bone grafting or tooth extraction.
The light shade is aimed at bleaching patients
The new Light Shade matches Vita Shades A1-C1 and M1-M3, addressing the growing number of patients with naturally whiter teeth or those who have undergone whitening treatments. The original Medium Shade approximates Vita Shades A2-D2.
Clinical Feedback
Dr Christina Carter, orthodontist and pediatric dentist in Madison NJ, said, “OrVance Aligner Pontics is a game changer on many levels for my patients who wear clear aligners or retainers.” Carter added, “What’s so unique about this product is that the permanently flexible material bonds to the tray and molds itself perfectly to the gum tissue and adjacent teeth. My staff and patients love this product.”
Convenience and distribution of patients
OrVance Aligner Pontics are designed to be applied directly by the patient, helping to reduce chair time and staff workload. Instructions are provided on the package, along with a QR code that links to an instructional video. The product is now widely available through major distributors including Invisalign, Henry Schein Dental, Patterson Dental, Young Specialties, Benco Dental, Darby, GC Orthodontics, Great Lakes Dental Technologies, OrVancePro.com and Orthodontic Supply Canada.
With the recent addition of a light shade and a new usage indicator with transparent retainers, Orthodontic Products spoke with Mike Smurr, vice president of professional channel development at OrVance, to learn more about the clinical needs that drove these updates, how they aim to improve both patient satisfaction and practice efficiency, and what the wider availability of the product means for adoption in different alignment and retention systems.
Orthodontic products: OrVance Aligner Pontics have been on the market since 2020. What gaps in patient care or practice workflow were you aiming to address when the product was first introduced?
Mike Smurr: After the launch of our flagship OrthoDots CLEAR product, many practices and even some distributors stated that the flexible silicone material and individual hygienic packaging of our OrthoDots product could be an ideal mouse solution with some improvements (ie, to develop a solution with superior aesthetics, disc adhesion with a sure fit). To be honest, we initially dismissed the idea, assuming it wasn’t a big market, but it quickly became clear that the interest was so great simply because it was such an unmet need with no real good solutions out there that provided a good solution for the practice and provided high patient satisfaction.
It also became clear that the hands-on procedure of mousing each alignment tray was not only a tedious task for staff, but often resulted in unhappy patients. In addition, it required the original packaging to be disassembled by the manufacturer. This office mouse hassle is now easily avoided by giving the patient OrVance Pontics in the ideal shade for them. Patients can easily insert each tray within 10 seconds after a simple in-office demonstration or after reading the easy-to-use instructions.
For more detailed information on the issues with other options and the features and benefits of OrVance Pontics, I would also refer your readers to the white paper written by our Pontics co-inventors.
OP: With the addition of the new Light Shade and the expanded indication for clear retainers, how do these updates change the options orthodontists can offer their patients?
Smurf: The original OrVance Aligner Pontics shade covered a wide range of the Vita shade spectrum due to the translucency of the material and the chameleon effect of picking up the shade of adjacent teeth. But the original shade (Medium) was still not the best we could do for naturally whiter teeth or teeth that have undergone whitening treatment (Vita M shades also known as Bleaching Shades). Since our Light Shade was recently developed for this evolving patient population, we believe our light shade also provides the best option esthetically.
Regarding retainers, some treatments, such as maintaining space for an implant while a bone graft heals, require long-term use with a retainer. Patients want to look good while they wait, and OrVance Aligner Pontics meets that need as well. And for the growing number of people wearing Essix retainers with lifelong compliance encouraged, OrVance Pontics are always there as an immediate option, to replace the need for more expensive options like flippers after extractions or tooth loss later in life.
OP: Clinicians often note how patients respond to the look and feel of these mice. In your opinion, which features are most important in shaping this positive patient experience during aligner or retainer treatment?
Smurf: OrVance Aligner Pontics are aesthetically superior for 2 reasons. It is important to have a material that best matches the appearance of a natural tooth. Since the base material for Aligner Pontics is a pure medical grade silicone, it enables us to optimize the translucency of a natural tooth and the staining allows for a chameleon effect, taking on the shade of the neighboring teeth. Other Pontic options are opaque, making them less natural. But what may not be so obvious for a great esthetic solution is the fit, as a great mouse needs to perfectly shape the adjacent teeth and gum tissue. Since OrVance Pontics are permanently malleable, they essentially mold themselves to the adjacent teeth and where they meet the gums.
OP: OrVance Aligner Pontics is now available through many of the industry’s largest distributors. How do you see wider availability impacting adoption and shaping how practices approach aesthetics during treatment?
Smurf: We are proud that our products are carried by Invisalign, but with wider distribution with the largest dental distributors in the US and specialty distributors of Aligner Pontics orthodontic positions to be adopted for all brands of aligners and retainers. OP
Photo: OrVance
