To truly incorporate orthodontics into your general practice, once you have gained an understanding of the concepts and procedures, we advise you to focus your time on diagnosis and supervision and allow dental assistants to handle the majority of placements and adjustments.
To help train your assistants and increase your clinical efficiency, we offer two dental assistant courses. Dental Assistants are charged a fixed rate and have lifetime retake access to the training, and any dentist in the program can attend for free.
Below is a list of topics covered in each class. Although both classes contain concepts from both areas, the first D.A. session primarily focuses on hands-on orthodontics, and the second D.A. session works with getting the most use out of IPSoft.
Dental Assistant #1
- Integrating orthodontics in a general dental office
- Office communication, attitudes in the office
- Treatment plan & fee presentation
- Initial consultation & records generation
- Introduction to IPSoft (records processing, downloading treatment plans, ordering an IP appliance online, updating IPSoft, backup files)
- Starting a case on the IP system
- Tooth separation methods
- Band sizing, final seating of bands, cementation, re-cementation
- Bonding of IP brackets
- Bracket identification, positioning & repositioning
- Efficient bonding procedures
- Archwire tie-in and reactivation
- Closed and open coils
- The use of power chains
- Instrument identification, care and sterilization
- Pre Ortho Records
- Study Models, Photos, and X-rays
- Spaces and Band Fitting
- Banding Procedure and Set Up
- Archwire Progression
- Tie-in Technique
- Sterilization in Ortho
- Relating to the Patient
Dental Assistant #2
- Bracket position, repositioning, and IP Appliance variations
- Adjusting and delivery of miscellaneous appliances (TPA, LLA, headgear)
- Use of 18x25 heat activated niti
- Mechanics and diagnostic principles to brief the doctor on treatment status.
- Finishing wire adjustments
- Myofunctional training
- Cephalometric tracing and editing
- More advanced use of IPSoft
- Cephalometric tracing with the computer
- Scanning and computerized model measuring
- Generating a patient consultation report
- Exporting patient files for email consultation
- Bracket positioning, repositioning with the IP Appliance
- Adjusting and delivering headgears, Transpalatal arch, lower lingual arch
- Mechanics and force application for efficient tooth movement
