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If you’ve been following our mini blog series, you learned last time what the benefits of choosing Laster Perfect Smile aligners over similar services. Once you make the decision to begin your Laster Perfect Smile journey, you’ll have to complete a consultation visit and scan to get started. We asked one of our patients to walk us through the process. Read about her detailed visit below!
Step 1: Consultation
The first step in receiving your Laster Perfect Smile begins with an initial consultation. When you arrive for your consultation, the friendly staff at the front desk will greet you with a smile. Once you fill out the general patient paperwork, the New Patient Coordinator, Michele, will take you back to the New Patient Room. This consultation area is an inviting, private room, equipped with a comfortable exam chair and a large digital touch screen and is designated for patients to discuss treatments with Dr. Laster.
The New Patient Coordinator will ask routine questions about prior orthodontic and cosmetic dental treatment to get a better understanding of your general dental history. Once your profile is complete, a digital photo of your current smile is captured for Dr. Laster’s documentation. Next, you will be taken to a separate area for panoramic x-rays (this is a painless and speedy process). Once the x-rays are complete, you will go back to the patient room where Dr. Laster will display them on the large screen and evaluate your teeth spacing, bite, and other areas of your dental makeup to come up with a contingency plan for your perfect smile.
Laster Perfect Smile Aligners Compared To Other Aligners
Laster Perfect Smile aligners (LPS) offer patients a great quality product, designed and supervised by Dr. Laster. These aligners straighten teeth and fix bad bites at a price much less than other aligners. The LPS aligners are made in house, which saves us production costs, which can then be passed down to the patient in savings. LPS aligners are made using an incredibly accurate software and algorithm designed by Dr. Laster to generate fabulous results.
You may seen advertisements for an ‘at-home’ aligner system called Smile Direct Club. However, Dr. Laster and the American Dental Association strongly advise against this product. Any type of unsupervised dental care can cause more harm than good, especially when it comes to orthodontics. We have seen numerous reports where using these aligners have led to damage to the patient’s teeth, or flat out didn’t work. Anyone considering this product should consult with Dr. Laster or another certified orthodontist to discuss treatment options that are safe, effective, and right for their needs.
The team at Laster Orthodontics has treated many patients with stories like Kayla’s. Kayla is a patient at Laster Orthodontics who told us about her Laster Perfect Smile experience. Here is her story:
“When I was younger, I had braces just like a high percentage of adolescents. Unfortunately, a few years after my teeth were beautiful and straight, I lost my retainer. A word of advice: do NOT leave your retainer anywhere! I made the lovely mistake of leaving mine wrapped in a napkin at a restaurant, and of course, it was thrown away along with the rest of the dining debris. My previous orthodontist discarded my impressions because the molds are bulky and take up so much space. A replacement could not be created without having new impressions made. Without the retainer, my teeth shifted, and I realized that I needed help to get my perfect smile back. Laster Orthodontics takes a digital scan instead of messy, bulky impressions, so if a patient loses a retainer, the records are easy to retrieve.”
Step 2: iTero Scan
After Dr. Laster creates a treatment plan, you will need to have a digital three-dimensional scan of your teeth. This scan may be performed by a hygienist directly after your consultation, but in some cases, you may need to make a separate appointment. The iTero scanner, added to Laster’s high-tech lineup this past summer, is used to create a 3D rendering of your mouth that is more accurate than traditional impressions. The scan is incredibly fast, and will last less than 15 minutes. You will be able to see the scan of your teeth populate on the monitor as the scanner moves. It is a much less invasive experience than having traditional impressions made- and less messy!
After the iTero scan is complete, your results are sent to the lab for model creation. This takes about 4-6 weeks. Once the model arrives, you will come in for your next appointment, the aligner fitting. You can schedule this appointment at the front desk on your way out.
It’s as easy and painless as it sounds! This process is unique to the Laster Perfect Smile aligners, and is vastly different than the experience you would get at a different orthodontist, or from an online service. The accuracy and technology used in Dr. Laster’s office help create smiles that are beautiful, and affordable. Stay tuned for the next steps in our blog series!
At Laster Orthodontics, we help families develop healthy, life-changing smiles using customized treatments, cutting-edge technologies, and caring relationships. Our individualized treatment plans help our patients achieve their perfect smile in the quickest, most painless way possible by utilizing a wide range of options from traditional braces to Propel accelerated treatment to Dr. Laster’s in-house aligner program, Laster Perfect Smile. With three locations throughout the Triangle Area, we create life-changing smiles every day.