Why do I bring up safety of orthodontic appliances?
Safety of orthodontic treatment and appliances is our main concern. There’s a movement in the dental laboratory world to require that patients be informed of foreign-made restorations, such as crowns and veneers. Some U.S. labs have their restorations made overseas, and that may mean that they’re not made to the same safety standards as required in the U.S. I believe that the same right-to-know holds true for orthodontic patients.
Our Braces
We use American Orthodontics braces, which are made in the United States, as are the vast majority of their related products such as the elastics that are used to tie-in the wires to the braces. When we use other products, we order from major U.S. companies that are accountable when it comes to product safety, regardless of the place of manufacture.
American Orthodontics Bracket
Invisalign
Invisalign is a multi-national company that is based in California. The appliance design is done in Costa Rica, and the aligners are made in Mexico. Invisalign has marked “Mexico” on the bags in which the aligners are are delivered to patients, and they are a U.S.-based company that is accountable for the appliance’s safety.
Invisalign Bag
Retainers, expanders, and other custom-manufactured appliances
We use only local and domestic labs that manufacture on-site. This not only assures that American safety standards are in force, but it also assures the timely delivery of the appliances we order.
Olympic Orthodontic Lab
Final note on safety–
Safety is our first concern, so we wanted you to be aware that we carefully consider from where we source our products. We also appreciate the work that materials engineers do to bring us safer and more effective dental products. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns regarding the products we use, and thank you for reading our blog!
Thanks for that. The one thing I would suggest is that aoynne having ongoing dental treatment who is thinking of having orthodontics in the future should discuss this with their dentist, and arrange a consultation with an orthodontist well in advance. Even if you don’t need the ortho treatment to begin for a while, there may be parts of the other dental treatment that could be modified or co-ordinated to get a better overall result, and the best way to achieve this is effective communication between all the people taking care of you, from an early stage.
Excellent advice Joyce! Assembling a well-coordinated team is always in the patient’s best interest, and as you stated, communication is a key ingredient.