Was IPR necessary?

Joined
Apr 16, 2021
Messages
1
Hi all,

I have a question regarding some IPR I had done. Back in January 2020, I went to an orthodontist for an Invisalign consultation regarding a 4 mm overjet of my two front teeth and minor spacing between them and the teeth next to them, among other issues I was not as concerned with. The orthodontist looked at my teeth for a few minutes, did some measurements, then said I'd need aligners on both arches. He then looked again and said he thought he could get it done with just an aligner on the top arch, coming to this conclusion without any scan of the teeth. This past October, I went to another orthodontist who said I'd probably need IPR on some bottom teeth so I could fix the overjet. He was surprised the other orthodontist thought he could do this with only a single arch treatment. After scanning my teeth, I did indeed need IPR, so I went with that. I understand a double arch treatment is generally recommended so bite issues won’t occur, but I wish I got a third opinion, so I'm asking here after the fact.

Here is my ClearCorrect plan from my teeth scan so you can how they looked before: https://dr.clearcorrect.com/treatme...9FEF222E/8DD8E0BF-F006-4E85-B9A4-36DE086768A7. The second orthodontist said the plan would "align both arches and relieve any crowding while correcting the rotations and angulation of the teeth. The general shapes of both arches are improved and your lower mid-line will be slightly shifted back towards the center. We will need to perform IPR (tooth shaving) in the lower arch to improve the overjet and overbite."

I completely understand if no one can have an informed opinion considering you only have the scan to go off of.

Thanks!
 

MattKW

Verified Dentist
Joined
Mar 18, 2018
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I couldn't say if IPR is necessary. It is very rare (impossible?) for any orthodontist to guarantee that your teeth won't want to move after the treatment is finished. IPR does not guarantee this either. All ortho patients have to be prepared to wear retainers for the rest of their lives if they want to keep their teeth perfectly aligned.
Personally, I don't like IPR because it's taking away good enamel, and it makes a broader contact point between the teeth that is only harder to keep clean. My son's orthodontist wanted to IPR his lower incisors so that he could close the gaps in the upper incisors completely; I said "No", and just closed the upper gaps with composite bonding.
 

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