A College Student Aligned His Teeth Successfully by 3D Printing

Orthodontics works by apply pressure to the periodontal ligament (the goop between the tooth root and your skull). Your dentist, hopefully, knows the right amount of pressure so that PDL removes bone on the pressured side and deposits behind. Too much pressure and the PDL just dies and your teeth fall out. In short, don't screw around with homemade braces.With the teeth he corrected being tilted a bit, wouldn't you need to do something to the root to ensure they wouldn't just drift back to their original positions?

There's a saying about mechanics: the cost of parts is often very low, it's knowing which part to replace and how to properly perform the work that costs money. Orthodontists don't go to school to learn how to affix braces to teeth, they learn how to successfully manipulate the jaw so the teeth will stay put.But honestly, I'm not going to bother getting my teeth done again. Unless I'm having serious issues like not being able to chew properly, I really don't see why perfectly straight teeth are a must-have.How long did it take to shift back, I never wore my retainer because it was annoying and it's been 2 years, they moved a tiny bit but they're still fine.

There is a procedure commonly done after braces are removed called a fiberotomy, basically they snip the hidden tendons that connect all your teeth which are trying to pull them back into their original configuration. Along with the use of a clear retainer at night for the first few years after getting the teeth lined up, it should help to permanently solve the problem."He used NJIT's equipment to scan and print models of his teeth, and mold non-toxic plastic around them to form the set of 12 clear braces. Dudley determined out how far he needed to move his teeth to correct the misalignment problems. Then divided it by the maximum recommended distance a tooth should travel to determine the design for each alignment tray. Orthodontists use a similar process."

My dad is an orthodontist, and actually doesn't hate the kid at all. Technology will change the field substantially in a number of inevitable ways (automated wire bending will be a big one), but someone changing their teeth themselves can mess it up in a number of ways. This guy could easily have hurt the root bone structure of his jaw (leading to eventual tooth loss), or move his teeth too quickly so that for getting his retainer would cause accelerated regression. In many fields amateur DYI work often yields clean up work for professionals. Also, common issues like overbites and crowding are difficult to treat with an Invisalign-esq treatment.