Treatment with aligners in orthodontics has long been much more than a marginal phenomenon. The 4th Scientific Congress for Aligner Orthodontics was able to demonstrate this again impressively. More than 600 participants from 25 countries showed their interest in the latest developments and possibilities of aligner therapy and accepted the invitation of the DGAO eV to Cologne. With its decades of experience, this company, as the organizer of the world's most important, manufacturer-independent aligner congress, was once again able to find many well-known international speakers who gave the participants the greatest possible gain in knowledge for their practice.

This year, too, the focus was particularly on the clinical application of the various aligner systems. In doing so, the DGAO met the desire of colleagues for even more practice-oriented lectures. But even the scientific contributions were not neglected. Furthermore, the rapid developments in computer-aided technologies were also discussed, which ultimately enable a digital workflow in aligner treatment.

Traditionally, the Gürzenich as an event location provided the appropriate, stylish setting. Over two long days, 35 renowned speakers presented the current status of aligner orthodontics, and almost 40 exhibitors from the dental industry presented their latest developments. The parallel congress for dental assistants, which was held for the first time two years ago, was also open to dentists and orthodontists this year, so that the entire practice team could continue their education together.

The first day of the scientific program was opened by the conference president, Dr. Julia Haubrich and Prof. em. dr Rainer-Reginald Miethke, President of the German Society for Aligner Orthodontics. In his welcome address, Professor Miethke emphasized the particular importance of this congress, which is German but has meanwhile reached an international level. The scientific part was started by Dr. Werner Schupp and Dr. Wolfgang Boisseree. In their joint lecture, they described the correlation between occlusion, nerves, muscles and joints and derived treatment strategies in the cooperation between orthodontics and restorative dentistry. "To finish first, you have to finish first" was the title of the next presentation by Woo-Ttum Bittner, in which he explained CAD/CAM-based fast finishing with positioners and aligners with the help of Suresmile Elemetrix. In his contribution, Sherif Kandil focused on new accessory applications that allow even difficult treatments to be carried out with clear aligners. Dr. Beatriz Solano Mendoza from Spain.

In the afternoon Prof. Dr. Benedikt Wilmes, University Hospital Düsseldorf, in his contribution, the possibilities and problems in the combined treatment of aligners and skeletally anchored mini screws. This was followed by Dr. Hirohide Arimoto shares his tips for expedited aligner treatment, which is becoming increasingly popular. The conference president, Dr. Julia Haubrich. The Swiss specialist dentist Dr. Philipp Scheurer then used clinical examples to show the distalization of posterior teeth in the lower jaw as an interesting treatment option. The presentation by Dr. Vincenzo D'Anto from Italy. He was followed by the duo from Austria and Switzerland, DDr. Baerbel Reisenhofer and Dr. Marco Tribò, who presented the indications for accelerated aligner treatment using the Orthopulse® device. In her clinical study, Dr. Isabelle Graf the effectiveness of Invisalign® treatments in adult patients, and Dr. Nils Stucki from Switzerland compared the most common aligner systems with the new nivellipso® treatment system, made in Switzerland. The first day of the conference ended with Dr. Konstantin Pischel from Linz. In his lecture, he reported on the limits, planning the right point in time and selecting the right tools for an approximal enamel reduction as part of aligner therapies.

The second day of the congress was moderated by the Spanish colleague Dr. Pablo Echarri opened with a contribution on the integration of the digital workflow into everyday practice using the example of CA clear aligners. Then Dr. Tommaso Castroflorio from Italy, in his impressive multimedia presentation, the development of the Invisalign® aligners from basic research to clinical application. dr In his presentation, Wajeeh Khan presented the orthocaps® hybrid aligner treatment, an innovative concept with which even complex cases can be treated reliably and effectively. An interesting scientific study presented by Dr. Christina Erbe, Senior Physician at the University Hospital in Mainz. She studied white spot lesions in teenagers during aligner therapy. dr Finally, Jörg Schwarze described the special challenges and possibilities of deep bite corrections with aligners. He was succeeded by the French orthodontist Dr. David Couchat, who explained the clinical differences in the classification of impacted and impacted teeth in adolescents and adults. Internationally it remained with the Japanese colleague Dr. Kenji Ojima, who, like two years before, again impressed with his presentation of extraction treatments with Invisalign® and acceleration tools.

After a social get-together, which came about through the main sponsors CA Digital, Align Technology and orthocaps®, a clinical study on tooth structure loss under aligner therapy followed in the early afternoon; it was presented by the research assistant, Mr. Wassim Kassem, of the Charité Berlin. dr In his lecture, Kamy Malekian from Madrid reported on the distalization with the Invisalign® technique in patients with an Angle class III. In their joint lecture, the two speakers Dr. Thomas Drechsler from Wiesbaden and Dr. Boris Sonnenberg from Stuttgart then presented the Digital Practice 2.1, in which all treatment processes, from management and diagnostics to the planning of a complex osteotomy, are carried out fully digitally. Prof. James Mah from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA, presented strategies that are reliable when correcting the rotation of conically shaped teeth with aligners. dr Michael Thomas from Berlin then answered the question "To scan or not to scan" and described his experiences in everyday practice with intraoral scanners. Prof. Dr. In his presentation, Rolf Hinz showed the advantages of the screw-active HINZaligner he had developed, which is suitable as an effective initial device prior to aligner therapy. The conclusion of the congress was due to lawyer Michael Zach with his presentation of legal aspects of accelerated orthodontics from the perspective of patients and payers.

The parallel congress for the entire practice team took place at the same time as the scientific program. The wide range of offers included the topics of practical billing of aligner treatments, professionally explained by Katrin Haase; Basics of an exemplary patient photograph by Prof. Dr. Rainer R. Miethke; Team Building, Conflict Management and Trouble-Shooting, by Kay F. Weltersbach; intraoral scanning prepared by Dr. Michael Thomas, and the successful integration of various bleaching methods into everyday practice, presented by dentist Dr. Stephen Hoefer.

The evening program also came up with something extraordinary. At a height of more than 100 meters, the congress participants could let their gaze wander over the illuminated cathedral city on Friday evening in the tower of "Köln SKY" with a stylish 3-course menu, before dancing until late at night.

DGAO Science Prize 2016

On Friday evening, following the conference program, the DGAO Science Prize was awarded for the third time. The prize, worth €14.000, honors special scientific research projects in the field of aligner orthodontics. This year, the President of the DGAO, Prof. Miethke, was able to send an oversized check to the project group led by Prof. Dr. Karl-Friedrich Krey from the University of Greifswald (Dr. Peter Schicker, Dr. Christian Schwahn and Dr. Philipp Eigenwill). Prof. Miethke spoke briefly about their work entitled "Biological reality of computer-planned tooth movements with aligners - a multi-centre, prospective study". This study aims to analyze the therapeutic potential of aligners both in vitro and in vivo.

Participants, exhibitors and organizers all agreed: this year's congress far exceeded the already high expectations. And so the conference president Dr. After two strenuous days, Julia Haubrich is already off to the next aligner congress of the DGAO eV. This will take place again in Cologne on November 23rd and 24th, 2018.

Full press release:

Press Release_DGAO Congress_2016.pdf (56 KB)