Susana Palma shares her experience of helping others develop their confidence when treating with clear aligners.
Fortune Business Insights says the global clear aligners market size was 2.41 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $10.04 billion by 2028. They report that the benefits of aligners over traditional metal braces, the launch of technologically advanced clear aligners and increasing focus on developing advanced dental aesthetics are major factors driving the growth of the market.
Susana Palma has been a pioneer in clear aligner therapy, having been amongst the first certified doctors who, back in 2001, started to study the use of aligners. She has since helped to train thousands of dentists worldwide and has now recently co-founded Bsurealigners with a team of experts to provide dentists with a different way of developing their confidence to treat with clear aligners.
She comments, “An increasing number of doctors realise that clear aligner therapy is the next step. Patients request it more and more and within the industry, you see the clear aligner/fixed braces ratio changing at a fast pace with clear aligners progressively gaining a bigger share of the market. I lecture all the time, and I enjoy showing my peers how far we can go with clear aligners, even though I appreciate that some won’t be confident replicating what I do. But with Bsurealigners, it is not about that.
“Dentists go on numerous courses to learn about clear aligner therapy and I would encourage them to carry on educating themselves. It is important to appreciate what clear aligner therapy can do versus fixed braces and learn about brands and companies that support them.
“If you have treated with fixed braces for decades, it is unrealistic to expect that clear aligners will provide you with the same results after a few theoretical courses. With the Invisalign system, 3D treatment planning gives you superb results, but you need to learn how to master the technique. So many dentists have incredible knowledge and expertise acquired with fixed braces, but translating what they have in mind to the lab technician is something they have to train or re-train themselves to do effectively.
“Bsurealigners is a new global training platform which gives doctors the opportunity to discuss their own cases with me, and fellow orthodontic specialists Rafi Romano, Javier Lozano, Udo Windsheimer, and Nimrod Dykstein. We all come from different countries and have received training from all over the world, so our experiences of clear aligner therapy have been very different. Our patients have given us different challenges too.
“After working with us individually and in small groups, dentists will be able to make confident, informed choices about the ways to treat their patients, communicate with technicians in the best ways, be able to apply tips and tricks from us, and achieve the peace of mind that their chosen treatment pathway will be validated by all of us. At Bsurealigners, we want dentists to start using clear aligners and grow from there, safe in the knowledge that we are holding their hands in the first instance. All this is at their own pace, whether they have done zero Invisalign cases or 50.
“So many people feel the need to have a personal trainer for fitness. They have the right gear and nothing stops them from running or doing sports, but the trainer is there to avoid injuries, and guide them to focus on what works and stay away from what doesn’t. Bsurealigners is a personal trainer in clear aligner therapy. We know that dentists have tremendous potential to achieve - what they are already doing with fixed braces shows that. Now it is just about getting the right handholding and mentorship to help these dentists excel in clear aligner therapy in the same way.”
A subscription costs €100 (approximately £85) per month and members are mentored by the team through lectures, private sessions and a dashboard they can use to exchange ideas and share problems. The Bsurealigners team describe the programme as structured, “not as a series of lectures, but rather a workflow that will give members the tools they need to ascend the ladder to treatment confidence”.
All sessions are recorded and are available on the dashboard – a great benefit for those who encounter difficulty viewing live due to time zone differences. Members can also enroll in private, one-to-one sessions, or meet in groups of up to 10 participants where they can discuss their own cases, outline their own ClinCheck plans, and learn from peers at a similar level of development.
For more information visit https://bsurealigners.com