Aligners Pliers

In the past, Aligners therapy was thought to be limited to being the treatment option for mild to moderate cases of malocclusion. However, with manufacturing of variety of tip shapes and size in aligners’ pliers, gives the Orthodontist a greater leverage that create the desired adjustments in clear aligners to deal with severe malocclusion too, instilling movements that cover those of traditional braces with the bracket bonding, buttons, and Class I, II and III elastics in aligners.

The different sort of aligner pliers to exist in Orthodontics are as follows.

1. Hold punch aligner pliers

• Make half-moon holes in the aligner for the placement of brackets and bonded buttons. 

• They can also be used to remove aligner edges to prevent irritation to the gingival margin and papillae.

2. Horizonal aligner pliers

• Make a horizontally shaped indentations for individual root torquing and horizontal correction of aligners. 

• They also increase contact between the aligner and bracket thus increasing retention.

3. Tear drop aligner pliers

• Make tear drop shaped holes at the gingival, buccal, labial, or lingual level. 

• They allow hooking inter/intra-maxillary elastics in two places of the mouth to a bracket or bonded button.

4. Vertical aligner pliers

• Make vertical indents to correct malrotation at the mesial or distal line angles on the facial/lingual aspects of the teeth to be corrected. For instance, molar distalisation can occur if a vertical indentation is placed mesial to the maxillary first molar.

• It also increases pressure on the tooth and moving the teeth back into their arch.

5. Indent eraser aligner plier

• As the name suggests they ‘erase’, removing indents made by other aligner pliers and instruments. 

• They can reduce the thickness of any pressure point on the aligner surface.

6. Retention dimple aligner plier

• The affect the moldability of the material clear aligners are made out of without the need of heat-treating the pliers. 

• The dimples created are approximately 1mm and can be placed on the aligner surface covering the gingival margins to enhance retention by increasing pressure on a tooth.