Written by:
Dr Shelley Greenway
28th ASO Congress Chair
For the first time in Congress history and due to the pandemic, the Australian Orthodontic Congress hosted by the Australian Society of Orthodontists (ASO) was held as a virtual event on 11th-12th March 2022.
The Congress was originally planned as a face-to-face event in Perth (Western Australia). However in mid-2021 due to uncertainty around COVID-19 travel restrictions and quarantining restrictions, the ASO decided to change the format virtually. The change in delivery mode allowed the Congress Committee to secure renowned speakers from around the world and it didn’t deter attendees with a total 553 attendees including speakers, auxiliaries and students joining the event remotely.
The Congress explored a wide range of state of the art and relevant orthodontic themes and topics presented by over 40 world renowned speakers from across the globe, representing 12 countries. Some of the highlights included:
- What drives the future of Orthodontics? - Prof Steven Lindauer (USA) discussed how the current pace of change including technological advancements and shifts in marketing have left many orthodontists feeling uncertain and perhaps even afraid of what the future will hold. He also discussed shifts in consumer behaviour and expectations and the implications for the future of orthodontics.
- Aligners – state of the evidence - Prof Greg Huang (USA) presented the latest information compiled through studying all the aligner data available through both retrospective and prospective studies done around the world and at University of Washington regarding how efficiently and how well aligners are performing as compared to traditional braces.
- The envelope of discrepancy revisited – Prof Tung Nguyen (USA) revisited the discrepancy envelope originally suggested by Dr Bill Proffit. Today that envelope has now been blurred by the use of skeletal anchorage and Prof Nguyen explores the decision-making process we now need to use to decide whether a patient needs skeletal anchorage or orthognathic surgery to resolve significant malocclusions.
- Growing your practice with the Invisalign system & Workflow efficiencies - Dr Regina Blevins (USA) shared how she has used Invisalign treatment to grow her patient base, especially Phase 1 treatments. She also outlined the efficiencies she implemented to manage an aligner focused practice.
- Update on dental trauma for Orthodontists – Dr Paul Abbott (Aust) brought everyone up to date on the latest information on dental trauma and the implication of healing time for multiple parts of tooth, periodontium and soft tissues. He spoke suggesting how orthodontists may be the first person to see trauma and what to do, then discussed timing and stabilizing of traumatised teeth and when to re-commence treatment
- Surgery first for sleep apnoea with aligners - Dr Jorge Faber (Brazil) covered the diagnosis and MMA treatment planning for patients with OSAS under the light of the 17-year clinical experience with a surgery first approach. The specific goal is to present an aligner protocol of treatment for the combined orthodontic-surgical treatment.
- “Orthofacial” surgery: Where face, airway and occlusion converge - Dr Federico Hernández-Alfaro (Spain) presented new diagnostic approaches based on facial aesthetics, combined with 3D planning and minimally invasive surgical procedures conform a new treatment paradigm.
- Digital treatment planning to treat complex Class III cases with aligners - Dr Sarah Lawrence (Aust) outlined the treatment of a number of different Class III cases using the Invisalign appliance.
The industry was remarkably supportive of this event which also featured an interactive virtual exhibition showcasing the latest products and services allowing attendees to download marketing materials and to engage with exhibitors via chat and video. The Congress was supported by Ormco, American Orthodontics (AO), Dentsply Sirona/SureSmile, 3M, Invisalign and Dental Monitoring. Exhibitors included 3M, AB Orthodontics, Carestream Dental, Carriere, DentalMonitoring, Dentaurum, Dentsply Sirona/SureSmile, Invisalign, Ormco, Orthomax, Ray Australia and Tops.
I wish to thank all those who were involved in this event and through their hard work and dedication (and hundreds of zoom meetings!) which made this Congress a great success. We look forward to welcoming the international orthodontic community to the 29th Australian Orthodontic Congress in Adelaide, South Australia in March 2024