OrVance has added a Light Shade and clear retainer indication to its Aligner Pontics product, now available through major distributors. In an interview with Orthodontic Products, OrVance’s Mike Smurr discusses the updates and their impact on patient care and practice efficiency.

OrVance has added a new Light Shade to its Aligner Pontics product and included an indication for use with clear retainers. The product is now available through major orthodontic and dental distributors.

Expanded Use for Retainers

In addition to use with clear aligners, OrVance Aligner Pontics can now be used with clear retainers, including Essix retainers. The expanded indication addresses the needs of patients who use retainers for extended periods following procedures such as bone grafting or tooth extraction.

Light Shade Targets Whitening Patients

The new Light Shade provides a match for Vita Shades A1-C1 and M1-M3, addressing the growing number of patients with naturally whiter teeth or those who have undergone whitening treatments. The original Medium Shade approximates Vita Shades A2-D2.

Clinical Feedback

Dr Christina Carter, an orthodontist and pediatric dentist in Madison NJ, said, “OrVance Aligner Pontics is a game changer on many levels for my patients who wear clear aligners or retainers.” Carter added, “What’s so unique about this product is that the permanently pliable material sticks in the tray and self-molds perfectly against the gingival tissue and adjacent teeth. My staff and my patients love this product.”

Patient Convenience and Distribution

OrVance Aligner Pontics are designed to be applied directly by the patient, helping reduce chair time and staff workload. Instructions are provided on the packaging, along with a QR code linking to a video tutorial. The product is now widely available through major distributors, including Invisalign, Henry Schein Dental, Patterson Dental, Young Specialties, Benco Dental, Darby, GC Orthodontics, Great Lakes Dental Technologies, OrVancePro.com, and Orthodontic Supply Canada.

With the recent addition of a Light Shade and a new indication for use with clear retainers, Orthodontic Products spoke with Mike Smurr, vice president of professional channel development at OrVance, to learn more about the clinical needs that drove these updates, how they aim to improve both patient satisfaction and in-practice efficiency, and what the broader availability of the product means for adoption across different aligner and retainer systems.

Orthodontic Products: The OrVance Aligner Pontics have been on the market since 2020. What gaps in patient care or practice workflow were you aiming to address when the product was first introduced?

Mike Smurr: After launching our flagship OrthoDots CLEAR product, several practices and even a couple distributors indicated that the flexible silicone material and the individual hygienic packaging of our OrthoDots product could be an ideal pontics solution with some refinements (ie, to develop a solution with superior aesthetics, adhesion within the tray with a sure fit). To be honest, we were somewhat dismissive of the idea at first assuming this was not a large market, but it quickly became clear the interest was so high simply because it was such an unmet need with no real good solutions out there that both provided a good solution for the practice and delivered high patient satisfaction.

It also became clear that the in-practice process of doing pontics in every aligner tray was not only a laborious task for staff, but often yielded unsatisfied patients. In addition, it required that the original packaging from the manufacturer be dismantled. This hassle of doing pontics in the practice is now easily avoided by giving the patient OrVance Pontics in the ideal shade for them. Patients can easily put each tray in within 10 seconds following a simple in-office demonstration or after reading the easy instructions for use.

For more in-depth information of the issues with other options and the features and benefits of OrVance Pontics, I’d also refer your readers to the whitepaper that was written by the co-inventors of our Pontics.

OP: With the addition of the new Light Shade and the expanded indication for clear retainers, how do these updates change the options orthodontists can offer their patients?

Smurr: The original OrVance Aligner Pontics shade covered a wide range of the Vita shade spectrum due to the translucency of the material and the chameleon effect of picking up the shade of adjacent teeth. But the original shade (Medium) was still not the best we could do for naturally whiter teeth or teeth that have had whitening treatment (Vita M shades also known as Bleaching Shades). Since our Light Shade was recently developed for this evolving patient population in mind, we believe our light shade also provides the best option aesthetically.

Regarding retainers, certain treatments, such as maintaining space for an implant while a bone graft is healing, require longer-term use with a retainer. Patients want to look good while waiting and OrVance Aligner Pontics fills that need as well. And for the growing number of people wearing Essix retainers with encouraged life-long compliance, OrVance Pontics are always there as an immediate option, to replace the need for more expensive options like flippers after extractions or losing teeth later in life.

OP: Clinicians often highlight how patients respond to the look and feel of these pontics. In your opinion, what features matter most in shaping that positive patient experience during aligner or retainer treatment?

Smurr: OrVance Aligner Pontics are superior for aesthetics for 2 reasons. Having a material that best matches the appearance of a natural tooth is critical. Since the base material for Aligner Pontics is a clear medical-grade silicone, it enables us to optimize the translucency of a natural tooth and the pigmentation allows for a chameleon effect, picking up the shade of adjacent teeth. Other pontic options are opaque, making them less natural looking. But what may not be as obvious for a great aesthetic solution is fit, as a great looking pontic must perfectly mold to adjacent teeth and gingival tissue. Since OrVance Pontics are permanently malleable, they essentially self-mold to the adjacent teeth and where they meet the gingiva.

OP: OrVance Aligner Pontics are now available through many of the industry’s largest distributors. How do you see that wider availability influencing adoption and shaping how practices approach esthetics during treatment?

Smurr: We’re proud our products are carried by Invisalign but having broader distribution with the largest dental distributors in the US and specialty orthodontic distributors positions Aligner Pontics to be adopted for all brands of aligners and retainers. OP

Photo: OrVance