Orthotown April 2018 - 47

Changing the patient experience for the better
Q&A DR. JOHN GRAHAM
Dr. John Graham is an innovator and educator who lectures internationally to both doctors and orthodontic staff on
orthodontic treatment philosophies. He holds faculty appointments at the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School
of Dentistry and the University of Rochester Eastman Institute for Oral Health. Graham sits on the editorial board for
Orthotown and is a contributing editor for the Journal of Clinical Orthodontics and a reviewer for Orthodontics: The Art and
Practice of Dentofacial Enhancement. He lives in Salt Lake City.

The Carriere Motion 3D Appliance fits into the
HSO tenets of airway-friendly orthodontics,
shorter treatment times and the "sagittalfirst" philosophy. Explain how it's used in your
practice, and the results you've seen.
JG: The "sagittal-first" philosophy using the
Motion 3D Appliance is a real paradigm shift in
the way orthodontists treat patients. It helps me
reduce patient treatment times-sometimes by up
to one year. It's so rewarding to offer this treatment
concept because I no longer receive hesitation from
patients, especially adults, about moving forward
with treatment. I get to explain that they won't be
making a commitment to wearing braces for two
years-most likely, it will be around a year or less.

How do the appliances work
with clear aligner therapy?
JG: The orthodontist and the patient don't have
to make a decision between braces or aligners before
the patient starts treatment-we can think about it
while the AP is being corrected.
This new treatment method allows me to treat
more cases with clear aligners. The Motion 3D
Appliance allows me to easily turn complex Class II
patients into Class I patients; previously, a complex
case would not be suitable for aligner treatment. Also,
using the appliance allows you to empower patients
to be compliant. As you watch them through the AP
correction, you can see if they're a good fit for aligners.

How did you get your staff on board
with this shift?
JG: For an orthodontist to succeed with any new
treatment philosophy, you need to have buy-in from
your staff. The great thing for me when I introduced
the "sagittal-first" concept to my staff is that it made

total sense to them that the heaviest lifting we do in
ortho, which is generally the AP correction, should
take place at the beginning of treatment, rather than
after the patient has already been in braces for a year
or longer.

Which benefits does the Motion
3D Appliance offer that haven't been
previously experienced?
JG: I'm able to confidently tell my patients that
their treatment time should take a year or less. With
the "sagittal-first" philosophy, I am able to achieve
AP correction on average in just three months! AP
correction used to take a year and at the end of
treatment, when no patient was interested in being
compliant anymore. Also, because the Motion 3D
Appliance is so discreet, patients don't think of
themselves in treatment even though they are. You're
able to get patients to commit to being cooperative
at the beginning of treatment, when they are excited
about the impact braces will make on their lives.
orthotown.com \\ APRIL 2018

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