Finishing with Lingual Appliances, Problems, and Solutions

Finishing of a case treated with the lingual appliance is a clinical challenge. Factors contributing to difficulties that may be encountered at the finishing stage of treatment are related to lingual bracket positioning, mechanical limitations of the lingual appliances, and the characteristics of adult patients seeking orthodontic treatment with lingual appliances. Many of the finishing problems originate during the earlier stages of treatment and can be anticipated and avoided. A simpler and shorter finishing stage can be achieved by problem prevention, by reducing the amount of wire bending during treatment, and by having a simplified systematic finishing procedure. The lingual finishing procedure includes the following three steps: maintaining control over bracket positioning, settling the occlusion, and final detailing. Specific difficulties of the finishing phase, the methods of prevention, and the finishing procedures are described in detail in this article.