Utilizing CandidPro to support patients who benefit from growth appliances

Airway is a hot topic in dentistry, and it’s no wonder. It’s estimated that 80% of Americans with airway diseases like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and other forms of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) are undiagnosed. As a clear aligner system designed specifically for general dentists, CandidPro is proud to offer airway-friendly protocols that are aligned with how airway specialists conduct treatment.

This article explores how one of our providers, Nick Ritzema, DDS, leverages our airway-friendly protocols to benefit his patients diagnosed with SDB, OSA, and other airway concerns.

 

Exploring different approaches to airway improvement

Dr. Nick Ritzema is the owner and primary dentist at Complete Health Dentistry in Grand Rapids, MI. He’s passionate about the role dental health has to play in promoting whole-body health and joined CandidPro in 2022, in part due to our airway-friendly protocols. 

Initially, Dr. Ritzema used CandidPro clear aligners and our airway-friendly protocols as a finishing step following growth appliances to help patients achieve a functional bite and attractive smile without retracting the arch. His patients would complete their experience with CandidPro with a healthier occlusion, aesthetic smile, and more open airway. 

In 2024, Dr. Ritzema began exploring a different approach that started with CandidPro clear aligners and ended with growth appliances. He discovered that some patients experienced significant benefits from this approach. By treating with clear aligners before growth appliances, he was also able to increase case acceptance. In fact, between 2023 and 2024, Complete Health Dentistry increased its clear aligner production by over 600%.

Who benefits from aligner-first treatment?

Dr. Ritzema found that two types of patients benefited from clear aligner therapy before their growth appliance. The first group included patients with moderate to severe crowding that would inhibit a palatal expander from seating well or make it uncomfortable for the patient. 

He determined that utilizing CandidPro before the palatal expander provided dental expansion and resolved the crowding. It also provided a better platform to seat the palatal expander, making it more comfortable and encouraging patient compliance while being more effective.

The second group of patients who benefited from clear aligner therapy before their growth appliance were those who were recommended a growth appliance but declined treatment. These patients were often concerned about cost and the disruption a growth appliance could cause to their daily lives. CandidPro clear aligners offered a lower cost, less intrusive option for delivering dental expansion. 

Though clear aligners do not replace growth appliances, in Dr. Ritzema’s view, the benefits of dental expansion and occlusal improvements achieved with CandidPro clear aligners were far more desirable than providing no care at all.

Dr. Ritzema’s approach to patients declining a growth appliance has multiple benefits

• Establishes a long-term relationship with new patients
• Creates more room for the tongue through dental expansion
• Acts as a bridge to other interventions. After finding success with clear aligners, patients may be open to a growth appliance. 
• If the patient accepts the growth appliance later, their newly aligned teeth can provide a better platform for the growth appliance.

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Reactivating patients who initially decline

Eventually, Dr. Ritzema’s team at Complete Health Dentistry began to reengage patients who had previously declined growth appliances with his CandidPro-first approach. Of this group, six patients accepted clear aligner treatment in the first month. 

CandidPro and the future of airway dentistry

As more dental professionals bring airway-centric principles to their practices, service offerings like CandidPro clear aligner therapy can be of great use. Our airway-friendly protocols are not only an ideal complement to growth appliances, they can also deliver dental expansion through uprighting—giving patients diagnosed with airway concerns more tongue space. 

We applaud Dr. Ritzema for finding novel ways to leverage CandidPro clear aligners to help his patients—and his practice—thrive.

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Click here to learn more about how CandidPro is meeting the needs of airway providers.

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