Orthodontic pretreatment with aligners for optimizing the result prior to fixed restorations in the esthetic zone.

Objective: To show the benefit of a minor orthodontic pretreatment prior to fixed restorations in the esthetic zone in challenging situations.

Overview: Esthetic rehabilitations in complex situations need careful treatment planning and comprehensive interdisciplinary approach. Minor orthodontic pretreatments may transfer complex situations into straight forward situations. Typical indications are space opening in order to provide space for a restoration with anatomic proportion or corrections of the tooth axis.

Conclusion: This article presents three clinical cases that show how decision making can be facilitated by a functional and esthetic wax-up/mock-up workflow and how orthodontic pretreatment can contribute to a more functional, less invasive, and more esthetic outcome of restorative treatments in the esthetic zone.

Clinical Significance: Some complex cases in restorative dentistry can be transformed to straight forward cases with the help of minor orthodontic tooth movements.