The Dentalpreneur Podcast w/ Dr. Mark Costes 2507: Making Clear Aligners Profitable for General Dentists
May 12, 2026
Dr. Ben Miraglia, VP of GP Clinical Education at CandidPro and an experienced general dentist, explains his expansive, minimally invasive approach to clear aligner care. He covers reducing IPR and attachments, using AI and two-week scans for tracking, team-based workflows and home scanning to cut chair time, and why starting with simple cases makes aligner therapy more predictable and profitable.
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How Aligners Transformed Patient Acceptance In His Practice
- Anecdote: Early adopters shifted patient acceptance from 'I won't wear braces' to eager uptake with clear aligners.
- Miraglia described going from 10% acceptance for braces to over 90% saying yes to aligners in comprehensive care.
Use An Expansive Technique To Reduce IPR And Attachments
- Do adopt an expansive aligner technique to minimize IPR and attachments for more predictable tracking.
- Dr. Ben Miraglia shifted to widening arches and uprighting molars to avoid IPR and reduce attachment count, improving finishes.
AI Reflects The Treatment Philosophy It's Trained On
- Insight: AI's output reflects the training bias so it will replicate either extraction or expansive philosophies.
- Miraglia warns AI will produce plans based on whoever fed it—pick tools aligned with your technique.