Summary - Spark Aligner course with Dr João Pato

Course Philosophy

This two-day intensive course is not intended to be a course just about aligners, nor only about their mechanical use. It is a clinical and biologically driven orthodontic course, in which aligners are considered a therapeutic tool, not the objective itself.

The term orthodontics can be reductive when interpreted solely as straight (ortho) teeth (dontics). As orthodontists, our goal extends far beyond straight teeth. We work on the entire facial complex, aiming to achieve aesthetic, functional, and skeletal balance, always respecting biological limits and individual patient characteristics.

Clinical outcomes are directly dependent on the treatment strategy adopted, the accuracy of diagnosis, and the correct selection of the most appropriate approach for each facial and skeletal pattern.

Clinical Content and Treatment Approach

Throughout the course, Class I, II, and III malocclusions will be addressed in an integrated manner across different stages of development:

Growing patients – with a focus on interceptive orthodontics and growth modification, whenever possible, aiming to induce or redirect skeletal changes at the level of the maxillary bases.
Adolescents – exploring strategies that combine growth control, dentoalveolar compensations, and optimization of remaining biological potential.
Adults – discussing orthodontic camouflage approaches and, when indicated, combined orthodontic–surgical treatments (Orthognathic Surgery).

Special emphasis will be placed on the ability to manage treatment in the three planes of space:

Sagittal
Transverse
Vertical

allowing comprehensive three-dimensional control of occlusion, facial aesthetics, and function (mastication, speech and breathing)

Integration with Spark Aligners

Within the Spark aligner system, advanced tools and protocols will be discussed, including:

BiteSync – for sagittal and vertical dimension control and occlusal relationship management;
StageRx – as a sequential and biomechanical planning tool;
Combined treatments, integrating:
MARPE (Mini-implant Assisted Rapid Palatal Expansion)
Skeletal expanders
Reverse pull Facemasks
Orthognathic surgery, when indicated.

The focus throughout the course will remain on biomechanics, diagnosis, and clinical decision-making, rather than on digital execution alone.

Core Message of the Course

Software and Aligners do not replace orthodontics. Orthodontics is what gives meaning to the use of aligners.

This course aims to empower orthodontists to think orthodontically, using aligners as a versatile tool to achieve predictable aesthetic, functional, and skeletal outcomes, while respecting biological principles and patient individuality.

Dr. João Pato is a dentist licensed by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra, where he took his post-graduate degree in Orthodontics for 3 years full-time. He extended his studies with a post-graduate degree in Lingual Orthodontics from the Complutense University of Madrid and by attending the course “Expert in Orthognathic Surgery” by the International University of Catalonia.

He is also a Damon certified orthodontist and attended various aligner expert courses like MasterCoip and Manuel Roman’s Master Ortodoncia Invisible.

He is Spark Clear Aligners Key Expert and he is regularly involved in national and international courses on digital Orthodontics.

Spark Aligner course with Dr João Pato - South Africa

Introduction to the course

Agenda

Lanzerac Wine Estate

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