What is Interproximal Reduction (IPR)?

Interproximal reduction, also referred to as IPR, is the process of reshaping the teeth to make them a little smaller by stripping or polishing sides of the teeth at their point of contact.

There are 3 reasons why we as orthodontists perform this procedure:

1. The first reason to perform an interproximal reduction is because there may be a tooth size discrepancy between the top teeth and the bottom teeth. What that means is that the teeth in one arch are too large when compared to the teeth in the other arch. Getting the perfect bite is like putting together a puzzle and if some of the pieces are too big we can adjust them to help them fit together better.
2. The second reason is because there is a little bit too much crowding but it’s not worth extracting teeth. For cases with severe crowding, extraction may be the only option to get the teeth to fit. If you have dad’s teeth but mom’s jaws, they may not match and taking teeth out is the best option to prevent damage to the rest of the teeth. But what about those cases with moderate crowding in which the patient only has 3-4mm of crowding? For those cases, doing some IPR is a great middle ground. Instead of taking teeth out to get the space that we need, we can get half a millimeter from here and half a millimeter from there and avoid taking teeth out all together.
3. The third reason for an interproximal reduction is to address a cosmetic concern of the patient. Some patients simply don’t like the shape of their teeth or their gums may not completely fill in the space between their teeth (something we call black triangles) and IPR is a great tool to address these concerns. Oftentimes after recommending some IPR, the next question I get is, “Does it hurt?”. Patients may experience some discomfort during the procedure but rarely is worth getting the patient numb as the injection would most likely hurt more than the procedure itself. Your gums may be a little sore afterwards and a simple saltwater rinse 3 times a day for 3 days should be enough for proper healing. If your orthodontist recommends interproximal reduction, now you’ll have a better understanding of why they are doing so.