Call Us Today!Teeth straightening today offers many options. There are metal bands and brackets that now come in a variety of colors appealing to younger patients; but teens and adults that wish to straighten their teeth have choices too … and many are opting for Invisalign clear aligners.
The advantages of Invisalign are numerous:
Clear – This makes teeth straightening a virtually invisible method.
Removable – This is an important component for a couple of reasons. Patients that can remove their dental braces are free to enjoy all the foods they love. Simply remove the aligners, enjoy your snack or meal, and replace. Secondly, the patient can brush and floss thoroughly without cumbersome braces to get in the way.
Comfortable – The aligners are made without wires or metal. They are firm enough to gently shift teeth to their correct placement without abrading soft oral tissues in the process.
Convenient – With standard metal braces, the patient must see the dentist to have wires tightened to keep the straightening process moving forward. With Invisalign, the aligners are simply replaced every two weeks … each aligner is designed to keep teeth moving toward the correct occlusion.
Invisalign is ideal for resolving an over bite, under bite, or cross bite. A consultation with your dentist will involve photographs, x-rays, and dental impressions. These are the tools that will be used by the Invisalign lab to fabricate the series of aligners using 3-D digital technology. They will develop aligners based on the length of time determined to resolve your malocclusion.
The aligners need to be worn twenty to twenty-two hours every day. When each aligner is replaced every two weeks, the new aligner will feel very snug. That is because at the end of this two week period, your teeth should have been shifted to where the aligner no longer feels tight. This is how the process gradually moves teeth to their new placement.
At treatment conclusion, no matter what type of orthodontic treatment you choose, you will be given a retainer to be worn. The retainer will allow your teeth to develop a memory for their new location. Failure to execute this part of the program will allow your teeth to possibly shift back to their former location. Don’t waste months or years of treatment … wear your retainer as directed.
To learn more about Invisalign or other services we offer, contact our team at Anderson Dentistry today.