Invisalign Looks Better

The biggest benefit of Invisalign is that they are virtually invisible. Adult patients love that colleagues and clients can’t see they are undergoing orthodontic treatment. Self-conscious teens do too. With Invisalign you don’t go through a period of people commenting on your new braces. You won’t be worried about your smile in photos - all you will see in photos is the progress of your ever-improving smile.

You Can Take the Aligners Out to Eat

Patients often ask us “do you have to wear Invisalign all the time?” For best results Invisalign needs to be worn for 20 - 22 hours each day, which means you can take your aligners out when you are eating. This means you don’t have to change what you eat or how you eat it. With braces people find some types of foods difficult or uncomfortable to eat.

It’s Easier to Brush and Floss Your Teeth

As well as when eating and drinking, you’ll also remove your Invisalign to brush your teeth. With nothing on your teeth to worry about, you can continue brushing and flossing as you did previously.

Fewer Consultations Required

With Invisalign, much of the orthodontist’s work happens before you wear your aligners. A 3D scan of your teeth is used for making all the customised aligners in a laboratory. You should change the multiple sets of aligners on your orthodontist’s directions. There is no need to visit the orthodontist for adjustments so visits are kept to a minimum to check on progress. Few visits to the orthodontist means less time off work.

Comfortable to Wear

You may be wondering “are braces or invisalign more painful?” Moving teeth around with Invisalign can be uncomfortable and painful, much like traditional braces. However, there are also fewer mouth and gum problems with Invisalign. Invisalign are made of a special plastic and fitted to each patients mouth, so - unlike braces - there are typically no cuts on the inside cheeks.

1. Have a consultation with your orthodontist

If you’re interested in Invisalign, we first have to determine if it is right for you. Invisalign is a versatile treatment system, but it doesn’t work for all orthodontic issues. Beyond clinical considerations, we also have to consider a patient’s ability or willingness to keep the trays in almost 24 hours a day, and patients or their families of course will want to check on insurance coverage and consider cost comparisons. But we wish to emphasize that even if you don’t ultimately receive treatment from us, you should receive Invisalign treatment from an orthodontist and not a dentist. Many dentists are now Invisalign providers, but they lack the additional training and specialization that orthodontists have, and outcomes are often inferior.

2. Your orthodontist creates a treatment plan

Once you’ve decided to begin Invisalign treatment, we take x-rays, photographs and impressions of your teeth. These records are sent to the Invisalign company along with our instructions of how we want the teeth to move. Invisalign technicians input the information into a computer to generate a 3-D rendering of your teeth and a computer model how they will move to their desired positions. We can check their work on our own office computers. There is sometimes a little back and forth between our office and Invisalign regarding adjustments until they get the course of treatment exactly right. When we are satisfied, we ask Invisalign to make the trays.

3. Wait for your aligners

It might take about a month for the aligners to arrive at our office.

4. Wear your aligners

Come to our office when the aligners are ready, and we will give them to you. They are all different and are meant to be worn in a specific order. Each aligner should be used for two weeks. As your treatment progresses, each new aligner will serve to bring your teeth into straighter and straighter positions. You can take out an aligner to eat or brush, but otherwise, you should basically always be wearing one during the treatment process. If you don’t, your teeth movements won’t progress according to plan, and as you put in new aligners, they won’t fit correctly.

5. Your orthodontist refines your smile

When the last tray has been worn for two weeks, you might very well be done with your Invisalign, but more often than not, a few teeth might still need some adjustments. It’s not rare for this to happen. We’ll inspect your teeth and may get back in touch with Invisalign to order a few more “refinement” trays. Again, they might take up to a month to arrive. Invisalign expects many patients to need refinement trays and there’s no additional charge for them.

6. Maintain your smile

You will need to wear retainers after treatment is complete to give the bones of your jaw time to solidify around your new teeth placements. Invisalign makes a product called Vivera which are similar to their other trays, but they’re a little thicker and more durable. They’re not meant to be changed out bi-weekly as Invisalign trays are. You can also use a wired retainer. It is essential to wear your retainer during the months immediately after treatment, but ideally you should wear a retainer a little each week for the rest of your life. Your teeth are always shifting and moving, after all.