Orthodontics has evolved considerably since the days of highly visible metal braces powered by wires and elastics. Nowadays, it’s possible to straighten your teeth nearly invisibly in Newcastle using advanced systems like Invisalign braces.
What Is Invisalign?
Unlike traditional braces fixed onto your teeth for the duration of treatment, Invisalign uses clear plastic aligners designed to cover your teeth, fitting tightly over them. Once in the mouth, these smooth plastic aligners are practically invisible, and you’d have to look closely to detect them. Each aligner is engineered to place the right amount of pressure on each tooth so your teeth gradually move into the proper positions, creating a straighter, more cosmetically appealing smile. Every set of aligners is worn for about two weeks, after which you discard that set and move on to the next set, continuing your treatment until it is complete.
When to Consider Invisalign?
Invisalign is worth considering if you have teeth rotated out of place, crooked, overcrowded, or unsightly gaps between them. It is a versatile system that can correct most common orthodontic problems, including how your teeth bite together. Invisalign is ideal if the problems affecting your teeth are only cosmetically oriented, just affecting your front teeth. Treatment can be useful for people who wore braces during childhood but have subsequently seen their teeth shift position. This problem, called orthodontic relapse, can happen when people fail to wear their retainers regularly after completing orthodontic treatment.
Discovering If You Are Suitable for Invisalign?
If you are interested, make an appointment to see our Invisalign provider in Clarington. Our Invisalign dentist can examine your teeth as it’s important to ensure they are healthy and strong enough to be moved successfully. We can also assess the problems that require correction to ensure Invisalign is the right choice.
The Treatment Process
The treatment begins by scanning your teeth using our digital scanner, creating a precise 3-D digital model of your teeth. Our dentist uses Invisalign’s proprietary software to create your custom treatment plan, creating digital images showing how your teeth will look after treatment. You can view these images to see your new smile before you begin wearing your first set of aligners. Once you are ready to begin treatment, we order your custom-made aligners and show you how to insert and remove them and how to keep them clean.
All you need to do is wear your aligners for at least 22 hours every day, ideally only removing them when you want to eat or drink anything other than water and for regular oral care. You don’t need to change your oral care habits; you can brush and floss your teeth normally. Unlike conventional braces, you don’t need to change your eating habits because you take out the aligners for mealtimes and can eat whatever you wish. It is important to make sure you brush your teeth afterwards and that you clean your aligners before replacing them. You continue with this straightforward routine until your treatment is finished. You will need to see our dentist in Courtice for regular checkups, but these appointments are quick as we just need to check your teeth are moving as predicted and provide additional sets of aligners as needed.
Invisalign treatment can be quite quick to complete if only cosmetic modifications are needed so that you may finish in a matter of weeks or just a few months. If you require more significant changes to how your teeth bite together, treatment may take a year or so.
