Not so long ago, if you wanted to straighten your teeth, the only option was to have traditional fixed braces, which is fine if you are at school. The thought of fixed braces is not so appealing if you are an adult and need to interact with customers or clients or would prefer to keep your treatment more private. Fixed braces have visible brackets and wires that remain on teeth for the duration of treatment. Invisalign is quite different and is virtually invisible.
What Is Invisalign?
Invisalign is clear aligner therapy, so instead of having fixed braces to move your teeth, you wear clear removable aligners that fit tightly over your teeth. Each set of aligners is worn for approximately two weeks before you discard that set and move on to the next set of aligners that will continue to move your teeth.
What Are the Advantages of Choosing Invisalign?
There are several advantages to Invisalign treatment in Newcastle. The first is ease of treatment, as Invisalign is simple to use with little impact on everyday life. You take out the aligner trays whenever you want anything to drink besides water and for mealtimes. Therefore there is no need to make any changes to your diet or to avoid certain foods. With fixed braces, you must avoid foods that are very crunchy, hard or sticky and which could be difficult to remove from around the brackets and wires or could damage them.
After mealtimes, you brush your teeth and clean your aligner trays before replacing them, which is quick and easy. With fixed braces, you must use special tools to floss around the brackets and wires to remove all food and plaque debris thoroughly. It’s important to do this as otherwise, you risk developing tooth decay or gum disease.
The planning process for Invisalign is also pretty sophisticated, using Invisalign’s technology to plan each tooth movement precisely. To do this, we take digital dental x-rays and a scan of your mouth, and digital photographs here at West Bowmanville Family Dental. Using the software, we can plan exactly how your teeth will straighten during treatment, and we can even produce digital images showing how your new smile should look once you complete your Invisalign treatment in Clarington. It’s the ideal opportunity for you to become more involved with your treatment, and you can also clearly see the potential benefits if you decide to proceed.
When you have adult orthodontics in Courtice, you will need regular dental checkups so that we can ensure treatment is progressing as planned. Invisalign checkups are relatively quick, and you only need to see us occasionally, whereas checkups for fixed braces take longer as the braces need to be adjusted. You may also need to see the dentist more frequently and be advised to have more frequent hygiene appointments to clean your teeth professionally, as maintaining good oral hygiene with fixed braces is more challenging.
Are There Any Times When Fixed Braces Are Better?
Invisalign is great for people looking for a discreet treatment, and it is super easy to maintain good oral health throughout the process. In most cases, Invisalign can provide excellent results and treat a wide range of problems, including quite complex ones. However, there are certain times when fixed braces could be a better option, for example, if you have extremely complicated bite problems or where larger tooth movements are required. Good compliance is also important, as you must be prepared to wear Invisalign aligners for at least 22 hours each day and ideally only remove them for meals and oral care. Fixed braces could be a better option if you are likely to forget.