Invisalign

• Improved Oral Hygiene — With an orthodontic appliance that is removable, you will be able to clean your teeth much more easily than if you were wearing metal braces. Because they’re removable, there’s nothing to keep you from brushing and flossing everywhere in your mouth, just as you would without appliances.

• A Discreet Look — If you consider your orthodontic treatment to be a private matter, or simply feel that metal braces don’t fit with your self-image, a practically invisible form of orthodontic treatment might suit you.

• More Dietary Choices — To protect metal wires and braces, some diet modifications are necessary. With clear aligners, you can still bite into an apple or a crispy pizza crust. You won’t have to watch what you eat, either, because you’ll simply remove the aligner at mealtimes.

• Comfort — The thin, flexible material of which Invisalign is made will not irritate the soft tissues of the mouth, as metal wires and braces can. Some people suffer irritation to the cheeks and gums from the metal parts of braces. Fortunately, the plastic of an aligner rarely causes that kind of problem. Plus, you won’t have to rush into the dental office to quickly fix a protruding wire or reattach a broken bracket.

• Teeth-Grinding Protection — If you have a teeth grinding or clenching habit, clear aligners can function as thin nightguards that will protect your teeth from excessive wear.

Clear aligner technology has been improving over the years and can correct many malocclusions that once would have been too complicated for this form of treatment. Yet there are still some situations for which traditional braces would still be best. This can be discussed in detail with you.

How Invisalign Works

Invisalign clear aligners work the same way traditional braces do: by applying carefully controlled forces to teeth to move them into a better position. But they are not made of metal; instead, they are made of clear, flexible plastic.

Specialized computer software is used to design a plan for moving your teeth from their current positions into the best possible alignment. This movement will be broken down into perhaps several dozen stages. For each stage, the Invisalign company will manufacture two plastic mouth “trays” or “aligners,” one to fit over your top teeth and one for the bottom. You will wear this first set of trays for two weeks, for a minimum of 20 hours per day (this allows you time to remove them for meals or regular dental hygiene practices such as brushing your teeth). You will then move on to the next set of aligners in your series to accomplish the next stage of gradual movement. You will keep doing this until your teeth are correctly aligned.

Invisalign for Teens

Clear aligners for adults have been available for over a decade, but until recently they weren’t recommended for teens in most cases. Why not? Chiefly, for two reasons: It was thought that teens wouldn’t always wear them for the recommended 22 hours per day; also, since many teens have some permanent teeth still erupting (emerging from below the gums), the precisely planned movement of the teeth might be disturbed.

In the past several years, two features have been added to make Invisalign a more appropriate orthodontic treatment method for teenagers. Special “eruption tabs” hold the appropriate amount of space open for molars that have not fully grown in. Invisalign for teens also comes with “compliance indicators” built into the aligner material, which fades with wear. This allows parents, dentists, and the teens themselves, to make sure the trays are being worn as prescribed. Treatment with Invisalign can only be successful if this is the case.