Invisalign

Invisalign – is a variety of orthodontic treatment that does not depend on the metal braces and arch wire that are attached to your teeth. Instead, it employs the series of the clear trays that are called aligners. Aligners are custom built for the shape of your teeth and designed to move your teeth in the desired direction. Ususlly, the treatment consists of 6-20 aligners and it is the slight differences between each consecutive aligners that drives the teeth into their ideal place in your mouth.

Is Invisalign better that traditional braces? If there was one main criteria to judge, the answer to that question would be easy. Instead, one should look for the question “Is Invisalign a better fit for me?”

• Aesthetics of the smile during treatment is important (the person speaks on public, works at sales or just a very self-conscious about the smile).
• Ability to clean the teeth. It is much easier to brush and floss your teeth when wearing Invisalign. All you need to do is to pop the aligners off for 2 minutes and put them on.
• Comfort. Much more comfort in the mouth. Traditional wires and braces take a lot of space between the teeth and lip.
• Preview the result. Modern clear align system allow you to preview the end result before you even begin! Isn’t it great?! All the above would be advantages of Invisalign.

What are the disadvantages of the Invisalign?

• Compliance. You have to make sure you wear the aligners as close to 24/7 schedule as possible. You only remove them for eating and brushing your teeth.
• You must be coming for your appointments periodically, so the teeth keep moving. Well, the same is true for the braces.
• It happens that people lose the aligners, when they take them off for eating in a restaurant and forget to pick them up afterwards.
• Less versatility. Arguable one, but the wire systems can allow for on-site correction without any extra work involved, in case the teeth are not moving as expected. With invisalign your dentist will sometimes need to re-order a new set of aligners if the teeth do not move as expected.

How long does it take to straiten my teeth with Invisalign? It depends on a complexity of the bite problem. Certain cases that only require few steps, could take less than 6 months. Some cases may take a few year. Just like any orthodontic treatment. Clear aligners are just a tool to achieve the result.

What is the process of Invisalign? It is really easy!

• First, your dentist take the records (teeth imprints, photo pictures) and orders the aligners. The dentist may communicate with you with your projected result presentation.
• Your get your first aligners placed. The dentist places some retaining elements called buttons on your teeth.
• You come periodically for checkups and change the aligners as the dentist instructs you.
• You finish, the dentist removes the retaining buttons from your teeth and places you in the retainers. The dentist takes another set of photos.

How long does it take. Some cases may take a few years (“s” missing at the end)

Cost. The cost is determined on case-by-case basis with majority cases fitting in between $3,500-6,000.