Why You Should See an Invisalign Dentist

An experienced Invisalign dentist can transform your smile into something straight and beautiful, without anyone knowing you are having a dental procedure completed.  The best thing about this process is that your teeth can be straightened using a clear device that is unnoticeable and inconspicuous.  This is ideal for busy professionals, teens, or those concerned over how metal braces could impact their appearance.

In order to determine if you are a good candidate for the procedure, schedule a dental exam and consultation.  Our team of professionals will evaluate your teeth, gums, and jaw to determine if Invisalign will accomplish the goals that you have for your smile and your dental health.  Patients that have a misaligned jaw may still need traditional metal braces in order to correct it.

The Process

An Invisalign dentist will create a treatment plan that takes you from where your teeth are today to completely straight and gorgeous, using clear aligners.  An aligner looks like a clear retainer.  It completely surrounds your teeth, and patients are typically provided one for both the upper and lower teeth.  To start, a mold will be taken of your mouth.  In the lab, aligners will be produced for your entire treatment plan.  Each aligner takes your teeth one step closer to being straight.

At home, you will switch out the aligner every couple of weeks. This will keep your teeth moving in the right direction, without requiring constant visits to the orthodontist.  Since this is done on your own time, scheduling follow up appointments becomes much easier.

The aligner is supposed to be worn for around 22 hours a day.  This leaves time to enjoy a special dinner out, brush your teeth, and eat your favorite caramel apple.  One of the benefits of Invisalign is that you have the freedom to take the aligner out, instead of being stuck with braces regardless of the occasion.  In addition, your teeth will look straighter throughout the process, helping your appearance to improve immediately.

While you are straightening your teeth, it is important to practice good oral health care at home.  Brush your teeth twice a day, use floss, and an antiseptic mouthwash to kill bacteria.  You can also brush your aligner with a soft toothbrush and toothpaste.  Visit your Invisalign dentist for regular teeth cleanings to remove any additional bacteria that may form in your mouth.  This will help to prevent cavities and gum disease while keeping your teeth healthy for the procedure.  Since the aligner is replaced every couple of weeks there is less risk of it carrying infection causing bacteria, as well.

An Invisalign dentist can do wonders for your smile and help you to look positively radiant.  As your teeth continue to straighten, you will notice changes and improvements to your appearance.  We also recommend that patients have their teeth whitened as part of their big reveal.  We offer professional teeth whitening services that can whiten your smile by up to eight shades.  Once the process is complete, you will be delighted with your bright, straight smile.

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An Invisalign® Dentist Has Solutions For You and Your Teen

As an Invisalign dentist, we are seeing a greater interest in young adults and teens for this alternative means of straightening teeth. Invisalign® has two distinct qualities that make it immensely popular among adults. They are extremely convenient to use, and they are very discrete. The inconspicuous nature of these tooth straightening devices have made them a favorite among adults who want to straighten their teeth without having the slightly embarrassing look that comes from wearing traditional braces. For adults, it is almost revolutionary that they have a discrete path to straighter more beautiful teeth. Sadly, a lot of parents have not made the same leap when it comes to planning a treatment for their teenagers.  They are among the largest group that use braces; they are also a group that depends on their parents to make medical choices for them. As such, there is certainly a strong case to be made for selecting Invisalign® for teenagers.

The makers of Invisalign® have come out with a new product designed specifically with a teenage audience in mind. Similar to adults, teenagers have a lot of peer pressure and the desire to hide their treatment, as they straighten their teeth, is very important to teenagers. When you consider the habits of most teenagers, the food that they prefer to eat, the importance looks play in their social structure, and their busy schedules it becomes clear that parents should be considering Invisalign® Teen as an option for their growing child. It is a stellar alternative to the traditional metal braces.

There are natural advantages to working with Invisalign®, however, some patients have concerns about the effectiveness, and so it is important to note that this product works on exactly the same principle as traditional braces. Traditional braces work to move teeth into a proper alignment by exerting pressure on them. This is achieved using connected brackets, screws, and rubber bands. With Invisalign® the same effect is evident by using a series of progressive aligners, essentially putting a similar amount of pressure on the teeth to make them move. The difference is that with the new technology, this can be achieved without you or your teenager having to have a mouth full of metal and constantly having to visit our office for adjustments.  As an Invisalign® dentist, we find that the conveniences of this solution cannot be understated.

One of the biggest complaints teenagers have against traditional braces, other than the fact that it hampers their looks, is the fact that it comes with a laundry list of foods that can no longer be eaten. Since braces are permanently affixed to the mouth, they have to be protected from damage. As a result your child will not be able to eat anything that is too sticky, too sweet, too sour, or too hard for fear that any of these may damage the wires or brackets in the braces. With Invisalign® there are no such restrictions. The aligners are fully removable and are supposed to be taken out to eat meals. Once you are done eating, rinse out your mouth to clean your teeth, then put the aligners back in.  As an Invisalign® dentist, we can go over all of the benefits with you during a consultation.

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An Invisalign® Dentist Explains How Aligners Are Created

As an Invisalign dentist, we know that this is one of the most innovative and effective ways to straighten teeth. Through a gradual progression of trays, known as aligners, we will walk you through a process that starts in your current state and ends with perfectly aligned teeth. The process starts with an initial determination if you are eligible for this kind of treatment. Few people are ineligible, but we want to make sure that you are not one of the rare people on whom the treatment will not work. If there are any underlying conditions that could either delay the straightening process or hamper the progress, we will find out during the initial examination. One important distinction that needs to be made is that Invisalign is not designed to work on children. This product is for fully developed teeth in adults and teenagers, not for growing teeth as found in children.

Once the initial Invisalign examination concludes that you are a great candidate for the technology, we will proceed to take a number of measurements. These measurements are sent to the Invisalign  laboratory, where the technicians will fabricate your aligners. We will also be taking a dental impression of your teeth for use by the technicians. Using this impression, they will create a 3D model of your teeth, in their current condition, on their computer.

By scanning the impression and inputting all the measurements, the technicians can create a perfect 3D likeness of your teeth. They will use this model to formulate your entire treatment plan. Using computer animation, the laboratory will gradually and incrementally move your teeth into position. They do so along the same motion curve as the actual aligners will take so that they are noting the progress and adjusting accordingly. Since this entire process is based on the computer we, as an Invisalign  dentist, will have full access to the imaging. We will be giving instructions on teeth movement and making sure that the technicians are adjusting the treatment plan to be in keeping with where we want our teeth to end up. Once we are satisfied with the plan, we will give the go ahead for the laboratory to fabricate your aligners.

Aligner work on a principle of applied pressure and continuous growth. Each new set of aligners you receive is misaligned with your teeth for about 1/10th of a millimeter. When they are worn, they force the teeth to move into position so that the teeth fit the aligner. Since the aligner is straighter than your teeth, the teeth start to become straighter as well. Once your teeth fit the aligner perfectly, you will have achieved a 1/10th motion in the straightening of your teeth and are ready to move on to the next set of Invisalign aligners.

It is critical during this treatment that you wear your retainers at least 20 hours per day. Failure to do so can result in the teeth not moving the required amount, which will have a domino effect on future aligners and make the treatment less effective. As an Invisalign dentist, we can walk you through the process and help you to stay on track.