Many people wish they could have a straighter smile. In the modern, digital age of selfies, snaps, and social media, it feels more important than ever to have a straight, bright, white smile.
A perfectly aligned smile can do wonders for someone’s confidence. With the renewed confidence provided by a straight smile, you’ll be more self-assured in your professional life, your social life, and even your dating life.
Unfortunately, many dental patients avoid straightening their smiles because the thought of having braces evokes feelings of awkwardness and shame. Braces are often considered unsightly, immature-looking, and child-like. Many people with braces, especially adults, can be self-conscious throughout their treatment. If you weren’t advised to wear braces as a child, it can be burdensome to undertake the task as an adult.
Thankfully, there is a convenient and comfortable solution to achieve a straighter smile without having to wear traditional “train track” braces.
Teeth Issues Requiring Braces
There are several ways your teeth can be misaligned, and requiring braces as a result. Some cases require only small movements, whereas other cases require more significant movement. Cases of misaligned teeth include:
- Teeth that are too close together and therefore crooked and overcrowded
- Teeth that are too far apart, either from natural gaps or missing teeth
- Cross bite, where upper teeth bite on the inside of lower teeth
- Deep bite or over bite, where the top teeth protrude further out than the bottom teeth
- Under bite, where bottom teeth protrude further out than the top teeth
Invisalign as an Alternative to Visible Braces
Invisalign is largely considered the most convenient and comfortable method for teeth realignment. When patients visit Vitality Dental, our dental practice in Pulborough, West Sussex, Invisalign is the system recommend for eligible patients who want to avoid visible braces. Since their invention in 1997, Invisalign aligners have been worn by over 2.5 million people, making it the number one choice for discrete braces.
What is Invisalign?
Invisalign is a state of the art clear aligner system that slowly realigns your teeth over time. The goal is to provide you with a convenient, stress-free, painless teeth-realignment system that doesn’t disrupt your life.
As part of your treatment, you’ll wear a series of nearly invisible custom-fitted aligners that are administered two weeks at a time. Over the course of 7 days, each aligner will gently re-align your teeth towards your final goal. Once the aligner has resulted in the desired movement, you will switch to the next aligner, and this process is repeated until you have a perfect smile.
What separates Invisalign from braces, in addition to the sleek, invisible look, is that the aligners can be removed. If you’re eating, brushing your teeth, flossing, or attending a special event, you’re able to remove your aligner. That means you’ll have no trouble keeping proper dental hygiene over the course of your treatment, and you’ll never need to worry about wearing braces on a big day.
How Does Invisalign Work?
Potentially interested in Invisalign invisible braces? Come in to our private dental firm in Pulborough and we’ll provide you with a full consultation. Here’s how the process would work:
- First, you’d meet with one of our highly trained staff who would walk you through the possible treatments available to you, and assess whether or not Invisalign would be right for your smile. This includes a scan of your mouth and measurements of your bite.
- If it’s found that you are a candidate for Invisalign, we will craft a 3D treatment plan that plots how we plan to move your teeth over time, how quickly they are expected to move, and a rendering of your final smile.
- Once the plan is set, we will custom-make a series of aligners to fit your teeth. The number of aligners required will depend on your teeth and bite, and how much realignment there is to be done.
- You will wear these aligners for 20-22 hours per day, but you’ll be able to remove them to eat, brush, and floss.
- Approximately every 7 days, you will make the jump to the next set of aligners. Eventually, after you’ve completed every aligner, your teeth will be in their final position—nice and straight!
The Benefits of Invisalign Over Traditional Braces
The benefits of Invisalign over traditional braces are many. The most obvious benefit, and the reason most people are drawn to Invisalign, is that the aligners are nearly invisible. Most people will never notice you have them in. This opens up the possibility for adults to realign their teeth without needing to worry about the social stigma of having large, clunky braces. In an office or social environment, this can pay huge dividends, whether it’s a better standing in the workplace, or greater confidence at a party.
While traditional braces typically take between 12 to 24 months, Invisalign has a much shorter time frame for treatment—usually only taking between 9 and 18 months to achieve a straight smile. Due to the 3D treatment plan, you’ll also have a better idea of exactly how long your treatment is going to take, and you’ll be able to see an image of how your teeth will look in their final position.
Your aligners will be removable, so if you’re attending a special event like a wedding or graduation ceremony, you won’t need to worry about unsightly braces. This also makes it easier to maintain proper oral hygiene, as you won’t need any special tools to properly brush and floss.
The entire process is also less invasive. You won’t need to worry about cement on your teeth, brackets popping off, elastics snapping, or the irritation of braces against your gums. Everything is smooth and painless, and much easier on the patient.
The cost of Invisalign is determined based on the severity of your teeth, and how long treatment will last. We provide our patients with a variety of payment plans that make it easy to afford treatment. For more information on Invisalign, contact Vitality Dental today!
