Having straight teeth can give you so much confidence, but a lot of people feel too self-conscious to get braces in the first place for fear of being a ‘metal mouth’. Invisalign is a fantastic alternative to braces that means you won’t have to spend years hiding your smile in photos but still get the same results of straight teeth you can be proud of.
How Invisalign Works
Invisalign involves a series of clear plastic ‘aligners’ which, over time, will straighten your teeth. These aligners are transparent and plastic, and help to gently shift your teeth into place.
You don’t have to worry about the discomfort or unsightliness of any sort of metal in your mouth. The aligners are the only material used to help straighten your teeth up. And the best part about it is that no one will even know that you’re in the midst of straightening your teeth.
Benefits of Invisalign
There are many benefits to Invisalign:
- Having straight teeth can give you so much confidence and can also make you appear much more attractive.
- They are practically invisible, so no one will even know that you are straightening your teeth. You don’t have to worry about feeling self-conscious about having metal or clear braces.
- They’re removable, so any time you want to eat, or clean your teeth, you can easily just take them out.
- You experience less pain due to the technologies of Invisalign that mean your teeth are gradually and gently moved.
- With braces, you usually have to see your dentist or orthodontist every three or four weeks. With Invisalign, you only have to visit around every six to eight weeks.
- The ability to remove Invisalign whenever you want means that you can maintain good oral health, especially since braces often obstruct parts of your teeth, making it difficult to reach plaque, which results in poor oral hygiene and gum infection.
- If you’re a parent and worrying that your child isn’t wearing their Invisalign as often as they should, your child’s aligners will have a blue compliance indicator so you can be sure they’re not sneaking it off when you’re not around.
- Traditional braces can be embarrassing, especially for adults who may want to straighten their teeth later in life. With
- Invisalign, you can avoid any embarrassment and have your teeth straightened discreetly.
Potential Risks & Side Effects of Invisalign
There are a few very minor downsides to this cosmetic dentistry treatment:
- Some people feel tooth discomfort, especially when they start the treatment or get a new aligner. However, this is the case with any form of teeth realignment and Invisalign is often less painful than metal braces.
- Invisalign also requires its wearers to be quite diligent about wearing it and it must be work at least 22 hours a day. So, you’ll want to make sure you’re not too forgetful otherwise the process will take much longer than it ideally should or will not work at all.
- Your speech may be slightly affected for the first few days when you start Invisalign, but no more than any other sort of teeth re-alignment treatment. Your tongue will get used to it very quickly, and you will talking just as much in less than a week.
- Though not a health risk, another downside of Invisalign is that it can be quite expensive. However, many people who have come out the other side of an Invisalign treatment say that it is worth the extra cost compared with traditional metal or clear braces and worth every cent for the convenience of being able to remove the aligners.
Tips for Invisalign Care
There are a few things to keep in mind when you start using Invisalign:
- For the best and quickest results, make sure to wear your Invisalign for at least 22 hours a day.
- There are no restrictions as to what you can eat or drink. However, it is recommended that you brush and floss your teeth after each meal and before you put your Invisalign back in. Some coloured foods can stain the aligner – but you get a new one every 2 weeks so no big deal.
- To keep your aligners clean, make sure to rinse them and gently brush them with your toothbrush. Always use normal soap – not toothpaste which is abrasive. You can also buy an Invisalign cleaning system to make sure they stay in tip top condition.
- You’ll wear each set of aligners for about two weeks. Each time you change your aligner you will probably feel a bit of pressure and temporary discomfort, but don’t fret – this is completely normal.
- More and more often we are using tooth coloured “attachments” to move some teeth. so ask you dentist where these will be after he completes his diagnosis and treatment planning.
- Generally there is a cost to doing the diagnosis and treatment plan for each Invisalign case – so ask you dentist what this cost is.
Contact Lifetime Holistic Dental Today
If you’re interested in Invisalign, get in touch with the friendly team at Lifetime Holistic Dental, just:
- Call us on (03) 9529 2920
- Email us at admin@lifetimedental.com.au
- Pop in and see us at Suite 3/684 Malvern Road, Prahran, Victoria 3181