Invisalign

What is Invisalign?

Invisalign is becoming more popular than traditional orthodontic treatments like metal braces. Instead of brackets and wires, Invisalign uses a series of clear, removable aligners to straighten your smile. The custom trays fit directly onto your teeth, are almost invisible when worn, and are completely removable. Patients take out the aligners to eat, drink, and perform oral hygiene – making it a highly convenient form of orthodontic treatment.

Do I Need to See an Orthodontist for Invisalign?

More and more dentists are offering Invisalign treatment to their patients – and while this may seem like a good option, it comes with risks. Only trained, certified orthodontists like those at our practice are specialized and qualified to handle more complex Invisalign cases. Orthodontics is an incredibly complicated science, and these specialists go through 2 to 3 years of additional schooling to learn the process and technologies necessary to safely straighten teeth. At our practice, we’re proud to have a variety of specialized New Braunfels orthodontists to help our patients.

How Long Does Invisalign Take?

Every patient is unique, and no two Invisalign treatments will be the same. Most patients receive Invisalign treatment for somewhere between 6 and 18 months. It’s important to remember that Invisalign isn’t right for everyone, and some patients will still need treatment with braces – but Invisalign can offer a convenient option for teens, adults, and children alike.

What Is the Process of Getting Invisalign?

A mold of your teeth is taken, either with impressions or through the use of an intraoral scanner. Your models get sent to Invisalign, and working together with their alignment professionals, we come up with a treatment plan for you.

The number of aligners that you’ll need will dictate how long it takes before your Invisalign treatment is complete. Prior to deciding to move forward, you can return to our office to view a virtual simulation of the possible results, as well as find out how many aligners you’ll require.

When you decide to move forward with the treatment, there is just a bit of prep work that needs to be done to your teeth. Don’t worry though; there’s no numbing or needles needed at this appointment! It’s really quick, and all we need to do is place “buttons” on your teeth. We simply prep the front surface of pre-selected teeth with conditioning solutions and adhere a natural color composite bonding material to them. This serves as a guide for the aligners to help show them in which direction the teeth need to move.

Occasionally we’ll have to do some interproximal reduction (IPR). Again, this is painless and all we do is smooth the contact between your teeth, opening it up some. This allows your teeth more room to move in their proper position.

IPR and placing new (or replacing) buttons may need to be done again throughout your treatment, but not very often.

Does Invisalign Hurt?

Traditional braces can sometimes cause ulcers and sores in your mouth from the metal brackets and wires. Since Invisalign doesn’t use metal attachments, this isn’t a problem. Each aligner is shaped slightly differently, so some discomfort may be felt the first day of changing to a new one. Mostly the feeling is pressure from the teeth moving. If necessary, Tylenol could help relieve any soreness.

Living with Invisalign

You’ll be given several aligners to take home with you. We’ll tell you when to change them out. But as a general rule, you wear the same aligner a minimum of 22 hours per day for 1 – 2 weeks.

When you see us periodically, we will check to make sure that all movement is on track and give you more aligners to take home.

The biggest concern with Invisalign is compliance from children and teens. Teeth don’t move if the aligners stay in their box and aren’t worn. So before deciding to go with this treatment option, you should be certain that they will be used correctly. We also offer Invisalign Teen. The aligners from this system come with a built-in indicator that tells us if it has been worn long enough to be effective. This is great and helps us all to make sure your youngster is on track.

Invisalign is Made to Fit Your Lifestyle!

Due to its unique design, Invisalign offers a number of unique benefits to patients. Some of the main benefits of Invisalign include:

• Virtually Invisible: Invisalign won’t show up in pictures or at important social events. In fact, most people won’t even notice you’re wearing the clear aligners unless they’re specifically looking for them.
• Removable: You can take the aligners out to eat, drink, brush, and floss.
• Oral Hygiene is Easy: Being able to remove them makes brushing and flossing your teeth significantly easier than with traditional braces. Cleaning your teeth won’t require the use of special tools like floss threaders or proxa-brushes.
• No Dietary Restrictions: Because you remove the aligners to eat, you won’t have to avoid any foods. Enjoy corn on the cob, bread, popcorn, and even bubblegum!
• Improved Comfort: Invisalign is smooth to the lips, cheeks, and tongue. So you won’t suffer from the pain and discomfort of mouth ulcers and cuts.

Make Invisalign a Part of Your Life

If you think Invisalign might be right for you or your teen, then give us a call today. At your consultation, we’ll give you our recommendations, optional choices, and move forward from there. The experts at Children’s Dental Ranch look forward to meeting you and your child!