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Spanish If you grew up around people who wore traditional metal braces, you may have heard some of these petty childhood insults. Brace Face! Train Tracks! Metal Mouth! Tinsel Teeth! Hopefully, we outgrow these hurtful nicknames at some point, but many people are still self-conscious about how it looks to wear metal braces as a teen or adult. With more adults than ever opting for orthodontic treatment, the visual aspect of braces is a genuine concern. At Happy Smile Family Dentistry, we’re pleased to offer braces alternatives such as Ivisalign®, which allow you to straighten your teeth in a more discreet and subtle way.
The Issues With Metal Braces
Metal braces have long been the go-to solution for crooked teeth. They certainly do the job, as millions of transformed smiles can attest. However, since their inception, the bulky framework of traditional braces has often been a source of embarrassment, discomfort, and limitation.
The metal brackets and wires with braces can poke and prod inside your mouth, causing soreness and even bleeding. Braces also limit the foods you can eat and are far more challenging to clean, thanks to the extra metalwork inside your mouth. Finally, metal braces drastically change how your smile looks, causing many people to feel embarrassed in social situations or while taking photos. Much like getting a drastically new hairstyle, there’s no hiding the fact that you’re wearing braces, which could take years to complete their treatment. For older teens and adults looking to straighten their teeth while maintaining a particular lifestyle, it may be time to consider an alternative to braces.
Clear Aligners: The Braces Alternative
Over the past few decades, a new technology has taken hold of the orthodontic world: clear aligners. There are many different brands of aligners, but the most well-known among these is Invisalign. Dr. Aristodemo and the Happy Smiles Family Dentistry team prefer Invisalign because of their long track record of quality and effectiveness.
The Invisalign system uses a series of custom-made trays that work sequentially to straighten teeth. The best aspect about these trays is that they’re made of a transparent, medical-grade polymer nearly invisible to the naked eye when placed on teeth. Unlike braces, it will be much harder for people to tell you’re undergoing orthodontic work unless you let them in on the secret.
The Invisalign Process
The path to choosing Invisalign starts with a free consultation. Dr. Aristodemo will examine your mouth, discuss options, and answer any questions. To begin the Invisalign process, we’ll take a digital scan of your mouth to form a treatment plan. Once created, we’ll send it to the Invisalign laboratory to create your custom series of trays.
After your trays come in, you’ll come back for a fitting and to receive usage instructions. Invisalign does require more patient accountability than braces, as the patient is responsible for wearing them correctly and changing trays at the proper times. For Invisalign to work as intended, you’ll need to wear them 20-22 hours per day, only taking them out to eat. Before reinserting them, you’ll need to brush and rinse so food particles don’t end up trapped in the trays. Finally, you’ll be responsible for the proper progression of the trays over time. Dr. Aristodemo will still see you regularly to give you the next set of trays and ensure everything is on track, but the onus is on you to keep the system progressing as instructed.
If all instructions are followed correctly, the aligners will slowly push your teeth into their final positions. The Invisalign process is usually faster than traditional braces. Once it’s done, you’ll be given a retainer to wear to keep your newly straightened teeth in their proper positions.
The Cost of Invisalign
Every dental procedure comes with some financial concern, but our practice is dedicated to helping you find the best plan for your family’s budget. We’ll help you determine whether your dental insurance will help cover some of the Invisalign cost and how much. If you need financing help, we collaborate with multiple lending companies to offer payment plans that can work for you.
Explore Braces Alternatives Today
Do you want straighter teeth without the awkwardness of wearing metal braces? If so, you should consider alternatives to braces, such as Invisalign. Call us to schedule a free consultation if you’re ready to see whether Invisalign is right for you. Thanks to Invisalign, you could have a more uniform, beautiful smile while keeping your orthodontic treatment more discreet.
