Metal braces come with their own set of problems. The painful brackets that irritate your cheeks, tightening the wires on the brackets periodically, the prohibition on eating foods that are sticky or hard – all of them combine to make life more difficult than it needs to be. This isn’t even counting the awkward smile you end up giving while wearing braces. So how do you avoid the pitfalls? Enter the Invisalign treatment. Invisalign is a treatment which helps you to avoid most of the problems you would face with metal braces. It has plastic trays that are nearly invisible, so that no one knows you’re wearing them. The procedure to get Invisalign braces is quite easy too. You approach an Invisalign dentist to help you out. The first thing that they do is take an impression of your mouth along with an x-ray. Once they’ve got the impression, they can get to work on the planning your treatment. When they’re taking the impressions and charting your straightening plan, be sure to clear up any doubts or inquiries you might have.
With your teeth impressions, the doctors make clear aligners that help to straighten your teeth. Unlike metal brackets, these do not irritate your cheeks as they quite smooth. They also fit well, as they are custom-made for your teeth. You can remove these aligners when you need to eat or brush your teeth, which you couldn’t do if you were to get metal braces. So you can eat any food that you want, without worrying that it’ll damage the aligners. Every time your teeth get a little straightened, you can actually see it – because the aligners are clear. You need to get your new aligners every two weeks, approximately. You can have periodic checkups with your dentist every now and then, to check how the treatment is progressing. Generally the aligners take about a year to work on adults, though it differs from person to person.
You can take the aligners off, but it would be best that you wear your aligners for at least 22 hours. This makes sure that the aligners have enough time to gently straighten your teeth. If you don’t wear them for long enough during the day – you might even have to wear the same aligner for longer periods of time. This would mean lengthening the whole process. So be sure to follow any and all instructions that your dentist gives you when you visit the cosmetic dentistry center. Before you begin the treatment, remember to check the cost of the procedure and whether your dental insurance covers it.