INVISALIGN | The Modern Way to Straighten Your Teeth

I am sure you agree with me that a beautiful smile can change everything. Your smile has the power to change your life, overcome obstacles and increase your self-confidence in your personal and professional life. Furthermore, we’ve come along way from the stereotypical metal braces of old. Invisalign is a discrete, modern way of straightening your teeth that has become increasingly popular in recent years. In this blog we take a look at some of the advantages of Invisalign and what to expect from the treatment process.

What is Invisalign?

Invisalign are clear, removable braces that gently push and pull your teeth, moving them to your desired position. Invisalign braces are custom-made aligners that apply specific gentle pressure on your teeth moving them incrementally week by week. It is a great alternative to metal braces.

Benefits of Invisalign Over Braces

Invisalign aligners are design to give you as much discretion as possible. Clear plastic trays will be almost invisible giving you much more confidence while wearing them compared to fixed braces. You won’t find any metal parts attached to your trays.

Your lifestyle does not have to change at all!  You have the comfort of taking your Invisalign braces off any time you need to.  Do you have important business meeting?  Are you going out with friends?  You can easily take them off and put back on when you are ready.  That’s the beauty of Invisalign braces, it will adapt to your lifestyle to make it as easy and comfortable as possible.

You can maintain your oral health as before. This is another big advantage over metal braces. Traditional metal braces require a much more vigilant cleaning regime. Food particles often get stuck onto the braces so ideally you should be brushing your teeth after every meal. Imagine having a chunk of spinach stuck onto your teeth after lunch? What makes it worse is if you don’t clean your teeth properly and you don’t limit the consumption of sugars foods, you can be left with permanent decay on your teeth when the braces are removed. With Invisalign you can simply take aligners out and continue with cleaning as normal.

Another advantage of Invisalign over fixed braces is that you don’t need to visit the dentist as often. This saves a lot of time as we all know how busy everyone’s life can be. At the start of treatment, we will provide you with a large batch of aligners and will closely monitor your progress online. You’ll be visiting the practice for review every two or three months.

Thanks to Advance technology and 3D scanning you will be able to see your end results before starting the treatment. Less than a 1 minute after your scan, you can see how much your teeth will move and you can see you brand new, beautiful smile!

My favourite reason to choose Invisalign over fixed braces is to do with food. You don’t have to change your diet or avoid any kind of meals.  As long as you take your aligners out before eating, you can enjoy your favourite food just like before the treatment.

Invisalign treatment is an excellent option for many patients who are worried about crooked teeth. This method can help people with crowded teeth, crossbite, gaps between teeth or for those who just want to straight teeth to improve their smile.

Invisalign Treatment – what to expect

Now that you have a bit more knowledge about Invisalign, let’s go through the steps from the very start of your journey.

Stage 1

The first appointment is to see one of our team members for an Invisalign consultation. This appointment will explain how Invisalign treatment works by showing you an example of the brace system and by explaining the procedure from start to finish.

We will discuss your goals and individual concerns so that we will be able to provide you with an approximate time of your treatment and explain how Invisalign can help you.

That appointment might also involve taking some photos of your teeth as it will help us to point at which teeth which need our attention. However, every case is different and that’s why the length of treatment always depends upon the severity of a case. It might be as short as 6 months, but complex cases can be as long as 24 months. Either way, you should see improvements within the first 6 months of wearing your aligners.

Stage 2

Before considering braces, your dentist has to ensure your teeth and gums are in perfect condition. Think about your gums as the foundation. If the foundation is not good you can’t build the house. That’s why you might be asked to visit the hygienist for a clean before going ahead with Invisalign braces. The hygienist will also explain brushing techniques which will prevent build-up of plaque in the future.  Alongside your gums, the dentist will also check your teeth for any signs of decay or infection. X-rays are also likely to be taken before the commencement of any orthodontic work.

Once your dentist has confirmed you’re a good candidate to have Invisalign treatment, we will start the process by taking a 3D scan using the state of the art, iTero scanner. All of it will be forwarded to the Invisalign laboratory to create a treatment plan specifically for you. We believe that one of the reasons behind success is good planning. That is why the best experts in the laboratory will prepare the treatment plan for you – known as a ClinCheck and send it over to your dentist. The ClinCheck is a 3D simulation of how your teeth are expected to move throughout treatment. Movements of your teeth can be modified to make sure you’re happy with the end result. At this stage you will also find out how many aligners you will be required to wear.

Once your ClinCheck has been approved by yourself and by your dentist, the process of manufacturing your aligners will begin.

Stage 3

The third appointment is the big day when you receive your Invisalign. This appointment might take a bit longer as one of our team members will go through all the instructions with you one more time. To help your teeth with movements, the dentist may place small tooth-coloured buttons on the front surface of your teeth – we call these attachments. It will be very discreet as we use the same material as we use for white fillings, to ensure they match your natural teeth colour perfectly. At the end of the treatment, we will gently remove all the attachments.

Life with Invisalign aligners

You should take out your aligners every time you eat or drink.  Make sure you brush and floss your teeth after every meal and before you put your aligners back in. You’re absolutely fine to drink water with your aligners in as it’s not warm.

We’ll also give you your first batch of aligners. You then proceed to wear each set for around a week, depending on what has been agreed by your dentist. We’re always here to help, if you have any questions or concerns while wearing your aligners, we are more than happy to see you for an appointment any time.

Cleaning your aligners is quite simple. Make sure you use cold water and soft toothbrush to remove any debris and you’re good to go.

The end of Invisalign treatment

Once you’re absolutely happy with your new smile and your dentist is happy with the progress you’ve made, your Invisalign treatment will finish. At this stage we will remove your attachments and take final impression for retainers. At the end of the treatment, you need to be aware that your teeth have an excellent memory and can sometimes drift back to the same position as pre-treatment. That is why, to prevent any further movements, and to keep your teeth at the same position you will be given removable retainers to wear every night. It is extremely important to wear your retainers as it will stop your teeth from drifting back.

Now when you have straight teeth it’s time to whiten your smile. Once we remove your attachments, you are able to proceed with whitening.  You will be given whitening gels to apply on your upper and lower tray each night for two weeks to finish of the treatment, giving you a dazzling smile.