Ever heard of clear or invisible braces?
Commonplace in the mouths of celebrities and average people alike, it is now possible to straighten your teeth as an adult without the need for obvious metal braces. Thanks to invisible braces like Invisalign from Harley Street, more people than ever before are getting the straighter smile that they have always wanted without extensive and invasive orthodontics.
Are there any other benefits to asking your dentist about an invisible brace?
Removable
One main benefit of most brands of invisible braces is that they are fully removable. You can take them out to eat, drink or brush and floss your teeth.
But with this comes temptation and many dental patients have fallen behind with their pre-planned orthodontic procedure due to leaving these braces out for too long. As your dentist will tell you, in order to benefit from these aligners, they need to stay in your mouth for a minimum of 22 hours per day. So, keep them in! Or suffer the consequences!
Easy-to-use
Anyone who has ever had a mental brace knows they can be difficult to maintain and, as the patient, you are somewhat removed from their usage. Any tightening or adjusting is performed by an orthodontist and keeping the metal brace clean can make any dental hygiene regime drag on.
Invisible braces are easy to use and to clean- simply run them under a cool tap and they are cleaned. In relation to using them, you can track their progress using an app on your smartphone, allowing you to keep your dentist updated about their progress, without needing to pop into the dental surgery.
Faster
While this may vary depending on the complexity of the issue being treated, invisible braces are often faster than their metal counterparts.
On average, a person with an invisible brace will have treatment completed in 6 months, whereas a metal brace can take up to 2 years. Talk to your dentist for more information relating to the length of your treatment with invisible aligners.
Customised
Metal braces require a fair bit of fitting and adjusting to make them work, as they are composed of a metal archwire and some metal brackets which are glued to your teeth.
But with invisible braces, your dentist will take a 3D scan of your mouth, which is then sent to a laboratory to be used as a starting point to map the aligners needed to get the desired end result.
From this, a set of personalised, plastic aligners is created and sent back to your dentist that are only designed to fit your teeth. Wearing them in succession will help get your smile straighter, with each aligner being worn for an average of 2 weeks.
Comfortable
While there is no such thing as completely comfortable aligners, invisible braces apply pressure to your teeth in a different way than regular braces do. There is no pulling involved and they simply coerce your teeth into the desired positions, making them more comfortable to wear.