Do crooked teeth have you feeling self-conscious about your smile? Dental braces and retainers are options — but as long as you’re wearing them, traditional braces can make you feel even more reluctant to smile because they’re so noticeable in your mouth.
Invisalign products are appealing because they provide many of the same benefits that braces do, but they are far less obvious. For many patients, they’re virtually invisible. Let’s discuss 9 facts you should know about Invisalign clear aligners:
1. Invisalign Works for Teens and Adults
Invisalign makes a teen system available that is ideal for use by young adults. Invisalign treatments are also available for older adults. There are even some senior citizens ages 60 and above who have enjoyed spectacular success with straightening their teeth using Invisalign systems.
2. Invisalign Aligners Are Conveniently Removable
Traditional braces cannot be removed for the entire duration of time you’re undergoing orthodontic treatment. In contrast, you can remove your Invisalign aligners for up to 2 hours each day. It’s far easier to eat, drink, floss and brush your teeth after you’ve removed them.
You do have to be disciplined about replacing the aligners back in your mouth after you’ve finished your meals and your oral hygiene routine. If you often forget to replace them, the treatment will most likely take longer to achieve the desired results.
3. Regarding Comfort, Invisalign Compares Favourably Against Traditional Braces
Straightening your teeth typically requires application of pressure. This is not going to be a 100 per cent comfortable experience, no matter which orthodontic products you choose. However, Invisalign wearers tend to report fewer instances of mouth irritation and soreness than wearers of traditional braces do.
Some Invisalign customers experience a bit of sensitivity on the day they first begin wearing a new set of aligners. Pain resulting from Invisalign generally tends to be either mild or non-existent, although there are exceptions to this.
4. You Can Expect Fewer Orthodontist Visits with Invisalign
One major drawback with traditional braces is that you need to visit your orthodontist frequently to have the braces tightened and adjusted. With Invisalign, this is accomplished by switching aligners periodically — usually weekly or bi-weekly. You do have to visit your orthodontist approximately once every two months for check-ups. This frequency of visits is far more convenient than the typical visit schedule with traditional braces.
5. The Costs of Invisalign Vary, but Are Typically Comparable to Traditional Braces
Invisalign aligners are precisely customised for your unique mouth using digital imaging technology. There are countless customisations that can be made to the aligners. This makes it impossible to quote you a precise cost unless you have a consultation with a qualified Invisalign provider. However, you’ll typically find that Invisalign treatments fall within the same general price range as traditional braces do.
In Australia, Medicare does not cover the costs of most orthodontic treatments. However, you might not have to pay all the costs for Invisalign out of pocket if you maintain a private health insurance policy. Australia’s private health insurance funds do frequently cover orthodontics under their dental cover policies.
6. You May Need to Make Lifestyle Changes to Maximise Your Invisalign Treatments
Invisalign aligners are vulnerable to getting stained by nicotine, red wine, coffee and some other substances. To avoid staining, you should not smoke while you’re wearing your Invisalign retainers. You’ll also want to avoid drinking any beverage that can discolour the aligners while you’re wearing them; take them out if you’re going to drink anything other than water.
Some Invisalign customers have reported losing weight as a result of wearing their retainers. Having to take the retainers out before each bite of food you eat can prompt you to think consciously about every snack break you take. It makes you ponder, “How badly do I really want that candy bar?”
7. Invisalign Treatment Durations Vary
You might be wondering how much time it takes to correct the alignment of your teeth using Invisalign. The answer to this question can only be estimated during a consultation with a qualified Invisalign provider. This is because your mouth is unique. Some issues are more complex to treat than others and could therefore take longer.
Many patients find that they are able to get satisfactory results within 6 months, which is faster than the time traditional braces are typically able to produce results.
Treatment duration is also strongly dependent on whether you wear the aligners for the necessary amount of time each day. If you often fail to replace the aligners in your mouth after eating each meal, you’re likely to find that you need a significantly longer duration of time for treatments to be effective.
In addition to Invisalign’ best-known product offering, the Invisalign Full system, we also offer the Invisalign i7 system. One advantage of i7 is that the treatments are even faster. Many of our patients are able to achieve pleasing results within short 3-month duration of Invisalign i7 treatments.
8. Invisalign Has Some Limitations
Invisalign technology works well for the vast majority of customers we see. It can help with a variety of dental issues including crowded teeth, overbite, underbite, crossbite, gaps in teeth, and open bite. However, there are some people who experience extreme malocclusion issues.
Issues such as extremely dissimilar jaw sizes, severely angled teeth or rotating lower canines might not be suitable for correction with Invisalign technology. In the rare cases where we think you’d see better success with another type of treatment, we’ll advise you of this at your in-person consultation.
Those are 8 of the most important considerations to be aware of when making a well-informed decision about whether you’d like to proceed with using one of Invisalign corrective orthodontics systems. If you are interested in discussing Invisalign systems further, we invite you to book a consultation with us. We can help you determine whether Invisalign would be beneficial to you and to help you customise the ideal system to meet your needs.