Who Can Wear Invisalign® Dental Aligners?
When you are a teenager or an adult with mild to moderate dental malocclusions, your dentist may suggest wearing clear plastic aligners rather than wearing metal or ceramic braces. Invisalign® treatment is one of the most popular ways to straighten teeth. In the past, anyone who needed orthodontic treatment had to wear braces, but today, there are removable aligners available. Treatment with braces is appropriate for patients with severe dental misalignments, but few individuals have this problem. While various types of braces have been used for hundreds of years, clear aligners were only invented in the 1990s. Most patients with dental malocclusions have incorrectly spaced or moderately crowded teeth, especially toward the front of the mouth, and these misalignments are easier to repair than some other types of malocclusions. In some cases, a patient only needs to wear plastic aligners for a matter of months to fix a problem, so it isn’t necessary to use braces that have brackets and wires. More adults want to straighten their teeth because they missed out on orthodontic treatment as children, but they do not want to wear traditional braces. Fortunately, with Invisalign®, it is possible for teens and adults in Austin to have less obvious orthodontic treatment.
How are Invisalign® Aligners Beneficial for Teens and Adults in Austin?
Adults or teenagers can wear aligners from Invisalign®, but the devices are not recommended for children. Aligners are easy to remove from the mouth, and the items are considered a choking hazard for children. In addition, children grow rapidly, so the aligners won’t fit properly over the course of the treatment. Alternatively, older teenagers and adults have stopped growing, so the aligners that are designed using medical images and molds will fit correctly. To wear aligners, you must have healthy teeth and gums. You may need up to 30 sets of Invisalign® aligners for your teeth, but each set is worn for about two weeks. Each set is made in a slightly different way to shift your teeth into the correct positions in your mouth. One of the best benefits from wearing Invisalign® aligners is that you won’t need to have wires tightened frequently, and you also won’t need to return to the orthodontist’s office for broken wires or dislodged brackets. If you take care of your aligners by washing or soaking the devices along with brushing and flossing your teeth, the items are nearly impossible to see inside your mouth while you talk. An additional benefit from wearing these aligners is your ability to remove them while you chew food or enjoy beverages. This can make eating your meals a more comfortable experience, and you can also consume a wider ranch of foods. When someone wears braces, she must use caution about eating hard or sticky foods that can damage the device’s brackets or wires.
To determine if you can wear Invisalign® aligners, please feel free to get in touch and make an appointment with Central Texas Orthodontics! At our convenient location in Austin, our devoted and knowledgeable professionals will be eager to explain the product in greater detail, answer any questions you may have, and help you decide if clear aligners are the proper path for you. Contact us today to set up your consultation!
