If you don’t want to wear braces to straighten your teeth or fix other dental issues, don’t worry. You don’t have to use metal braces to obtain a straight, attractive smile. Invisalign is a sophisticated tooth-straightening treatment that is much less visible than traditional braces. At Central Texas Orthodontics in Austin, TX, we can use this technique to straighten your teeth in a discreet, easy manner.
Can Invisalign Fix Really Crooked Teeth?
When you receive an Invisalign treatment, you will wear a series of plastic liners over your teeth. These liners can be used to correct crooked teeth and other dental problems. If you have really crooked teeth, you might believe that this discreet, easy treatment won’t work for you. However, this technique is able to correct very crooked teeth and many other severe dental issues.
An Ideal Solution
You might be surprised to learn that this invisalign treatment can sometimes be better than braces at treating very crooked teeth. If your teeth are very crooked or crowded, fixing metal brackets onto your teeth can be a challenging endeavor. Fortunately, when you use aligners to improve your teeth, you will not receive any brackets. As a result, this method can be a great way to improve the alignment of very crooked teeth.
Talk to Us
Although this treatment can be a good option for straightening very crooked teeth, this technique won’t work for everyone. Since your mouth and teeth are unique, you’ll need to begin the process of improving your smile by having an initial meeting with us. At this point, we will assess your teeth and determine whether this tooth-straightening option is right for you.
How Do These Aligners Improve My Teeth?
During your treatment, you will wear clear aligners in your mouth. These customized devices are made of non-BPA plastic. Further, your aligners will be designed to address your unique dental issues. Depending on the type of dental conditions that you are addressing, you might wear an aligner that covers your upper teeth, a device that covers your bottom teeth, or both of these devices at the same time.
Under some circumstances, we may also glue specialized attachments onto a couple of your teeth. We will remove these attachments after your treatment is complete.
Aligning Your Teeth
We will give you trays that contain two to four different aligners during each visit to our office. You will usually wear each of these aligners for one to two weeks. We will make detailed markings on these trays. These markings will explain when you should begin wearing each of your aligners.
When you wear your aligner, this device will put gentle pressure onto your teeth. Over time, this pressure will cause your teeth to move into different positions. As we reposition your teeth, your smile will gradually become straighter.
What Issues Can This Orthodontic Treatment Address?
This orthodontic treatment isn’t just for people who have crooked teeth. We can use this technique to improve a wide range of dental issues.
Correcting Gaps in Your Teeth
Having large gaps between your teeth can be very frustrating and unpleasant. You might not like how these gaps affect the appearance of your smile.
Since it’s easy for food to get stuck between your teeth, these gaps can also increase your risk of developing gum diseases or tooth decay. Further, the gums that are located in these gaps can become very sensitive. Fortunately, our orthodontic treatment can minimize the gaps between your teeth.
Repositioning Crowded Teeth
When your teeth are crowded together, you might have difficulty moving a toothbrush into the spaces between each tooth. You will probably also struggle to floss your teeth. These challenges can cause you to experience tooth decay and other issues. In addition to these dental challenges, you might not feel comfortable showing your crowded teeth when you smile.
Our clean aligners can be used to move your crowded teeth into better locations in your mouth. These changes will improve the appearance of your smile and make it easier for you to brush and floss.
Correcting an Overbite
An overbite occurs when your upper teeth stick out too far in front of your bottom teeth. This dental issue can damage your teeth. You might also have jaw pain. Our aligners can minimize this issue by bringing your teeth into a better position.
Improving an Underbite
An underbite appears when your lower teeth stick out in front of the teeth on the top of your mouth. This issue can cause you to experience excessive wear on your teeth. You may also struggle to chew your food and have difficulty speaking clearly. Aligners may be able to correct this issue.
Other Dental Issues
In addition to the problems discussed above, our aligners can be used to correct crossbites, open bites, and other issues. In fact, these aligners can fix many of the issues that can be corrected with traditional metal or ceramic braces.
Can Teenagers Use This Orthodontic Treatment?
Many people use orthodontic techniques to straighten their teeth when they are teenagers or young adults. Clean aligners offer teenagers and their parents a number of important benefits. Many teenagers will feel self-conscious wearing visible metal braces on their teeth. Since these aligners are clear, teenagers may be more comfortable using this technique to straighten their teeth.
Further, since teens can take their aligners off when they are eating, they will not have to worry about damaging their braces with popcorn, candy, and other foods. As a result, parents won’t have to pay to repair damaged or broken braces.
How Will I Begin the Process of Improving My Teeth?
You’ll begin this orthodontic treatment by visiting our office in Austin. During this appointment, we will explain the treatment process to you. We will talk about how long you are likely to wear your aligners, how to care for your aligners, and how your teeth and mouth will feel as you are improving your smile. We will also discuss the anticipated costs of this treatment.
After you have decided to use Invisalign to improve your teeth, we will use a digital scanning device to create a detailed three-dimensional model of your teeth. This scanning device can take more than six thousand images of your mouth every second. These detailed images will be used to make customized aligners that are designed to fit comfortably within your mouth as they address your unique dental issues.
What Will Happen During My Orthodontic Treatment?
When you receive your first aligner, we will gently put the device onto your teeth. We will examine your mouth to ensure that the device fits correctly. We will also provide assistance as you practice putting your aligner into your mouth.
Adjusting to Your Aligners
Once you are comfortable using your device, you’ll be able to go home and begin wearing your initial aligner. When you start the treatment process, you will probably feel some tightness in your mouth. This feeling is a sign that the aligner is using pressure to move your teeth into a better position. If you’re nervous about this process, you can use over-the-counter medications while you adjust to your aligner.
Wearing Your Aligners
You don’t have to worry about eating popcorn, candy, and apples while you are improving your teeth. Since you will remove your aligner when you are eating, you shouldn’t have to adjust your diet during your treatment. In addition to removing your aligner when you eat, you should take it out when you floss and brush your teeth.
Aside from these times, you will need to wear each of your aligners for a significant portion of the day. To achieve significant improvements in your smile, you should use your aligner for about twenty to twenty-two hours every day.
Finishing Your Treatment
You’ll have regular check-up appointments at our office during the treatment process. It’s common to come to our office every six to eight weeks. During these visits, we will examine your teeth and evaluate your response to your aligners. We will also provide you with additional aligners to wear as your treatment progresses.
Once your teeth have improved, you’ll be able to stop wearing your aligners. At this point, we may provide you with a retainer. This retainer uses gentle pressure to continue improving your teeth. A retainer can also be used to prevent your teeth from returning to their previous position.
How Long Will This Technique Take to Improve My Teeth?
The length of your orthodontic treatment will vary depending on the type of dental issues that you are fixing, the degree of improvements that you are trying to achieve, and other factors. For example, if you are fixing very crooked teeth, you might have to wear your aligners for a longer period of time. That said, this technique often takes about twelve to eighteen months to enhance your smile.
How Should I Clean My Aligners?
You should use a soft brush and water to clean your aligner. You may also use a denture cleaner or a mouthwash that doesn’t contain alcohol. Since toothpaste can change the color of the plastic in your aligner, you should not use this substance during the cleaning process.
Will My Dental Insurance Pay for This Treatment?
Under some circumstances, your dental insurance might cover some of the costs of this orthodontic treatment. Your insurance agent will be able to tell you whether your insurance will contribute to the cost of your aligners.
If you don’t have dental insurance or your insurance won’t pay for your aligners, you shouldn’t feel upset or worried. This is an affordable treatment that costs about the same amount of money as traditional braces. Further, we might be able to provide you with a discount if you pay the full cost of this treatment at the time of your initial meeting with us. We can also provide you with interest-free financing plans.
Can I Use This Tooth Straightening Treatment if I’ve Already Had Braces?
Getting braces when you are a teenager or young adult doesn’t guarantee that you will have straight teeth for the rest of your life. Over time, your teeth can move back into their previous position. If this change bothers you, you should consider using Invisalign to correct this problem. These aligners will discreetly reposition your teeth and restore your even, attractive smile.
Straighten Your Teeth
If you would like to straighten your teeth without wearing braces, you’re in luck. Invisalign uses aligners to fix crooked teeth and address other dental issues in a quick, efficient manner. Since these aligners are clear and discreet, you don’t have to tell people that you are using this method to fix your teeth. If you’re interested in learning more about this treatment, contact us at Central Texas Orthodontics in Austin, TX to set up a consultation.
