Getting your teeth aligned has changed so much in the last couple of decades. It is now much more comfortable and faster than it was in the past. Braces have evolved. There is now a whole new type of braces, known as clear aligners, which work differently from the bracket-and-wire kind that most of us still associate with teeth straightening.
In Stanmore, Invisalign, the original brand of clear aligners, is available from the Centre of Dental Excellence. Invisalign first came on the market back in 1997 and, since then, the company has expanded its range to produce aligners for teens and for people who only need minor adjustments to their teeth. The principal is the same for all of the types that they offer though. Let’s take a look at how Invisalign works.
We examine your teeth
We use a digital scanner to take detailed measurements of your teeth. These are transformed into a 3D picture on a nearby screen. We use this to show you how your teeth will move into a beautifully aligned smile. The information goes off to the Invisalign lab, where a series of aligners, each with built-in pressure points, is 3D-printed.
You wear the aligners
Depending on what Invisalign treatment you are using, you will wear each aligner in your series for 1-2 weeks. Teens get blue dots on theirs which fade as the time to swap them out approaches. Each aligner moves your teeth a tiny step towards alignment. The average treatment time with Invisalign is a year.
Eating and drinking
You take your aligners out to eat and drink anything except plain water. This means you have great freedom of choice for meals, but also that you must brush your teeth carefully after each meal. You need to wear your aligners for 20-22 hours a day or the alignment process in your jawbone has to start all over again. If this happens, it can greatly extend your treatment time.
Self-consciousness
Your clear aligners are only 0.3mm and made of transparent plastic so only the keenest observer will notice you are wearing Invisalign in Stanmore.