Should You Choose Invisalign To Fix Crooked Teeth?

Ah, well, that really depends on your own preferences and the advice you get from your dental health care provider, like this dentist within Niles. We wouldn’t presume to shove your free will in a commercial mold. Instead, today we are going to cover the different choices that exist out there when it comes to making your smile straight again.

Should You Choose Invisalign To Fix Crooked Teeth?
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In our quest to get all verified and useful information on this important subject, we consulted a few friends from The Dental Room. If you’d like, feel free to chat with them yourself or cross-check their input with your own chosen dentist. Well, here we go!

When it comes to fixing crooked teeth, we tend to think of it as a children’s problem, something affecting our little ones and maybe our teenagers. And this is true in a way – teeth deformities are definitely not an overnight occurrence; they start relatively early. That’s why it is so important t treat them early too. The sooner, the better.

However, this issue is also present in the adult population, and over the past several years there has been a steadily growing number of grown-up people looking for ways to tackle it. Forget the shame of clunky braces, people want healthy, properly aligned teeth! And science is delivering.

Although there are tons upon tons of various products out on the market to help with the matter, at the end of the day they can be classified into two primary categories: permanent and removable teeth straightening solutions. Let’s take a look at each in turn.

Unremovable option: the traditional braces

This is the most well-known and most dreaded solution: plain old metal braces. They look ugly like they bet on it, they are often deemed uncomfortable – and they are still around. There is a good reason for that: these unsightly contraptions are actually insanely effective. Metal braces can help with fixing overbites, underbites, crowding, crookedness, and excessive spacing of the teeth. You can learn more about how they work their amazing magic in this informative article.

What most people don’t know about them, though, is that there are several sub-types of these teeth correctors. So let’s list them all here.

Metal braces are the ones we think about as per default. This is the metal “fence” around the teeth, which features wires, and has rubber bands holding them in place. Damon types, or self-ligating as they are also called, are pretty similar to the traditional metal kind. The chief difference is that the wire is held by a sliding device.

Clear braces are made of ceramics, not metal. They can be either completely clear, or colored specifically to blend in with your teeth. And finally, the lingual ones are attached form the opposite side: onto the back of a person’s mouth, instead of onto the front. You won’t find that last option everywhere, though.

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The single largest benefit of unremovable bracer types is that they truly are very versatile in their application. They can help remedy or even remove several different kinds of problems. Most people hate them, though, because of their single biggest detriment which is their visibility.

The vast majority of these fixtures are very much visible whenever you open your mouth, and people tend to feel that this completely ruins their aesthetic. In fact, many fear being ridiculed for them, and this is a serious concern among adults and children alike. It has even warranted scientific study, and you can find an example at this link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51866359_Bullying_in_orthodontic_patients_and_its_relationship_to_malocclusion_self-esteem_and_oral_health-related_quality_of_life#read Two more major downsides are that, firstly, these are fixed: you don’t get to remove them until your treatment is done, no matter how much they bother you.

The treatment itself is comparably slow, taking anywhere from half a year to two entire years to yield satisfactory results. And secondly, they will possibly require some lifestyle changes. You will need to learn new brushing and flossing techniques to make sure you give both your teeth and your braces proper maintenance, and you may be also required to make some changes to your diet.

Removable option: clear braces and clear aligners

Now, here is where our title question comes into play. Invisalign popped up in the market around 23 years ago, and it was a pioneer: the first transparent teeth correction aligner. Since that time, a lot of others have emerged as well, and “Invisalign” sort of became a general term rather than just a single brand. With so many different traditional braces alternatives, you need to ensure that you pick the best option that is most suitable for you. 

These “invisibles” are thin plastic appliances which are custom made for each patient. An imprint of their teeth is taken (either by taking a mold or by using a scanner to come up with a 3D image). The imprint is used as a base for making the brace or aligner in a laboratory. When applied to teeth, they expose them to steady pressure, gently forcing them back into their proper place over time.

How much time, you might wonder? The average answer is anything from ten weeks (so, roughly, two and a half months) to two entire years. This varies wildly from patient to patient as it directly depends on that person’s particular condition, its nature and severity, and how well their crooked teeth adapt. Sometimes it might be necessary to employ metal braces as preparation before switching over to the plastic alternative.

Clear braces and aligners have a great many benefits. For starters, there’s the financial aspect. If you are dealing with only a mild or moderate dental misalignment, they will be enough and you won’t need classic braces, thus saving a lot of money. You don’t have to spend nearly as much time with your dentist, and they are removable, so meals and hygiene are made far less inconvenient.

On the flipside, because you can remove them, you can also lose them, which is neither fun nor cheap. Always keep track of where you put them down! Also, if you don’t fill the daily wearing quota of 20-22 hours, you will get no result.