When you were a teenager, you may have heard the insults hurled at people wearing braces.
Metal mouth. Brace face. Zipper mouth.
Hopefully, people have become more understanding, but that may not change your anxiety if you have teenager who may need braces or if you are an adult considering braces for yourself.
Braces aren’t the only way to straighten your teeth, however. For some patients, clear plastic aligners can do the job just as well and sometimes faster than traditional braces.
At Beaumont Family Dentistry in Lexington, we offer Invisalign as an alternative to braces.
Who can wear Invisalign?
Adults and teenagers are both good candidates for Invisalign. This system can be used to help patients with over- and underbites, crossbites, gaps between their teeth, and crowded teeth.
Your smile should show that you are happy, not be a reason for you to feel unhappy about yourself. Invisalign can make that happen.
To be clear, Invisalign will not work for everyone. However, it is a comfortable, convenient alternative to traditional braces if you are able to use it.
As a professional, working adult, wearing braces could create leave you feeling awkward when dealing with co-workers or meeting new clients and customers. You want people to pay attention to what you are saying, not what’s inside your mouth.
Many people teenagers find braces painful. Brackets and wires may poke or scratch the inside of your mouth, cheeks, and gums. That can be uncomfortable.
How Invisalign works
You must apply pressure to change the position of your teeth. Braces can do this by pushing or pulling your with a system of brackets and wires.
With adjustments, these will move your crooked teeth into straighter positions.
In contrast, Invisalign pushes your teeth into a different position with a series of clear plastic aligners. Your custom aligners are designed to gently push your teeth where they need to be.
You begin this process by visiting our office, where we will make an impression of your teeth, take pictures, and get X-ray images. Using that information as a reference, we order a series of aligners that you will change every two weeks.
Each new aligner moves your teeth a little closer to its final position. In as little as 12 months, your teeth can be straighter than you might have expected.
Our own Dr. Takacs is an Invisalign Elite Preferred Provider. This places her in the top 1 percent of providers in the United States, and it shows you that her patients have had a lot of success with this system.
You also might be interested to know that many orthodontists and periodontists like Invisalign. Since this system moves your teeth a little bit at a time, your gums experience very little stress while you are using them.
Advantages over braces?
Braces and Invisalign are both great at straightening teeth, but Invisalign has some “clear” advantages.
1. Plastic aligners are comfortable to wear. the aligners won’t poke or scratch your mouth like brackets or wires can.
2. Fewer dental appointments. Braces need to be tightened regularly to work. With aligners, you just replace the one you are using every couple weeks.
3. As we’ve mentioned already, Invisalign’s aligners are clear. Many people will never know you are wearing them.
4. Your aligners are removable. While you should wear them at least 22 hours each day, you can take them out to eat and to brush and floss your teeth.
You can eat what you want, and you don’t need special tools to keep your mouth healthy.
For all parents reading this, Invisalign has created a special product for teenagers. If your teen misplaces an aligner, you can have them replaced. Plus, each Invisalign Teen aligner has blue dots on it. When the dots fade, your teen knows it is time to change aligners.
Find out more
If you are looking at orthodontic options, come talk to us to find out if Invisalign might work for you. We will be glad to look at your teeth and see if plastic aligners will do the trick.
We also offer traditional braces, Fastbraces® (which do indeed work faster than traditional braces), and other orthodontic services.
To schedule an appointment or a consultation at any Beaumont Family Dentistry office, call 859-223-2120 or fill out our online form.