Teeth Straightening Treatment
Invisalign is a brand of clear aligners, which are an orthodontic appliances used to straighten teeth. Clear aligners are a common alternative to braces. They are made of an adaptable plastic, developed from moulds or digital 3D scans of your mouth. They are FDA-approved and contain no BPA, BPS, latex, or gluten. They are thin, transparent, and fit firmly over the teeth, making them less noticeable than braces. These aligners are designed to place pressure in specific parts to transform your smile.
Invisalign aligner trays are replaced every one to two weeks. Each replacement tray will feel different because they are designed to continue to shift and move the teeth. Invisalign aligners are orthodontic appliances, not retainers. They are considered orthodontic appliances because they actively move the teeth to shape the mouth and jaw, unlike retainers, which simply hold the teeth in place.
Patients need to wear Invisalign trays for most of the day (20–22 hours/day) to see results. However, the Invisalign trays can be easily removed for eating, brushing, flossing, or for special occasions. A consultation with a dentist or orthodontist, who will look at their smile, overall oral health, and take impressions of their mouth is necessary to get it. It is only then that Invisalign makes their aligners unique to the patient’s mouth for a custom fit. The dentist or orthodontist will then create an overall treatment plan to achieve the patient’s desired results. Initially developed in 1997, the Invisalign clear aligner system has been used to treat over 9 million* patients.
Invisalign can be a good alternative to conventional orthodontic therapy in correcting mild to moderate malocclusions or poor positioning of the teeth.
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Invisalign can treat the following conditions:
Overbite:
When your upper front teeth overlap your lower front teeth more than 2mm, it is called an overbite and requires orthodontic treatment.
Underbite:
When the lower front teeth are positioned in front of the upper teeth when the mouth is closed. This misalignment of lower teeth is led by many childhood behaviors, sometimes also caused by genetics.
Crossbite:
In an ideal scenario, your upper teeth lie buccally (towards the cheek side) in comparison to your lower teeth. However, in some cases, the lower teeth overlap the upper and this condition is called a crossbite and can be corrected using braces.
Open Bite:
If your upper teeth fail to overlap your lower teeth, the condition is called an open bite and requires orthodontic correction.
Misplaced midline:
When the center of your upper front teeth does not line up with the center of your lower front teeth.
Spacing:
In ideal cases, adult teeth do not show spaces between them. But, many a time, due to a jaw size- tooth size mismatch or missing teeth, there is an unnatural spacing between teeth that needs orthodontic correction using braces.
Crowding:
When there is crowding of teeth, it can cause many dental issues like cavities, food lodgment, gum infections and poor aesthetics. This condition needs to be treated using braces.
Forwardly placed teeth:
Due to jaw development issues, it can result in the forwardly placed upper or lower jaw, and subsequently the teeth. If left untreated, this condition can result in many dental issues.
Misaligned baby and permanent teeth
In patients without any of these conditions who only want a more beautiful smile, Invisalign can also be a good solution.
There are some cases in which Invisalign is not a good treatment option, including:
- Patients with complex malocclusions, especially those that require extractions. In these cases, the results are less accurate than those achieved with traditional metal braces.
- Patients with tooth decay or gum disease. Braces and aligners like Invisalign can make oral hygiene difficult, and if patients have a cavity filled mid-treatment, it could impact the fit of the clear aligners and affect their results.
- Patients with temporomandibular joint dysfunction disorders (TMJ). Invisalign is linked to TMJ problems. In some instances, wearing Invisalign can either exacerbate jaw pain or cause a patient to develop a problem with their TMJ.
Other factors that influence whether a patient would be a candidate for Invisalign include age, which affect teeth movement.
Any patient who is considering Invisalign should set up a consultation with their dentist to determine whether they are a candidate for treatment. However, studies have shown that there is no significant difference between braces and Invisalign in orthodontic effectiveness. Both clear aligners and braces were effective in treating malocclusion, including an underbite.
But when given a choice, patients tend to prefer clear aligners over traditional metal braces because of their superior comfort, esthetic, and ease of oral hygiene. Patients may also choose Invisalign because they tend to have a shorter treatment duration than braces.
