10 Benefits of Invisalign

Nearly Invisible Aligners

Of course, one of the best things about Invisalign is that the aligners are nearly invisible. Made of clear plastic, Invisalign aligners are hard to notice. Even people that work with you closely are unlikely to notice your aligners–people won’t know you’re straightening your teeth unless you tell them.

Traditional metal braces are highly visible and hard to miss. Even braces designed to be hard to spot are much more visible than Invisalign aligners.

No Food Limitations

Besides being highly visible, traditional braces are unpopular because they require you to give up many of your favorite foods–and change the way you eat many others.

You’ll have to give up gum, popcorn, crusty, chewy bread, and many more foods. Plus, even foods like apples and carrots you have to cut up very small before eating them. You might have to give up traditional favorites like hamburgers and pizza–or eat them with a knife and fork.

With Invisalign, you don’t have to give up any of your favorite foods. Eat everything you like, and never worry that you’re going to ruin your braces.

No Cleaning around Brackets and Wires

Potentially even worse than eating limitations with braces are the cleaning challenges that come with braces. The brackets and wires can be very hard to clean around. You have to use special tools and techniques for brushing and flossing every day, and the routine can take twice as long–or longer–than brushing without braces.

If you don’t successfully clean your teeth around your braces, you will develop the extremely common side effect of white spots on your teeth. These demineralized areas are spots of long-term damage that are a cosmetic problem nearly as visible as crooked teeth. These white spots may not be treatable with teeth whitening.

With Invisalign, oral hygiene is easy. Just brush and floss normally when you have your aligners out. Of course, you’ll be brushing and flossing more often with Invisalign, but you have to do that with braces, too.

Remove Aligners When Necessary

The truth is that you can remove your aligners essentially whenever you want. Definitely remove them for eating and cleaning, but you can choose to remove them whenever you have something that would be better without them in.

Taking high-quality professional pictures? Take out your aligners. Going on a special date? Take out your aligners. Have a big presentation or sales meeting . . . you get the picture. Just make sure you keep them in for at least 20 hours a day, every day.

Invisalign Is Comfortable

Another benefit Invisalign offers is comfort. Invisalign aligners are smooth plastic, with no sharp edges to cut your lips and cheeks. There are no brackets that rub the inside of your mouth, nor sharp ends of wire to poke you.

Invisalign also offers more comfortable treatment in another way. Orthodontic tightening can be painful with traditional braces. Your Wichita Falls orthodontist will tighten your braces significantly, which can lead to days of discomfort. Invisalign often targets smaller movements of your teeth, which means that there’s less discomfort when you move to a new aligner than when you get your braces tightened.

Never Have an Orthodontic Emergency

Orthodontic emergencies are common when you have braces. Whether it’s having a bracket de-bond or a wire come loose and poking your cheeks, most people can expect to make an urgent visit to their orthodontist to fix a problem.

This essentially never happens with Invisalign. The worst possible problem with Invisalign is that you might lose or damage an aligner. If that happens, you might move forward to the next aligner a little early or use your previous aligner as a retainer until your Wichita Falls Invisalign dentist can order a replacement. It might slow your treatment down a week or so, but it’s never an emergency.

Fewer (and Shorter) Dental Appointments

With braces, you have to visit your dentist every time you need an orthodontic tightening. You can’t make progress without these regular visits. These visits require a complex examination and change in your braces.

That’s not the case with Invisalign. With Invisalign, you can get multiple aligners to progress through on your own, transitioning to a new aligner according to the schedule in your treatment plan. When you do need to come in for more aligners, your Wichita Falls cosmetic dentist will normally give you a quick exam to make sure everything is going as planned, then give you a new set of aligners to start your next treatment phase.

Just as Effective as Traditional Braces

In the past, Invisalign might not have been able to handle all the difficult tooth movements that braces could. However, now Invisalign can handle more treatments than ever. In fact, it can handle all but the most specialized types of orthodontic treatment.

Plus, Invisalign achieves about the same level of orthodontic success as traditional braces. You are just as likely to be satisfied with your results with Invisalign as with traditional braces.

Invisalign Is Faster Than Ever

Another benefit of Invisalign is that it’s faster than ever, which means that it can sometimes be faster than traditional braces.

In the past, everyone had to wear their aligners for two weeks to achieve the desired tooth movements. Now, though, improved technology means that many people can wear an aligner for just one week and still achieve the desired tooth movements. You’ll have to work it out with your Wichita Falls cosmetic dentist, but the odds are good that you can enjoy faster results now than in the past.

Invisalign Is Constantly Improving

With the emphasis on Invisalign now being able to do more cases and now being faster than ever, you’ve probably picked up on the fact that Invisalign today is not the same procedure it was just a few years ago. Invisalign is a computerized technique that lets Align technologies collect full sets of data on all the millions of Invisalign procedures performed. This lets Align analyze the successes and limitations of their technique so they can improve it. Every Invisalign procedure is just a little better than the last one, so it’s hard to imagine what benefits we might include if we write another version of this blog ten, five, or even two years from now.

Bonus: You Can See Your Smile Before Beginning Treatment

Are you wondering how your new smile will look after Invisalign treatment? Use our QR code to upload a photo of yourself and view your new smile! We invite you to give it a try; you’ll love how you look with straight, beautiful teeth.

Get Invisalign In Wichita Falls

Does Invisalign sound like an appealing orthodontic option to you? If so, let the Wichita Falls cosmetic dentists at StarImage Dentistry get you started on your journey to a straight, beautiful smile.

Please call 940-322-2252 or use our online form today to request an appointment at StarImage Dentistry, located near Wichita Falls High School.