Brace-Free Orthodontic Treatment
Invisalign®
If you’d like a straighter smile in Cedar Park, TX, but would prefer to avoid wearing traditional metal braces, Dr. Chris Mun is here to help. Dr. Mun is a certified Invisalign provider. With this clear, subtle alternative to traditional braces, you can correct your smile without wearing bulky, unsightly braces. Learn more below, or contact us now to schedule an Invisalign consultation with our Cedar Park, TX dentist.
Understanding The Basics
What Is Invisalign®?
Like braces, Invisalign is an orthodontic treatment. It’s meant to correct the position of crooked and crowded teeth, and it can also help reposition your jaw to solve minor-to-moderate bite issues. But that’s where the similarities end.
That’s because Invisalign doesn’t use brackets, braces, rubber bands, and other such components. Invisalign looks more like a retainer. Each set of aligners is built from durable plastic, and is designed to put pressure on your teeth, moving them toward the proper position. Then, by swapping through multiple sets of Invisalign aligners, the alignment of your teeth and your bite will gradually be corrected.
Invisalign has lots of benefits compared to braces. It’s more subtle, since the aligners are invisible and don’t affect your speech or appearance. It also is more comfortable, since there are no metal parts that may irritate your mouth. Invisalign is also more convenient, since you can remove your aligners to eat and drink, and to brush and floss. This means there are no dietary restrictions or limitations, unlike braces.
How Does Invisalign® Work?
Understanding The Process
To begin the Invisalign process, you’ll need to visit our office for an orthodontic consultation at Whitestone Family Dentistry. The doctor will examine your mouth and determine if Invisalign is right for you. If you’re a good candidate, he will take digital scans of your mouth and send these to Invisalign.
Then, you’ll be sent home as our team develops your Invisalign treatment plan. Your first few sets of aligners will arrive at our office after a few weeks, and you’ll come back to pick them up and get further instructions from the doctor.
While this may differ slightly for you, most patients swap to a new set of aligners every 2 weeks. You will need to wear your aligners for at least 20-22 hours per day. The more consistent you are about wearing them, the better your results will be.
Because you’ll regularly need to swap to new sets of aligners, you’ll also need to come back to Whitestone Family Dentistry about every 6 weeks. The doctor will examine your mouth to ensure your treatment is progressing properly, and he will also give you the next several sets of aligners that you’ll need to wear.
How Long
Do You Have To Wear Invisalign®?
The average treatment time for Invisalign is about a year. However, every patient is different. Some may only need to wear Invisalign for 6 months if they have minor orthodontic problems, while those with more serious teeth alignment issues may need up to 18 months of treatment or more.
It all depends on your own unique situation. Your team can provide you with more information and an estimate for your treatment time after you schedule an appointment at Whitestone Family Dentistry, so contact us for an orthodontic consultation in Cedar Park, TX today.
How Do I Care for My Aligners?
Helpful Tips
You should keep your aligners clean by frequently rinsing, brushing, and soaking them. Rinse your aligners out when you take them out to eat or brush your teeth and store them in their designated storage case.
Remember to brush and floss your teeth after eating or drinking anything other than water before placing the aligners back in. Rinse off the aligners once more before placing them back over your teeth.
Never consume food, flavored beverages, or hot drinks with your aligners in. This can cause staining and trap food particles in your aligners. Heat can also morph the aligners so keep them out of contact with hot liquids.
To clean your aligners, you can either use a denture cleaning solution that is suitable for aligners or you can use Invisalign cleaning crystals. Brush them with a soft-bristle toothbrush and this solution twice a day. It is a good idea to soak your aligners in this cleaning solution for 30 minutes a day to keep them sanitized.
What Can Invisalign® Fix?
How It Works
Invisalign can fix an array of orthodontic issues, such as gaps, crooked teeth, bite problems, and overcrowding. Bite problems that can be corrected include open, under, cross, and open bites.
Historically, Invisalign has been thought of as an orthodontic treatment that is only suitable for very minor problems and certainly not misaligned bites. However, in recent years, Invisalign attachments have been developed which help anchor the aligners and achieve more complex tooth movements.
While Invisalign is most effective at treating minor orthodontic issues, it is also equipped to now correct more severe occlusions like misaligned bites. Attachments may also be paired with elastics similar to the kinds used in braces.
What Do I Do If
My Aligners Aren’t Tracking?
If your aligners aren’t tracking there are a few potential reasons. One of the reasons could be that you’re not wearing your aligners for the recommended 22 hours a day. This is not an optional request – it’s a requirement for your teeth to completely shift.
Failing to wear the aligners for 22 hours a day will result in minimal shifting of the teeth. When you go to put the next set of aligners on, they may not be able to fit because your teeth haven’t shifted all the way.
When this happens, the best solution is to backtrack to the previous set of aligners and wear them for longer. Once your teeth have shifted adequately, you can continue moving to the next set of aligners.
However, it is normal for the new set of aligners at the start of the two weeks to feel much tighter. To help you seat your aligners, you can use Invisalign “chewies” which are like chewable cotton rolls that help the aligners to fully shift them over your teeth as a result of the chewing pressure.
