A straight, beautiful smile is a dream for everyone, but it is not always easy to obtain.
If your teeth are not naturally straight, and if you don’t want metal braces in your teeth at this time of your life, you may seem like you’ll never get the straight smile of your dreams.
Or, your child is in need of braces to straighten their teeth. They personally might not want metal brackets in their teeth for the look or feel of them, and you might be considered for their ability to keep their teeth clean enough throughout the orthodontic process.
This is where Invisalign comes in! Want to know how?
In this blog, we are going to go over how Invisalign works and moves teeth, how long the average Invisalign treatment is, advantages of Invisalign, and how Invisalign can be beneficial in treating an overbite.
Let’s get started . . .
How Does Invisalign Work?
Invisalign treatment is a great orthodontic and cosmetic dentistry treatment option that moves teeth by capturing the force of tension within your teeth and gums and manipulating that tension to slowly reposition your teeth over time.
On average, you’ll receive a new set of Invisalign retainers every two weeks while you are completing the treatment. It has been shown that replacing retainers may increase tooth movement, to avoid the impact of appliance degradation.
But how does Invisalign help move teeth? Let’s find out . . .
How does Invisalign Move Teeth?
Each set of Invisalign retainers has the ability to move your teeth .25mm within the first three days that you wear them.
With this being said, Invisalign retainers are not perfect molds of your teeth like normal retainers are. Instead, they are slightly different than your teeth, which allows your teeth to shift a small amount during the duration that you wear each new retainer.
However, have you wondered how long it will take to complete Invisalign treatment? The answer to that question is next . . .
How Long Does Invisalign Take to Work?
The Invisalign treatment takes longer for some people than it does for others. Based on your specific teeth needs, your doctor will decide how long your treatment will take.
You can begin to see results from your Invisalign retainers within a few weeks, and the average treatment takes up to 24 months, however, it can take as few as 12-18 months depending on your individual case.
But how long do you need to have a clear braces retainer on each day for optimal results?
Let’s find out . . .
How Long do you Have to Wear Invisalign a Day?
The treatment for Invisalign requires you to wear a series of removable and clear Invisalign retainers for about 20 to 22 hours a day. The Invisalign retainers steadily straighten your teeth over time as you move on from retainer to retainer.
According to a study by The Ohio State University, increased aligner wear leads to significantly greater achievement of planned tooth movement compared with shorter wear time. If the wear time of the aligners is less than 22 hours a day, it can lead to a decrease in certain incisor movements. It is the movements of incisor movements that help create visible changes in teeth alignment.
This is why dentists recommend that you wear your Invisalign retainers for 22 hours a day for the best results when choosing Invisalign as orthodontic treatment.
That may seem like a long wear time each day, but there are many advantages of Invisalign that can make the wear time of clear braces a no-brainer. For example, need to go to a special family dinner?
Remove the Invisalign retainer, and have family photos for the future with out the visual reminder of metal braces. But there are other advantages as well!
Let’s discover what they are . . .
What Are the Advantages to Invisalign?
There are many advantages to using Invisalign to straighten up your smile, especially in comparison to traditional metal braces.
Some of the main benefits of using Invisalign are:
- Cosmetic: Invisalign retainers are almost invisible since they are made of clear plastic rather than metal brackets.
- Cleanliness: Since you can remove Invisalign retainers when you are eating and clean them, it is easier to clean your teeth, gums, and the retainers in comparison to metal braces that stay on your teeth throughout the whole orthodontic treatment.
- Painless: Invisalign retainers are plastic and do not cause much irritation to your gums or the inside of your mouth, unlike braces when the metal brackets or wires rub up. against them.
- Maintenance: The plastic of the Invisalign retainers will stay intact throughout each step of the treatment regardless of what you eat, where metal brackets or wires from braces can break or dislodge when eating certain foods.
Another advantage of Invisalign is that it can help dental patients with an overbite. Let’s find out more about this advantage. . .
How does Invisalign Fix Overbite?
First of all, what is an overbite?
An overbite is when your upper and lower jaws are not aligned. This causes your upper front teeth to cover your lower front teeth.
So how does Invisalign fix an overbite?
Since you use a progression of different retainers that are all different sizes throughout your Invisalign treatment, your dentist can make adjustments to each new retainer to help bring back your upper front teeth.
This will eventually create an equal alignment with your upper front teeth and your lower front teeth.
Invisalign retainers are proven to manage the vertical dimension of teeth movement well, and the primary mechanism is via incisor movements according to a study done by AJO-DO. The study monitored normal overbite patients, deepbite patients, and open bite patients.
The average movement of the normal overbite patients was 0.3 mm, the average movement for deepbite patients was 1.5 mm, and the average movement for open bit patients was 1.5 mm. This leads to the conclusion that Invisalign treatments do fix overbite issues.
Is Invisalign the Right Choice for Me?
Now that we have gone over how to Invisalign works, Are you wondering if its the right choice for you? Do you have questions about what steps are in Invisalign treatment and getting started?
At Princess Center Dentistry, we know how important it can be to have the best cosmetic dentist in Scottsdale, AZ to ask your questions and be treated by a dentist that specializes in cosmetic dentistry with both care and years of experience.
When you come in and experience dental care at Princess Center Dentistry, like many of our current patients, we are confident that you too will feel positive about your experience and know that Dr. Chris Lewandowski really is the best.
Give us a call today to find out more about how we can help you with your Invisalign treatment goals.