Due to your poorly aligned teeth, you may find it embarrassing to speak or even smile, which can badly impact your self-esteem. Biting and chewing food can be impaired by an incorrect bite, ultimately causing pain in the joints of your jaws. Yet, you don’t have to worry. With the help of Invisalign braces, expert dentists can transform your teeth to give you a perfect smile.
What is Invisalign?
Invisalign, commonly known as clear braces or clear aligners, is an advanced dental treatment process used to straighten or properly adjust your teeth along the jaw bone.
Invisalign works the same way as any other braces. It may look like nothing more than a piece of plastic. However, it is more advanced dental equipment.
An Invisalign gradually straightens your teeth and improves your looks. It is a dental brace made of a transparent plastic material called SmartTrack. The treatment is more comfortable as the braces are customized to your teeth.
What Invisalign Can Treat
- Teens, Adults and Little Smiles
- Crowded Teeth
- Overbite
- Underbite
- Crossbite
- Gap Teeth
- Open Bite
- Baby and Permanent Teeth
- Generally Straighter Teeth
Invisalign: The Procedure
A consultation with an Invisalign-trained dentist is the first step in your journey to achieving your perfect smile. The dentist will assess your teeth by capturing a 3D image using iTero Element® Scanner.
Invisalign’s ClinCheck® software assists your Invisalign specialist in creating a new smile for you. Once you approve the treatment plan, your custom Invisalign braces will be produced. As the teeth progress to their new position, you will receive new braces based upon the exact amount of force required to move your teeth.
Making changes to the soft tissues around the tooth’s root helps move a tooth. When the pressure is applied to a tooth, it stretches the soft tissues and pushes them on the other side.
This activity releases a hormone that signals to your body that something wrong is happening in the region under pressure. Your body’s defense mechanisms immediately recruit the protective cells into that area. Those cells start to fix the problem and heal the body, thinking it is an injury.
After the initial healing process, bone cells repair the bone. Some bone cells break down and remove the existing bone on the compressed side of the tooth. Others lay down a new bone on the stretched side. This active stage of healing occurs very slowly over time.
Once you have achieved the required looks with Invisalign, your dentist will give you a set of retainers.
Do You Have to Wear Retainers?
The function of the Invisalign clear braces is to start and maintain the active stage of healing that requires 12 to 18 months. That will allow your teeth to come to a more favorable position little by little.
When the teeth are no longer under pressure, the next stage of healing begins. If you don’t wear a retainer, the elasticity of the soft tissue may pull the tooth to its original position. Therefore, it is critical to wear your retainer as prescribed by your dentist to stabilize the treatment outcome.
As your teeth come into the correct position over time, you may have to change a few sets of Invisalign braces in each stage of the treatment process. Each set of your braces will apply a carefully calculated force to your teeth. That force is transferred through the teeth to your jaws.
The underlying bone in the jaw responds to the forces by moving the tooth sockets. Then soft tissues follow the signals given by the hard tissues. Together, your teeth will gently and slowly shift into the correct place in small increments.
Why should you choose Invisalign over other dental braces?
Traditional braces make it difficult to eat, talk, and sometimes smile. As a result, you lose our smiles even during the treatment. With Invisalign, you get the most advanced, esthetically pleasing invisible braces one can imagine. Since the movements done by the braces are small, treatment with this technology is more comfortable.
Unlike other braces, Invisalign braces are:
- Virtually invisible because they are transparent.
- Less traumatizing because they don’t have any sharp wires, brackets, or rough margins.
- Easily removable: You can easily brush and floss your teeth every day after removing your Invisalign braces. You can remove them to celebrate your special occasions without significant effort.
- Ok with any food you like to eat. They impose no food limitations. You can eat and drink whatever you want after removing them.
- More comfortable: As the Invisalign hugs your teeth closely, you won’t feel a thing even if you wear them all day long.
- Less time-consuming because you need only a few visits to your dentist to complete the procedure.
Invisalign Cost
Invisalign clear braces can cost you between $2000 and $8000. The cost is similar to that of traditional braces in most cases. However, it may increase depending on the complexity of your teeth and the number of aligners you may have to wear during your treatment.
You can pay the cost through a monthly installment with a LendingPoint Virtual Card. LendingPoint Virtual Card is an online loan provider, and applying for their card is easy. You can also download the form by downloading the Invisalign app to your device.
Does my Insurance Cover my Invisalign Cost?
Many dental insurance providers cover their subscribers’ Invisalign treatment costs. Your insurance may approve a certain percentage of your Invisalign treatment in some cases. It is always advisable to consult your benefits manager before approving your Invisalign treatment plan.
You also need to talk to your dentist to confirm that they accept your insurance coverage for your treatment. Sometimes your dentist can find out for you if your insurance covers Invisalign costs, as they regularly serve clients who come to them for dental treatment.
FAQ: Invisalign Braces
A. Once you have achieved your smile, you need to retain it. Vivera is a transparent and discreet system customized for you. It will help you to make your smile last longer.
A. You may notice visible improvements from two to six weeks with Invisalign. In some cases, it may take longer to see any results.
A. The answer is no. Once they recede, gums do not grow back.
A. Smile Direct is cheaper than Invisalign. Smile Direct costs around $2,000, while Invisalign’s cost may reach as high as $8,000.
A. They give the same results, but they are discreet.
A. Invisalign uses precise technology. The results may be better than conventional braces. We have not found any study to prove that.
A. It is not painful. But your teeth may feel sore as the braces put pressure on them.
A. Most Invisalign patients reported no problem sleeping with their braces on.
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