Getting To Grips With Braces | Orthodontics Costs, Lifestyle Changes & Straighter Teeth
Getting To Grips With Braces | Orthodontics Costs, Lifestyle Changes & Straighter Teeth
Wearing braces is a dental investment in your oral health that will straighten your teeth and make you smile again. In addition to making you look more attractive and boosting your confidence, straighter teeth are also much easier to clean and care for. This means you will be less likely to develop complications such as decay and the resultant toothaches as you grow older. We can assist you in budgeting the total cost of your orthodontics and making an affordable payment plan that will benefit your teeth and quality of life. Let’s review what you can expect from your new orthodontic braces: how much they cost and what kind of lifestyle changes you will need to make plans for.
Invisalign – Strength in numbers
One of the main differences with the Invisalign system is that while all other orthodontic treatments rely on one fixed appliance which is worn for the duration, Invisalign utilises a whole series of aligners. In fact there can be as many as 48 of them depending upon the severity of your condition. Here’s how Invisalign works…. Each aligner (also known as a tray) is custom-moulded to fit over your teeth. They are designed to be taken out and interchanged easily by the wearer. When the first aligner is inserted it fits snugly over the teeth in their current position and is worn for approximately 2-3 weeks. During that time gentle pressure is applied which moves both the tooth and the tooth root. The Invisalign movement per tray is approximately 1/10mm. After several weeks, the first aligner has done its job and is changed for the subsequent one in the series. This second aligner again moves the teeth a further 1/10 mm and while this mightn’t sound like a lot, this slight movement continues as each aligner is changed, until eventually by the end of the process you have straighter teeth.
I guess the next question is…how long does Invisalign take to straighten teeth?
So, now you know more about what Invisalign can and can’t do and how they work, let’s talk a little about the good stuff…. the actual experience of wearing them. When you’re fitted with your custom-made transparent aligners you’ll be surprised at how unlike braces they actually are. As the name suggests they’re pretty much invisible, but they do make your teeth appear extra shiny. This isn’t a bad thing unless of course you’re standing in direct sunlight. Then someone might get a glimpse of the aligner as it reflects when you smile. Wearing them is a breeze since you simply slip them on and off your teeth like you would a gum shield. In fact they’re designed to be removed every time you eat and drink anything but water. This in itself is a good thing because let’s face it, discoloured aligners aren’t a great look! However, they do need to be worn for a minimum of 20 hours a day so if you happen to have one of those long 3-4 hour lazy lunches planned, you’ll definitely need to have a workaround 🙂 Okay and finally, we can’t avoid it any more….let’s address the real elephant in the room…does Invisalign hurt? If you remember shrieking loudly every time you got your braces adjusted in school, you’ll be pleased to know that wearing Invisalign aligners is nothing like that! Instead you may feel slight pressure on the teeth for a few days as they get used to each new aligner, but that soon disappears. Besides, it tells you that the aligners are doing their job. So there you have it… Invisalign aligners are comfortable and discreet, and can solve a wide variety of orthodontic issues. If you need a 21st century solution to straighten your teeth and would like to find out more about Invisalign, contact Evergreen Dental for a no-obligation consultation today. To book an appointment with Dr Chou and the team, call us on (03) 9802 0198.