What is Invisalign?
Invisalign is basically an alternate to traditional braces. Instead of a mouth full of metal, Invisalign gives you a clear, almost unnoticeable way to correct your mouth resulting in an overall brighter smile. The procedure consists of a series of aligners, which are somewhat similar to a mouth guard than an athlete might wear, only much smaller and more comfortable to wear. These aligners are changed every 2 weeks to compensate for the movements your teeth will have made during that 2 week time period. Each aligner is customized to fit your mouth, and are created in advance under the prediction of what your mouth will look like at the given time interval. The aligners are removable, and are not to be worn while eating and brushing your teeth.
Invisalign was created with the adult mentality in mind. Traditional braces seem to be associated with the younger generation, usually teenagers. However, it is very common for adults to require the aid of braces. Hesitant adults might opt out of correcting their smile due to embarrassment of wearing braces. Invisalign eliminates this embarrassment due to its transparent approach to correcting teeth. Even still, Invisalign is becoming very popular among teens who do not want to have to deal with the aesthetics of conventional braces.
The Invisalign aligners should be worn for about 20-22 hours per day. If the patient is not acting responsible in terms of wearing the aligners, then there is a good chance that the teeth will begin shifting out of place, forcing you to start over.
Invisalign has been known to take around 12-18 months to complete, while conventional braces are known to take around 36 months. This of course varies from a case-to-case basis, however, it is almost safe to say that Invisalign will be much faster to complete.
Invisalign express was also introduced to treat cases considered less severe than normal. In other words, Invisalign express is available for people whose mouth does not require a lot of work, and thus, the time it takes to complete the process is greatly reduced, hence ‘express.’
Invisalign has been said to be less painful than traditional braces, however, majority do experience pain at the start of their treatment. Eventually, the teeth begin to get used to the movement and the pain is greatly reduced.
Overall, Invisalign is the preferable alternative to braces, and will continue to increase in popularity, with the chance of eventually making conventional metal wire and brackets obsolete.
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