When people suffer from crooked, misaligned teeth they can often become self-conscious and lack confidence in their appearance and in particular when smiling and talking to new people. Statistics show that adults have become increasingly more interested in getting braces and in orthodontics in general to align their teeth and therefore there are more options available to them. One of the most popular treatments available in Clapham is Invisalign.
What is Invisalign?
Invisalign in Clapham is a brace treatment that is designed to straighten and align teeth but in a discrete and invisible manner so that patients can improve their teeth without having to wear metal braces which often cause patients to be self-conscious.
Invisalign allows patients to transform their smile using removable, virtually invisible aligners. Invisalign in Clapham works by gradually aligning the teeth and moving them into position without the need for metal braces which have to be fitted onto the surface of the teeth and are more permanent structures.
How does Invisalign work?
The Invisalign aligners are clear, look like retainers and are easy to insert and take out whilst patients are eating and drinking. There is a lot more flexibility when using Invisalign as these can be taken out at leisure whereas metal braces are permanent fixtures that are attached to the surface of the teeth. Patients have to be more careful when eating and drinking to avoid causing damage to the brace or causing infection through the build-up of bacteria.
What is the procedure?
Before patients can have Invisalign the dentist will undergo a thorough consultation in order to determine whether Invisalign is the most suitable and appropriate option available. At the initial consultation, the dentist will examine the patient’s teeth and then take initial impressions to understand the extent of the treatment that is required. The treatment options will depend on the number of teeth that require alignment and also the extent of the alignment required. This will vary on an independent, case-by-case basis and therefore everyone will have different treatment plans of varying lengths. On average Invisalign treatments last between 3 months and 18 months.
Once the dentist has determined that the patient is suitable for Invisalign the bite impressions taken at the initial consultation will be sent off to Invisalign where the experts at the labs will use 3D technology to transform the impressions into aligners. These will be custom-made and tailored to the patient’s measurements. Depending on the individual’s personal needs there may be as many as 48 trays or as few as 12 trays.
At the next appointment, the dentist will then provide the patient with the aligners and will discuss how to use the aligners and the aftercare. They will ensure that the aligners are a perfect and comfortable fit and will give the patient extra sets of aligners to use before the next consultation.
Aftercare
Once patients start using Invisalign they should start seeing results in the first few weeks. It is important that patients take care of their aligners to avoid damaging the aligners and causing a build-up of bacteria.
