5 Popular Benefits of Clear Aligners
May 01, 2023
Decade upon decade, orthodontic treatment consisted of one thing: metal braces. Committing to the treatment meant investing time and attention into properly caring for your braces and your teeth for the duration of the treatment.
Now, patients have a multitude of choices when it comes to orthodontia, but the real game changer has been a treatment called InvisalignⓇ, which offers patients clear advantages — and we mean clear, since the aligners used during treatment are virtually transparent!
The Plaza Dental Group team corrects and beautifies smiles using this revolutionary treatment platform because it’s patient friendly in so many ways. No matter what service you seek, we’re here to offer you the most advanced and comfortable treatment, always with a gentle, patient-centered approach.
Rather than using metal brackets and wires with small elastic bands to keep those wires placed correctly, as metal braces do, clear aligners correct bite problems, crooked teeth, crowding, and other orthodontic issues differently.
The aligners are custom made to fit your teeth and gently shift them over time. Every couple of weeks during treatment, you receive a new, slightly different set of aligners.
Your aligners are manufactured in a lab after your dentist has evaluated digital X-rays of your mouth and the alignment of your jaw and teeth. This information helps them create digital scans of your teeth.
If your jaw is misaligned and you have bite issues, or your teeth are crowded, crooked, or overlapping, you’re a candidate for clear aligners! Invisalign is also right for you if you have gaps between your teeth.
Once your tailored aligners arrive at the office, your dentist ensures that they fit correctly and talks to you about how to properly care for them. (Hint: It’s a lot less burdensome than when you have braces!)
Clear aligners have been wildly popular since we introduced the treatment to our patients, and for good reason:
Clear aligners can be taken out when you eat or drink and when you brush and floss, so you’re free to eat apples, carrots, and other crunchy foods, as well as foods that have been “forbidden” for braces wearers, like chewing gum and pizza — with the crust.
You need to continue with scrupulous oral hygiene practices, and your teeth are at much lower risk of decay since there are no areas of your teeth that are covered with wire to try to get behind to clean.
It’s recommended that you wear your aligners for 20-22 hours per day, and this guideline allows for taking them out during meals as we mentioned, or even if you have a special event to attend or photograph to take.
Since aligners are transparent and subtle, no one can tell you’re wearing them, unlike braces!
You need to come into the office for periodic tightening when you wear braces, and surprise visits are often needed if brackets loosen or break, elastics snap, or wires end up poking into your cheek. With aligners, none of these problems is a worry.
Clear aligners are a less invasive orthodontic treatment. There’s a painful period when you first get your braces on, as well as following the tightenings we noted earlier. With clear aligners, you just slip them on and off when necessary — zero pain is involved!
The typical duration of treatment with braces is 1-3 years, but with Invisalign, depending on your individual circumstances, treatment time averages an impressive 12-18 months. This is a significant time savings, so you can debut your new smile sooner!
If you are considering orthodontic treatment for yourself or a child, have a conversation with us about Invisalign clear aligners. There’s ease and simplicity with Invisalign treatment, and the fact that you’re correcting your smile is just between you and your Plaza Dental Group dentist!
Call our West Des Moines, Iowa, office at 515-224-5999 or use our convenient online booking tool.