Clear Braces
The invisible way to straighten your teeth without braces. To discuss clear braces in the Denton TX area, please feel free to contact us to schedule an appointment.
For information on Invisalign, please visit www.invisalign.com.
- Invisalign uses a series of clear removable aligners to straighten your teeth without metal wires or brackets.
- The aligners are made through a combination of Dr. Chowning‘s expertise and 3-D computer imaging technology.
- You wear each set of aligners for about 2 weeks, removing them only to eat, drink, brush, and floss.
- As you replace each aligner with the next in the series, your teeth will move – little by little, week by week – until they have straightened to the final position Dr. Chowning has prescribed.
- You’ll visit Dr. Chowning about once every 6 weeks to ensure that your treatment is progressing as planned.
- Total treatment time averages 9 – 15 months and the average number of aligners worn during treatment is between 18 and 30, but both will vary from case to case.
What Type of Issues Can Invisalign Treat?
Invisalign used to be recommended only for minor orthodontic cases such as slightly crooked teeth, small gaps, and minor crowding issues. However, now Invisalign has developed button attachments made of composite resin that can be bonded to your teeth to encourage more difficult tooth movements such as rotating the direction of a tooth and adjusting severe malocclusions such as an improper bite with attachments and elastics.
The following orthodontic problems can be treated with Invisalign:
- Overcrowding
- Crooked/misaligned teeth
- Underbite
- Overbite
- Open bite
- Crossbite
- Large gaps
Do Invisalign Aligners Hurt?
The Invisalign treatment works to correct the alignment of your teeth and jaw by applying pressure to the teeth to shift them into the proper position. This pressure can cause some mild pain that is more like a feeling of tenderness or soreness.
However, this is typically temporary and occurs when you change to a new set of aligners. The first week of your treatment tends to be the most uncomfortable because your teeth are not used to the aligners.
You will change to a new set of aligners every 2 weeks and they are shaped differently each time as you progress through your treatment. Because of this, the aligners will feel the tightest when you have just switched to a new set and the pain should resolve within a few days.
Keep in mind that if you feel pressure on your teeth, this means that the treatment is working properly (your teeth are shifting). To relieve discomfort, try taking anti-inflammatory pain medication and applying a warm compress to the jaw when experiencing jaw pain.
Sucking (not biting) on an ice cube and drinking cold water can bring relief to sore teeth. Another tip is to switch your aligners at night so that the window where you experience the most tenderness occurs while you are sleeping.
Ensure you are wearing your aligners for long enough. If you don’t wear them for 22 hours a day, your next aligners will feel extremely tight and may not even fit. When you switch aligners, stick to softer foods and try not to chew on hard or crunchy foods with sore teeth.
How Do I Clean My Invisalign Aligners?
To keep your aligners clean, there is a list of dos and don’ts.
Don’t:
- Smoke with the aligners in
- Eat food or drink hot liquids with your aligners in
- Leave your aligners out in the open
- Put your aligners in without cleaning your teeth
- Use mouthwash to clean your aligners
- Expose your aligners to heat
Do:
- Remove your aligners before consuming tobacco products, food, or hot liquids
- Store your aligners in their proper storage case
- Rinse the aligners when you take them out and before putting them back in
- Brush and floss your teeth before putting the aligners back in
- Use a soft-bristle toothbrush and denture cleaner to scrub the aligners
- Soak the aligners in Invisalign cleaning crystals or denture cleaner once a day
What Happens When I’m Done With My Invisalign Treatment?
The shifting of your teeth during the Invisalign treatment leads to bone resorption, meaning that the jawbone becomes weak or diminished. Because of this, we need to emphasize retention so that your teeth do not shift back into their previous position.
We achieve retention (maintaining the new alignment) by having you wear a retainer for 22 hours a day until your jaw rehardens. How long you will need to keep the retainers in for this long depends on your case but this typically will take about 6 months after which we still recommend that you wear your retainers a few times a week to prevent your teeth from reverting to misalignment.