Invisalign Braces

What is Invisalign?

Invisalign is an invisible orthodontics technique that allows the correction of your teeth to produce an improved smile. Invisalign does not use metal wires as braces, and they are virtually invisible when being worn. Special trays are custom made for your teeth, and every few weeks you wear a new tray, designed to eventually straighten your teeth.

What does Invisalign help to treat?

Invisalign helps to aesthetically improve the smile by aligning the teeth or moving their position. It can be used to treat:

Gap teeth
Underbite
Crossbite
Overbite
Open bite
Crowded teeth

How does Invisalign work?

Invisalign aligners move the teeth slowly, using custom-made plastic trays that are worn by the patient. Every two weeks the trays are changed to a different size, and over time the teeth eventually straighten.

Aligners must be worn at all times throughout the day and night and they should only be removed when you eat, drink or brush your teeth. These aligners are manufactured with a transparent plastic material tailored to the patient, so they fit perfectly to your teeth.

What are the advantages of Invisalign treatment?

The main benefit of Invisalign is that the aligners are transparent, and do not require having wires and metal devices in your mouth. In addition, the aligners are removable. This allows the patient to enjoy food and drink whenever they want, unlike metallic fixed appliances. They also allow you to brush your teeth easily and maintain proper oral hygiene.

Aligning the teeth to make a person’s smile more aesthetically pleasing can also help to rid them of any insecurities they may have been living with. As such, Invisalign treatment helps to boost a person’s confidence and self-esteem.

How long does the Invisalign process take?

When you choose to have Invisalign, complex 3D images of your teeth will be taken which are used to create your trays for the duration of the treatment. The patient should have a check-up every two to four weeks to make sure the treatment is progressing properly and to change the aligners.

A full course of Invisalign for adults, that achieves the desired effects, will take 12 months on average. However, changes may be visible from as little as two weeks into treatment but a full course of treatment and aftercare is required to ensure that these results are long-lasting.

Enamel Abrasion:

Tooth enamel is a substance that protects teeth from injury, harm and chemicals. It is considered their outer covering because it is very strong. In fact, it is the strongest tissue in the human body, even harder than bone.

Causes of tooth and enamel erosion:

Acids in meals and drinks are one of the main causes of enamel erosion. To protect teeth, saliva2 regularly neutralizes the acids we eat/drink. The outer layer of enamel will erode over time if you eat a lot of acidic food and do not brush your teeth properly.

Therefore, we must monitor what we eat and drink3. Here are some things to avoid:

Acidic foods such as apples and citrus fruits.
Fruit drinks, juices and soft drinks.
Vitamin C found in citrus fruits.
Sugary foods.
Starchy foods.

Enamel erosion can be caused by other factors, such as:

Low saliva flow.
some medicine.
Eating disorders that disrupt the digestive system and expose the teeth to stomach acids.
Genetic disorders, such as enamel hypoplasia, which affects tooth development.