Want Invisible Braces? Explore Your Options

Traditional metal braces have helped many patients straighten their teeth, but those orthodontic devices aren’t the best option for everyone. Many patients claim that they are unattractive and difficult to care for. Invisible braces are an excellent alternative to traditional braces, and we are proud to offer these devices to all patients who would like to smile with confidence. Here is a quick look at some of the most common types of invisible braces and a few reasons why you might benefit from one of these devices.

The Importance of Treating a Crooked Smile

Many patients never even consider straightening their teeth, but that can be a serious mistake. Having a crooked smile will increase your risk of dozens of different health complications. All of your teeth support one another, and any problems with their alignment will prevent that from happening. Patients who have crooked teeth suffer from much higher rates of periodontal disease, tooth decay, and dental fractures. Those are just a few of the reasons why it is so important to consider your restorative treatment options.

Ceramic Braces

In addition to metal brackets, you can also get ceramic brackets. Ceramic is a popular material among dentists and orthodontists because it is natural-looking, durable, and resistant to bacteria. The ceramic posts will match the natural tone of your teeth, and that is going to make them less noticeable. Once the ceramic braces have been installed, you can care for them just as if they were traditional metal braces.

Ceramic braces are made of clear materials and are therefore less visible on your teeth than metal braces. For this reason, ceramic braces are used mainly on older teenagers and adult patients who have cosmetic concerns. While they are visually less prominent, they do require more attention to oral hygiene as ceramic braces are larger and are more brittle than their metal counterparts. For these reasons, ceramic braces tend to be used more on upper front teeth than on lower teeth.

Clear Aligners

Clear aligners are a series of invisible, removable, and comfortable acrylic trays that straighten your teeth like braces. Not only are the aligners invisible, they are removable, so you can eat and drink what you want while in treatment, plus brushing and flossing are less of a hassle. The aligners are comfortable and have no metal to cause mouth abrasions during treatment.

Invisalign® Aligners

Invisalign® aligners have become quite popular over the last few years. These invisible trays straighten your teeth just like metal braces, but they can be taken out at any time. They are also very easy to care for. You might be a good candidate for Invisalign® invisible braces if you have minor alignment issues with your upper or lower teeth.

Not only are the aligners virtually invisible, they are removable, so you can eat and drink what you want while in treatment. Plus, brushing and flossing are no problem. They are also more comfortable than traditional braces, with no metal or wires, which also usually means you spend less time in your doctor’s office getting adjustments. Invisalign treatment also allows you to view your own virtual treatment plan when you start so you can see how your straight teeth will look when your treatment is complete.

You wear each set of aligners for about two 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 their final positions. You’ll visit us about once every six weeks to ensure that your treatment is progressing as planned. Total treatment time averages nine to 15 months and the average number of aligners worn during treatment is between 18 and 30, but both will vary from case to case.

Braces vs Invisalign

If you walk up to our orthodontists and ask if braces are better than Invisalign®, it’s likely that you are not going to get a straight answer. This is because there are a lot of factors that our orthodontists will take into consideration when determining whether braces vs Invisalign® should be used. At the end of the day, our goal is to provide you with the appliance that is going to provide the best results for you.

Both braces and Invisalign® have been designed to accomplish the same goal. Their goal is to straighten your teeth, give you a better smile and give you better overall health. While traditional metal braces with brackets have been around for some time, Invisalign® has been in use since the mid-2000s. So, Invisalign® does not have the same storied history behind it as metal braces.

Metal braces work in a way that most people are familiar with. They are metal brackets that are glued to your teeth. Wires and rubber bands are used to connect the brackets to each other. A few years ago, the only option for brackets was metal, but now there is a little bit of flexibility. You might be able to choose some brackets that have a color that is closer to the enamel of your teeth. Some people have opted to get wild-colored brackets that really allow them to make a drastic fashion statement with their teeth.

Invisalign® is just the opposite. It is made for discretion. As opposed to being made of metal, the aligners are made from a BPA-free clear plastic. They are designed to be worn over your teeth, and they move your teeth in a very subtle way. The aligners are not permanent. You will change them out every couple of weeks in harmony with the directions from our orthodontists.

When it comes down to braces vs Invisalign®, they will both straighten your teeth. Both metal braces and Invisalign® will require you to use some form of retainer after your teeth have been straightened. Metal braces have the benefit of not requiring self-discipline on the part of the user. Conversely, with Invisalign®, you have the option to take them out whenever you want, and so it could be easy to not be as strict with the treatment program as you should be.

Clear Braces: Are They Worth It?

There is a growing number of adults who wear braces. Many adults are opting to use clear braces because they feel that clear braces can help them correct their orthodontic challenges and at the same time allow them to present a professional appearance at work.

Adults seem to feel more comfortable using clear braces than they do using braces that have metal brackets. One of the reasons why clear braces are more popular today is that it is more acceptable now than at any other time in history for adults to use braces. There are a number of adults who grew up in families that could not afford orthodontic treatments while they were teenagers. Many went through their teenage life and their early adult years with crooked teeth. Now that they have more financial possibilities, they take steps to correct their teeth, but they want to do it in the least invasive and least visible way possible.

There are a number of benefits that come from using clear braces. One of the benefits that comes from using braces like Invisalign is that the aligners can be removed for eating meals, for brushing teeth, and for engaging in special social events. Later, the aligners can be put back on to continue adjusting the teeth.

The more straightened your teeth are, the healthier they look. If a person is too embarrassed to use metal braces, they might live their entire life with less than perfect teeth. This means that their teeth are always going to be susceptible to food particle and plaque accumulation, dental decay, and eventual gum disease. When a person’s teeth are straight, they are a lot easier to clean. They are also a lot easier to floss. Their teeth fit more snugly into their gums. All of these things reduce the chances of them developing periodontal disease.

The end goal of clear braces is to help you keep your teeth for the rest of your life. This means that the benefits of using clear braces go far beyond simply having an attractive smile. Clear braces help adults and teenagers straighten their teeth and at the same time maintain their confidence level throughout the teeth straightening process.

Of course, not everyone is going to be a good candidate for invisible braces. That being said, a large percentage of people do qualify for invisible braces that can drastically improve the appearance of their teeth.