Is Invisalign® Right for You?

They grow with us but are the only part of our bodies that don’t self-repair.
They possess the hardest substance we produce, but that material can be broken down by sugars and bacteria.
They grow in two sets in our lifetime: baby and adult teeth.

Teeth play a vital role in the digestive system by breaking down the food we consume, but misaligned teeth (also known as malocclusions) make tasks like eating and speaking more difficult.

Various types of braces are frequently used for straightening teeth, depending on your mouth’s condition. Invisalign® is a popular option that offers several advantages. To determine whether this is the right choice for you, we need to explore how the process works, what problems it can help address, and what factors decide whether it’s a good fit for your needs.

Dr. Elena Davidson and her dedicated staff at Davidson Dental Group are here to help residents of San Leandro, Castro Valley, Oakland, and the surrounding areas of California address misaligned teeth and a range of other dental issues.

How Invisalign works

Braces are a reliable method of moving teeth into place, but they traditionally use metal brackets and wires to achieve this. Because these appliances are usually visible, they can be embarrassing. Invisalign is a type of clear aligner that utilizes a thermoplastic material called SmartTrack to create trays customized to fit your mouth. You wear them up to 22 hours a day, and within 18 months, your teeth will be straighter.

These trays perform the same task as traditional aligners, but with a transparent material that is not visible on your teeth. Because they’re not attached to teeth, they don’t have to stay in your mouth all the time. You can remove them when eating, brushing, and flossing your teeth, and you can clean them.

What Invisalign treats

Using this method for aligning teeth can help with several malocclusions, including:

Crowding: resulting from teeth not having enough room to grow
Crooked teeth: can happen from crowding or other dental issues
Overlapping teeth: a form of crowding in which teeth lie over each other
Crossbite: upper teeth fit over lower teeth with a closed mouth
Overbite: upper teeth overlay lower teeth more severely than normal
Underbite: lower teeth overlap upper teeth

The effectiveness of this treatment also varies with the severity of the condition. Significant malocclusions may necessitate alternative treatment methods.

Factors to decide if they’re for you

Invisalign is a solution that can work wonders for many people, but here’s what you should know about the issues that determine if they’re right for you:

Complex dental problems need more help

As mentioned earlier, more severe issues with misaligned teeth may necessitate metal braces or other medical means to address. Invisalign is ideal for mild to moderate problems, but we’ll let you know if other solutions are better suited to your needs.

Proper maintenance makes all the difference

Regularly cleaning your teeth and the trays will be essential when using Invisalign. If you want straighter teeth without visible braces, you’ll need to follow the instructions.

You need to stick to the regimen

Wearing Invisalign trays for 20-22 hours daily for over a year can seem like a lot of work, but if you want to reach the finish line and see beautiful, straight teeth, this is part of the process.

Be ready to wear retainers

When the treatment is finished and your teeth look the way you want, you’ll need to wear retainers to keep them that way.

If you need to manage dental problems, such as misaligned teeth, call or message the Davidson Dental Group team for the help you need.