Invisalign may not be what you Think

By: Stephen Price DDS | Thursday, March 30th, 2017 | Invisalign

Thursday, March 30th, 2017

As a premier Invisalign provider in Northern Virginia, we hear a lot of questions regarding this method of alignment correction. Perhaps you have given some thought to whether or not you could get the straight and healthy smile you want without having to wear metal or tooth-colored braces. If you have, the immediate secondary thought may have been “would Invisalign even work as well as braces?”

Throughout the past several years, there has been an ongoing conversation between dentists and their patients about the efficacy of Invisalign. Sure, there are benefits to this system! Who doesn’t love the idea of getting straighter teeth without having to have brackets glued to their teeth! Who doesn’t find a removable aligner more than a little appealing? We get it, and we love helping our patients experience these benefits and more.

The fact that you can eat what you want and don’t have to live with a smile that just isn’t “you” is a clear advantage to the Invisalign method. However, none of the little niceties of this system really answer that question about what is possible with Invisalign. Is it possible to straighten teeth without braces, really? Let’s see . . .

Invisalign has been around for more than 15 years. Since it’s early use in the late 90s, a lot has happened. At the onset, dentists were able to conduct treatment only for minor cases of misalignment. This lead to the impression that Invisalign was nothing more than cosmetic braces. What developers did, though, was genius. They paid attention. Whatever worked, and whatever didn’t, was noted. More than that, work was put into the various aspects of the Invisalign system to make it better and better. Again, genius!

The treatments that are conducted today address a wide range of conditions. No longer are we limited to straightening out a tooth that has turned slightly. Today, we are able to correct mild to moderate bite issues, as well; to close gaps and create space and move individual teeth as needed. But there’s more. The reason why we could say that Invisalign is better than braces is because, without metal fixtures, it is much easier for patients to brush and floss throughout the course of treatment. This has reduced instances of post-treatment tooth decay, adding even more value to the aligner approach.

Are you ready to learn more? Call your Burke Invisalign dentist at (703)750-9404.