When it comes to straightening your teeth, Invisalign® is the clear alternative to braces. Made of smooth, clear plastic, the Invisalign® trays are comfortable and virtually invisible – simply slip them over your teeth and go about your day while they improve your smile. You can remove them, so you can eat whatever you want, and you can brush and floss normally.
Getting Invisalign® clear aligners is easy! Simply tell our dentists that you would like to try Invisalign® treatment to straighten your teeth. We’ll help you decide if Invisalign® braces are right for you, and map out a customized digital treatment plan. Once you decide that Invisalign® clear aligners are for you, you’ll start receiving a new set of aligners every 1 to 2 weeks, as directed by your dentist. Each set will gradually and gently move your teeth into place to create an appealing smile.
Invisalign® cost varies from person to person, depending on the complexity of the dental problem they are having. A course of treatment for severely crooked teeth is more expensive than straightening mildly or moderately crooked teeth, largely because it takes longer to move severely crooked teeth and requires more aligner trays. Simple cases can cost less than $2000 while more complex cases can cost as much as $8000, with a national average of about $5000.
Clearly, you want to get the most out of the Invisalign® investment. Making Invisalign® braces work faster and better can optimize your Invisalign® success.
How to Make Invisalign® Work Faster and Better
Keep your appointments with your Liberty Family Dentistry dentist
During your visits, our dentists can check the progress of your teeth straightening and make sure the aligners are correcting your misaligned teeth. Skipping or delaying appointments can slow down or even stall your progress. Fortunately, these checkups don’t take very long – just a few minutes – and you only need to come in about once every six weeks, depending on your individual needs and expectations from the Invisalign® system.
Wear the Invisalign® clear aligners for at least 22 hours
Invisalign® recommends that you wear the clear aligner trays 20 to 22 hours each day. To get the most out of your Invisalign® clear aligners, keep them in for at least 22 hours every day.
Address any tenderness you may experience
While our dentists take every precaution to help your Invisalign® trays fit comfortably, some people do experience tenderness while adjusting to the aligners, and this may prevent them from wearing their aligners as directed. If you experience discomfort, try sucking on an ice cube to numb your gums and avoid eating any chewy, crunchy, or crispy food. When you switch to a new aligner, making the switch early in the day gives you enough time to adjust to the tenderness before bed that night. Always discuss any rough spots with your dentist; they can address the issue before you get your next set of aligners.
Change out your Invisalign® trays as directed
The Invisalign® aligner trays work by applying gentle, constant pressure that moves teeth in a desired direction. The sequential series of aligners are the key to Invisalign® success – each aligner tray is meant to be worn for a specified length of time in order to move teeth to a precise location. Advancing too soon or skipping an aligner may cause alignment errors that get progressively worse as you advance through the series of trays. In other words, the movement of the teeth begin to fall behind the scheduled tooth movement built into each aligner.
The adaptation error is compounded into each successive aligner as you move through treatment. You may not feel any difference and the error may not show itself until several aligner sets later, when you will be able to see “tracking errors” in the form of gaps between your teeth and the aligner, loose fitting aligners, and teeth that are not moving properly. If the tracking errors are bad enough, you may have to start your treatment over.
Keep your older aligners
Keep your last set of aligners on hand to use in case you lose or break the current aligners. Wearing the old aligners will prevent your teeth from moving backwards while you wait for the replacement set.
Get a custom Invisalign® plan
You and your dentist can work together to create a custom Invisalign® plan that helps you get the most out of your teeth straightening treatment. You’ll decide how you want your teeth to look, how often you will move from one tray to the next, the amount of time you will wear the Invisalign® trays, and the duration of your treatment. Your dentist will check the progress of your treatment at regular intervals to make sure you stay on track.
Liberty Family Dentistry provides the Invisalign® Bloomington residents rely on for a great smile! We can help you get the most out of your Invisalign® treatment.