Invisalign treatment plans move your teeth while you progress through a series of slightly different aligners. Those aligners are slightly different in their shape, but they’re all transparent, removable, smooth, and comfortable. You’ll wear each aligner in sequence for a couple of weeks at a time, while your teeth will move up to 0.25 millimeters with each aligner. That seems like a tiny distance, and it is, but the cumulative effects of those movements of all your teeth can have a transformative effect on the youthfulness and beauty of your smile — all without any wires or metal brackets on your teeth.
How does the Invisalign process work?
The first step to confirming whether Invisalign is right for you is to arrange an appointment with a dentist near you — but not just any dentist! Not every dentist provides Invisalign treatment. Because Invisalign is such an advanced and specialized form of treatment for alignment issues, be sure to consult with an experienced Invisalign provider when looking for answers to your questions.
At that initial assessment about Invisalign in Indian Land, your dentist will take a detailed medical history from you, discuss your oral and general health, and review your goals and priorities when it comes to the health and appearance of your teeth. It’s also a chance for you to get answers to all your questions. After that general discussion, your dentist will conduct a digital scan of your mouth to create 3-D images using a device called an iTero 3D Scanner. Images captured by the Scanner will be used to track the movements of your teeth, simulate your progress through your aligners, and even anticipate the final position of your teeth and to give you a glimpse into the future.
Once your dentist has confirmed Invisalign can help you to achieve your goals, and assuming you decide to go forward with an Invisalign treatment plan, those same images will be used by Invisalign’s technicians to craft your set of thermoplastic aligners from a medical-grade material unique to Invisalign and customized for your teeth called SmartTrack.
Once Invisalign’s technicians finish preparing your set of aligners, they’ll be sent to your dentist. Your dentist will arrange an appointment to walk you through the process of wearing, taking care of, and moving from one aligner to the next. At the end of that appointment, you’ll walk out of your dentist’s office with a set of aligners on your teeth and on the way to a new perfect smile.
How long will it take?
It probably won’t surprise you that, because every orthodontic treatment plan — with traditional braces or Invisalign — is different, it’s impossible to give you a precise estimate of the time it will take to achieve your goal in any article like this. The length of your Invisalign treatment plan will depend on three primary factors: the current condition and position of your teeth; the number and extent of the movements your teeth will need to take to get into their final proper position; and your commitment to your own treatment plan by wearing and caring for your aligners and teeth.
As a very general rule, people straightening their teeth with Invisalign will notice results as early as two to three months after starting wearing their aligners. Many typical treatment plans (if there is such a thing as a “typical” treatment plan) are completed within 18 months. If you’re interested in accelerating your plan to the fullest extent possible, ask a dentist near you about options for quickening the pace. In some situations, there are Invisalign options to get things moving faster.
After reviewing this information, does Invisalign feel like a good option for you? To find out more about how Invisalign can help you to achieve your goals, make an appointment with an Invisalign dentist near you..