Invisalign Invisible Braces

You can now have your teeth straightened without uncomfortable wires and brackets. Not only is Invisalign invisible, but it's gentler and much faster - about twice as fast as conventional braces. Most cases are finished within twelve months.

The person on the left is wearing traditional wire-and-bracket braces. The person on the left is wearing Invisalign aligners. Which would you prefer?

Advantages of Invisalign:

• Since they are clear, people won't be able to tell you're wearing braces.
• Since you can remove them for eating, there are no eating restrictions during your orthodontic treatment.
• Since there are no metal brackets with sharp edges, there is nothing to dig into your cheeks and tongue.
• Invisalign treatment time is about half that of conventional braces.

Limitations of Invisalign:

• Not every case can be treated with Invisalign. Sometimes the crowding can be too severe for Invisalign to work. It isn't good, either, at rotating teeth.
• It doesn't work well with teenagers, because the aligners have trouble "grabbing" teeth that are newly erupted.
• The patient needs to have the self-discipline to comply with the treatment. The aligners need to be kept in all the time, except for brief periods of eating.

Invisalign Procedure

A consultation, with a complete examination, including x-rays, is required to determine if Invisalign will work for you, and to plan out your treatment.
Once that diagnostic and planning step is completed, the first step is to take a series of precise impressions of your teeth. These impressions are sent to the Invisalign laboratory where a sophisticated computer is used to plan out the precise tooth movements required to achieve your desired results. This computer then manufactures a series of 12 to 48 clear aligners, like the one pictured on the right. We will then give you the aligners and have you wear each one for a period of about two weeks. At each appointment, we will monitor your progress and make small adjustments as needed.
Each successive aligner pushes your teeth a little more until, when you are finished with the last aligner, your teeth are straight!