Is Invisalign® the Best Choice for Adults?
Often when we think about teeth straightening, we think about awkward teens. But what’s the best choice for adults who need their teeth straightened? Traditional braces or Invisalign®?
Straight teeth are about more than just a perfect smile. Your dental hygiene becomes easier with smooth and consistent spacing. Confidence grows, too, and you’ll flash that smile more naturally and more often.
In the past, a mouthful of crooked teeth meant time in an orthodontist’s chair receiving traditional braces. They’re a 24/7 alignment system that’s often unsightly, and for some, embarrassing. Choosing DentAlign NYC gives you the option of the removable and clear Invisalign® system. Invisalign uses a series of clear thermoplastic trays designed to move your teeth in increments for your ideal smile. You simply remove the trays to eat and clean your teeth.
Misaligned teeth are more than just a potentially charming and quirky smile. They can be troublesome to care for with uneven gaps, overlaps, and plenty of nooks and crannies that make home dental care frustrating and inefficient. Straightening your teeth makes it easier to keep your teeth healthy.
Straight teeth are easier to floss. You can use one straight, clean motion instead of twisting and turning between crooked teeth. Fighting with your floss is just the start. Overlapped teeth may block surfaces where plaque and tartar can collect.
It’s called malocclusion, and it raises your risk of developing gum disease, a condition that causes pain, swelling, bleeding gums, tooth decay, and tooth loss. Straight and even tooth spacing makes the self-care portion of oral hygiene effective and efficient. That means a better-looking smile in more ways than just optimized alignment.
Traditional braces can solve virtually any teeth alignment issue, alone or along with complementary treatments. However, many alignment issues don’t require all the capabilities that braces provide. Metal bands, cemented onto your teeth, require dietary considerations and food modifications along with the appearance-changing effects of a metal smile.
Your Invisalign experience is less intrusive. The clear trays can’t be seen without close inspection, and you can remove them when eating, so you can enjoy all the foods you love without making changes.
You don’t have to worry about the common issues that many dislike about traditional braces. There’s no additional hygiene challenge, working around braces, since your trays stay out until you’ve cleaned your teeth after eating.
Your initial fitting is easier to tolerate, too. Instead of clunky and claustrophobic tray molds, the Invisalign process uses a digital wand to make 3D computer images. These, in turn, serve as the basis for tray designs that transform your teeth from where they are now to your balanced and aligned final arrangement.
For most mild-to-moderate malocclusions, Invisalign is more than capable of realigning your smile. There are some complex cases, though, that may be better-suited to traditional braces.
The best way to learn if Invisalign is right for you is in consultation with Kenn Kakosian, DDS, PhD and his team at DentAlign NYC. As Invisalign specialists, we can answer all your questions about trays and treatment. Contact our office in the Chrysler Building by phone or online. Book your appointment today.
