When looking into the variety of options available to you in terms of straightening your smile, it is important to consider the cosmetic appearance of the treatment and how the ‘look’ may affect your confidence. After all, nobody wants to undergo a treatment or procedure that makes them feel worse than the initial problem. It is, therefore, important to consider the options that can fit into your daily life with little impact on the running of your day-to-day life as well as how you feel. Invisalign is a treatment that does just that, and your orthodontist Liverpool can support and guide you from beginning to end.
What exactly are they?
Unlike orthodontic treatments of the past, treatment with Invisalign involves clear aligners, which can be moulded specifically to your teeth and removed at any time by you. This particular treatment puts the majority of control back into your hands; therefore, these transparent, plastic aligners can fit seamlessly into your day-to-day life.
What is the process?
To open up the options to you, once a discussion has taken place with your dental team, a consultation will be booked; this will allow you to delve deeper into the Invisalign option and ensure that the treatment is the most suitable for you.
Throughout the consultation, the ins and outs of the process will be revealed and any questions that may be in mind can be explored and dealt with. Alongside the overall discussion on the topic, a series of digital scans, x-rays and potentially moulds will be taken. These enable your dentist to provide you with a visual 3D plan of how your straightened smile can look after treatment, and, should the treatment be accepted, they will be sent away to create the tailor-made aligners.
The next appointment will be when the aligners are received, and your dentist will recap what needs to be done. Multiple sets of retainers will then be provided, and in most cases, the instruction will be to change aligner sets every 2 weeks so as to progress with the re-alignment. Each set is slightly different, but all of them are designed to gently push your teeth into a newly aligned position over the 22 hours that they are worn each day. You may remove your aligners only before meals or snacks or your daily oral hygiene processes.
Although the majority of the treatment lies within your capable hands, it is important to understand that you are not left alone, and approximately every 6 weeks, a follow-up appointment will be had so as to ensure that everything is moving into place as it should be. Within 6 to 18 months, in most cases, the treatment will be over, and a new aligner will be created so as to maintain the new positions of your teeth and protect them from reverting to the previous alignment.
A simple brush and rinse are all that are needed to keep the aligners in good shape. No unnecessary cleaning solutions, just a simple removal during your daily oral hygiene routine and a quick brush and go, keeping the process simple but highly effective.
