If your teeth are crooked or if they are misaligned, they have a negative impact on the way that you appear. Crooked teeth can make it difficult for you to chew food properly, and they can make it hard for you to clean your teeth properly. As a result, you are more prone to things like gum disease and bone damage, and this can eventually lead to you losing your teeth. A few decades ago, there was only one option available for anyone who wanted to straighten their teeth, and that was to use metal braces. Traditional braces are very noticeable, and they can be uncomfortable. For individuals who want to straighten their teeth but who are not excited about the discomfort or the appearance associated with conventional metal braces, Invisalign® has been a godsend. The clear aligners provide a gentle and discreet way for you to get the beautiful smile that you want.
Appearance
The number one reason why people opt for Invisalign® as opposed to traditional metal braces is that the aligners are a lot more aesthetically pleasing. When you use metal braces, you are basically broadcasting to the world that you are having your teeth straightened. When people see you, when you talk, when you smile and when you eat, the very first thing that they are going to focus on are the metal braces in your mouth.
There are endless stories of people who have suffered serious embarrassment because of using traditional braces. Everything from having food stuck in your teeth to accidentally squirting food out of your mouth when you talk are possibilities with metal braces.
The embarrassment factor alone is enough to cause teenagers to think twice before having their teeth straightened, and for adults, especially professionals, the situation is even worse. Imagine the embarrassment of conducting a business meeting or speaking to a room of professionals with metal brackets and wires on your teeth. Using Invisalign® allows you to straighten your teeth without anyone ever knowing.
Comfort
Instead of using metal brackets, the Invisalign® system uses soft plastic trays. These trays are a lot more comfortable than traditional braces. If you speak to anyone who has worn traditional braces, they can tell you that braces have the tendency of snagging your mouth. They can cut and tear the tissues of your lips and cheeks. This can be uncomfortable and, in some instances, downright excruciating.
The metal brackets can cut your lips when you talk, and they can damage your tongue if you inadvertently rub your tongue over them. And this makes sense. The simple idea of having small metal objects throughout your mouth immediately invokes images of something highly uncomfortable.
Metal braces are not only uncomfortable to wear, but they are also uncomfortable in the way that they correct your teeth. Metal braces put pressure on your teeth, gradually forcing them to move into the proper place. Conversely, Invisalign® uses multiple soft plastic aligners that gradually shift your teeth into a straightened position. It is obvious that the plastic aligners are going to put less pressure on your teeth than wire braces. The result is that you are able to better straighten your teeth with minimal discomfort.
Oral Hygiene
Traditional braces that use wires and metal brackets are difficult to clean. As their name suggests, literal wires are used in your mouth. This means that your braces cannot be removed. You cannot clean around them, but instead, you need to clean in spite of them. Unless you take excessive amounts of care in cleaning your teeth, it is likely that you’re going to be left with poor oral hygiene.
Not being able to clean your braces can be mentally and emotionally uncomfortable for the wearer as well. Every time you smile, you have a doubt as to whether or not there’s food stuck in your teeth. Or if there are areas where you’re not able to clean well, you might be left with some pretty bad breath.
If you do not clean your teeth well for the 18 months or two years that you’re wearing your braces, you may have your braces removed only to realize that other serious oral health issues have developed. None of these things are a problem when you use Invisalign®. You’re able to remove the plastic trays, and so you’re able to brush your teeth and floss your teeth with no hassle. It is just as if you were not undergoing any treatment at all.
Eat What You Want
One of the hardest things for individuals who are using traditional metal braces is the restrictions on the food that they can eat. Remember, getting braces is expensive, and so you don’t want to do anything to damage the metal apparatus in your mouth. Hard-to-chew foods are a no-no with metal braces. Sticky foods, corn and other types of foods are off limits when you are using metal braces.
With Invisalign®, this fear is a thing of the past. You can remove your aligners when you eat. There is no food that you need to avoid, and there is no risk of you accidentally damaging one of the aligner trays when you eat. With this treatment, you are able to straighten your teeth and enjoy the foods that you love.
Less Time, Same Results
Invisalign®, in most cases, provides faster results than traditional metal braces. On average, you’re going to need to spend around 36 months with metal braces to get the best results. That’s three years with metal in your mouth that hurts and limits what you can eat. Invisalign® is often able to achieve the same results in as little as 12 to 18 months. This means that using these aligners is drastically faster than traditional braces could ever be.
Your Teeth Stay Stronger
Traditional wire braces cannot be removed. They are stuck to your teeth, and as a result, you may experience demineralization of your teeth. Your teeth roots may become shortened, and since the braces cannot be removed, the medical professional is not able to get proper X-rays. So, this means that throughout the entire correction process, the specialist does not have a clear picture of what’s going on with your teeth. As such, there may be cavities and other problems developing inside your teeth that cannot be seen from the outside.
With Invisalign®, your teeth are kept healthier and stronger. Every visit to our office allows Dr. Subramanian to get a clear picture of how your teeth look on the inside and on the outside. You are able to maintain your teeth, keep them healthier and keep them stronger than you ever would if you were using traditional metal braces.
Remove the Guessing Game
With traditional braces, the medical professional can only guess what the end results are going to be. With these medical-grade plastic aligners, your treatment is laid out well in advance using computerized planning. This means that a computer model can be used to give you a pretty realistic idea of what your final smile is going to look like even before you start the process.
Fewer Visits to Our Office
When you have traditional braces, you need to visit the office every six weeks and sometimes more frequently so they can adjust the wires on your braces. With Invisalign®, that is not an issue. You leave our office with a set of aligner trays that you need to switch out once every two weeks. You don’t need to come back to our office to get your next tray or to have our dentist overlook the adjustment process.
You will have some very short, occasional visits that are designed to allow Dr. Subramanian to monitor your progress to make sure that everything is going according to plan. But these short and sporadic visits are nothing when compared to the constant trips to an office that are part of using traditional metal braces.
When you look at all the benefits that come from using this innovative treatment, it’s easy to see why more and more people are shying away from traditional metal braces. They are able to correct their teeth using these state-of-the-art aligners, and they do not have to worry about the cosmetic problems, the discomfort, the reductions in what they can eat, the potential oral health issues and the constant visits to the office that are a part of using traditional metal braces.
Learn More Information During a Consultation
Having a crooked smile can detract from the way that you look. It can make it difficult for you to eat, and it can affect the way that you speak. Don’t let the fear of getting metal braces prevent you from taking the steps you need to get the smile that you deserve. With Invisalign®, the treatment is simple. It requires very little effort on your part and still leaves you with stellar results that you are going to be proud to look at every day in the mirror and happy to show off to your friends, to your family and to the world.
We warmly invite you to schedule a consultation at the office of Dr. Latha Subramanian, DDS in Mountain View to learn more information about this incredible treatment. Contact us today to book an appointment!
