One thing that really blows people away when they first hear about Invisalign is just how easy it looks to straighten teeth, just pop in a clear plastic thingy and voila, no metal brackets and wires in sight. They always say this and its a great lead in for some interesting discussions about what really goes on inside the mouth that makes it all work. Early orthodontic treatment identifies bite or spacing issues before they become more complex. By starting early, we can guide jaw growth and create space for permanent teeth. Early treatment promotes a healthy, balanced smile that lasts.
The biological process that traditional braces use to move teeth is called bone remodeling. And guess what? Invisalign uses the same trick. When you press on a tooth consistently, like with the braces pushing on it, the bone around the root starts to get the message and responds. The bone slowly starts to break down on the side where the pressure is being applied and new bone starts to grow on the other side to fill in the gap. Its a bit of a break and fix cycle that lets a tooth slowly start to move. And that’s exactly what Invisalign does, it puts a bit of gentle pressure on the teeth to shift them into place over time, its a pretty neat process. Adult orthodontic treatment helps improve both oral health and appearance with subtle solutions like Invisalign and clear braces. Many adults choose treatment to gain confidence and a healthier smile that fits their lifestyle.
Now each individual set of aligners is just a small part of your whole treatment plan, but don’t be fooled, they play a crucial role. Before we even start the treatment, we take a bunch of detailed digital scans of your teeth to plan out the whole journey from start to finish. This means we get to see exactly where your teeth are at right now and work out the best way to get to where you want to end up. And because we take the time to get it just right, that’s a big part of why Invisalign works so well when you wear it properly all the time.
You’ll be switching to the next pair of aligners every one to two weeks or so depending on the plan. And each new pair is just a tiny bit different, just enough to keep the teeth moving in the right direction. It might not sound like much but trust me, those little changes can really add up and make a big difference.
Sometimes, before treatment even starts, we might need to add some tiny tooth-colored attachments to a few teeth to help them move properly. These little attachments provide a bit of leverage for the aligners to work their magic from a different angle. For example, if you need to rotate a tooth or move it a bit forward or backward, you need a bit of precision to make it happen. Not every patient needs them, but when they do, they make a big difference.
So what is the main difference between how Invisalign moves teeth and how traditional braces do? Well the biology is the same, same process, same result. But the experience is completely different. The aligners are just so much easier to wear and less invasive than metal brackets. Of course, the downside is that you do need to wear them for 20 to 22 hours a day otherwise the bone doesn’t get the stimulation it needs and the teeth just don’t move as fast, and that can mean more aligners and a longer treatment time.
How does Invisalign move teeth for those more complicated cases in Parkland? Well its all about how much mobility you need. These days Invisalign can actually handle a whole lot more situations than it used to, but its still not a one size fits all solution. At Marrecau Orthodontics, we look at each patient as an individual and decide whether Invisalign is the best fit or if traditional braces are the way to go.
And finally, after all that hard work is done, the most important thing is to wear a retainer after treatment. There is still a lot of movement going on in the bone around those new teeth, and without a retainer to keep everything in place, they will just naturally start to slide back into their old position. So retention is key to keeping the outcome you worked so hard to achieve. If you’re interested in finding out more about Invisalign or want to know what treatment would be like for you, come on down and talk to the team at Marrecau Orthodontics.