Getting Started with Invisalign: What to Expect

Your teeth make up the key components of communication and maintain dietary needs by breaking down foods. Teeth start developing as early as eight weeks in the womb. Misalignments, also known as malocclusions, can affect the function of teeth and occur for several reasons, including poor diets, inherited traits, childhood habits such as thumb sucking, injuries, or illnesses.

Aligning teeth can be achieved through various treatments, and Invisalign® is among the most popular methods for accomplishing this. If you’re considering the procedure, you should understand what you’re in for, so let’s examine some basic facts about this treatment, what the process looks like, and what happens after it’s finished.

Dr. Ayed Hawatmeh and his Bravo Dental Group team are here to help residents of Brea and Banning, California, find solutions to their dental problems, including misaligned teeth and other oral health issues.

Facts about Invisalign

Invisalign is the brand name for the oldest and most popular type of aligner tray treatment that utilizes a thermoplastic material (SmartTrack) to gently guide teeth into their proper position over several months, similar to how traditional braces work. With this option, people can manage moderate issues with crowding, spacing, and various bite problems, including overbite, underbite, crossbite, open bite, and gapped teeth.

The ability to straighten teeth without seeing the traditional braces’ metal and brackets is why people enjoy using them, as well as the more affordable price point in many cases. In the first quarter of this year alone, as many as 18 million people globally used this solution to treat misaligned teeth.

The treatment process

The procedure begins with creating a model of your teeth, either through a mold or 3-D digital scan, to provide a comprehensive view of your teeth’s current condition. This process helps us determine where we realistically want your teeth to be when this process is complete, and from that, we fabricate a series of aligner trays that straighten your teeth.

These series of aligner trays move your teeth slowly over weeks while you wear them for 22 hours a day. Each tray gets replaced every week or two, and we monitor the progress of your teeth every time you come in for a new set. The timeframe for treatment can range from nine to 18 months, depending on your specific needs.

Results and aftercare

You can expect to see changes in your teeth as soon as six months into the process, and it works best in teens and adults with permanent teeth. To maintain results, wearing a retainer helps keep your teeth aligned. The retainer matches the last set of aligners you had, keeping them in position; you wear it for as long as you want to maintain straight teeth.

Whether you want to straighten teeth to keep them healthy or to achieve a better smile, Invisalign can help you accomplish that goal. Schedule an appointment with Dr. Hawatmeh and Bravo Dental Group today to discover how Invisalign can help improve your smile.