Invisalign — What's It and How It Works?

Invisalign is a modern kind of invisible braces for straightening the teeth. Although itis a very effective solution, it’s not for everyone.A prior checkup is required to establish whether a patient is a good candidate for Invisalign. Here is the detailed process of how Invisalign works.

Are you thinking of straightening your teeth?The best way to proceed is to book an appointment with a good orthodontist. Your orthodontist will determine whether you qualify for the treatment or not. If you do, he will take photos of your teeth and your face, X-rays and dental impressions of your upper and lower jaws. All reports will be sent to Invisalign lab for processing and producing patient-specific custom aligners.

Invisalign technicians will use these reports to make a 3D model of your mouth. With the help of software, virtual movement of your teeth will be projected andthen reviewed by your orthodontist.

Your orthodontist will review the movement created in the virtual space by the technicians and give them correction instructions, if needed. The correction process is repeated for as many times as required to get to the desired result.

When everything is perfect from the orthodontist's point of view, the model will be sent ahead for production.

It takes about 4 weeks for the Invisalign trays to be produced.

Each set of trays, also known as aligners, should be worn for two weeks at a time before progressing to the next set in line. The aligners apply pressure on the teeth, encouraging them to gradually move towards the desired position.

This movement happens only 1/10mm per each set of aligners.This is why multiple aligners are needed in order to achieve the end result.

Invisalign aligners are worn almost permanently. Unlike typical braces, they can be removed for eating. However, they should be put on again as soon as you finished your meal. You also have to remove the aligners when you brush and floss.

When you’re done cleaning your aligners as suggested by your dentist, put them back on and wear them while sleeping, too.

You should wear the aligners for about 20 hours a day, every day, otherwise your teeth won't move enough for that particular set of aligners. And the next ones will have trouble fitting.

This effect accumulates from a set of aligners to the next one, so the straightening process will fail if you aren't committed to it.

In about 70% of the patients,there will still beafew teeth slightly misaligned by the end of the treatment. In order to correct this situation, a new set of impressions is taken and new Invisalign trays are made. The procedure is similar to the initial one and it takes the same amount of time, which is 3-4 weeks. In most cases, there's only one set of refinement trays needed in order to have all teeth properly aligned. Some people may require up to three such refinement trays, but this doesn't happen too often.

When the straightening process is over, the patient will need to wear retainers in order to prevent the teeth from migrating back into their old positions.

You can choose between two options:

• Clear, removable retainers which look just like the Invisalign trays; or 
• Wire-shaped, fixed retainer mounted on the back side of the lower front teeth 

Regardless of their option, patients will have to wear the retainers almost permanently for two months. After this period, it's OK to wear them only while sleeping.

In time, wearing retainers may only be needed for one of two nights a week. Wearing retainers is important because teeth may change with age, the simple fact of repeated chewing and biting may determine them to change position.

Invisalign may not work properly in certain typical situation that demands greater attention like highly crowded or overlapped teeth. In this situation,consult with your family dentist to determine whether Invisalign will be able to straighten your teeth or not.