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When most adults are advised to undertake orthodontic treatment, many of them presume that this will mean wearing a fitted orthodontic or metal brace.

This can create more than a few problems, especially if you have a job that requires you to give talks, such as a lecturer, as you may be self-conscious about people looking at your teeth. Luckily, there is a way to get the straighter smile you deserve without undergoing such extensive orthodontic work, and that is with the use of invisible aligners.

When you come to us at Clear Braces Direct to talk to our team about orthodontic treatment, we will likely advise the use of one of our most famous and successful aligners: Invisalign London. This aligner has helped thousands of people get the straighter smiles they wanted, without using excessive force or visually noticeable methods, making it exceedingly popular.

But even at this early stage, you may have queries about how Invisalign London works. In this article, our team aims to answer five of the most common questions about this invisible aligner treatment.

How do the aligners work?

Invisalign London works due to its unique and custom-fitted shape. When you come to see our team for your initial consultation, we will assess your suitability, and assuming that you have good oral health and only a moderate case of dental misalignment, we will then use an intraoral scanner to take an image of your teeth.

The image from the scan will be used to create the shape of the starting aligner. Using computer technology to move your teeth digitally, another set of aligners will be custom-made to support the movement at each stage.

How long does it take?

It is hard to say since your clinical case will vary from other people. However, on average, invisible aligners can straighten your teeth in as little as 3 to 6 months, provided that you wear them for the allotted time per day, which is usually 22 hours.

Can they correct overbites?

In some cases, yes, they can correct overbites. As mentioned earlier, your overbite will have to be mild to moderate, and it cannot involve crooked molar teeth that need notating, as this can only be achieved using standard metal braces.

Is it uncomfortable to wear them?

Because the aligners are slimmer than traditional fitted braces, many patients find that they are easier to wear in daily life. Because the aligners do not exert pressure or force in the same way as braces do when they have been adjusted or corrected, the treatment itself is more comfortable in general.

However, you should expect some sensations of soreness and pressure, for which you will need to take over-the-counter pain relievers. If it becomes excruciatingly difficult to wear your aligners, please contact our team.

Are they going to be expensive?

The cost of braces in adult life is governed by multiple factors, one of which involves visits to the dentist to have the braces tightened. As invisible aligners do not require this, you may be surprised at how affordable they can be. We are also able to offer financing options to suitable patients to help break down the cost of treatment.

Are you fed up with having to hide your smile in group photos at work? Or have you simply had enough of feeling that your smile is not good enough to show off? You are not alone, and in the UK, as many as 1 in 5 adults wish their teeth were straighter.

Luckily, there is now a way for you to get the straighter smile you want without having to resort to wearing fixed metal braces, and this is known as the use of clear or invisible aligners, which are simple to use and easy to fit into a daily schedule.

At Clear Braces Direct, we are always happy and eager to meet with adult patients who want to straighten their smiles. One of the aligners that we use in our surgery is Invisalign London, which can work quickly and effectively to correct mild to moderate cases of orthodontic misalignment.

But what exactly goes into making and wearing Invisalign London? Below is a rough guide on what you can expect when you come to our surgery for this treatment.

Consultation

First, for you to be deemed suitable to wear Invisalign London, our team will need to assess your overall oral health and the position of your teeth. As mentioned briefly earlier, if you have a mild to moderate misalignment, then it is highly likely that you’ll be suitable for this treatment. You also need to have good oral health with no signs of active decay or gum disease. If all goes to plan, we will use an intraoral scanner to take an image of the inside of your mouth, which will then be sent to a dental laboratory.

Creation

From this scan, your digital teeth will be uploaded into specialised orthodontic computer software, which will move them. Using these projected movements, a set of aligners will then be 3D printed; there will usually be between 12 to 14 aligners in a standard set, but for slightly more complicated cases, there may be as many as 18. The entire process takes between 6 to 8 weeks.

Daily wear

When your aligners arrive back at our surgery, we will call you in and show you how to wear them. They have to be worn in the set order and for around 22 hours a day for them to work.

You also need to keep your aligners clean; when you take them out before a meal, you will need to brush your teeth to ensure that no food debris gets pressed against your teeth or gums once your aligners are back on. This will help to keep your oral health in check whilst undergoing this treatment.

Appointments

You will not need to see our team frequently unless a serious issue needs to be addressed. However, you will need to download the app with Invisalign and send us weekly images of your smile so that we can assess whether or not the aligners are working as predicted.

Post-treatment

Once you have finished your treatment (in as little as 3 to 6 months), you will need to wear retainers to keep your teeth in their new positions. Without retainers, your teeth may revert or take on a different misalignment, which will lead to another course of orthodontic care.

When you are an adult considering orthodontic care, you may have concerns that some of your pre-existing dental conditions or restorations may not be compatible with orthodontic realignments, particularly when it comes to using an invisible aligner.

Luckily, the dental teams that produced Invisalign were aware that realignment rarely occurs in a vacuum and that those who use this tool will likely have other treatments that have been performed in their mouths. Thus, they have aimed to ensure that invisible aligners are compatible with almost every restorative or cosmetic treatment there is for your teeth.

At Clear Braces Direct, we will always aim to be frank and clear with our patients about treatment with Invisalign London and how it may impact other restorative and cosmetic treatments they have undertaken. After all, we want you to get the straighter smile that you want and deserve without having to sacrifice other cosmetic treatments to do so.

So, without further ado, in this article, our team looks at the common cosmetic treatments that many of our patients have when they come to us for Invisalign London and whether or not they are compatible.

Dental implants

Invisalign London is designed to move your natural teeth into more desirable positions. But what if you have dental implants? Will the use of an invisible aligner cause an issue?

In most cases, no. The use of dental implants will not negatively impact the realignment process of an invisible aligner. This is because most dental implants are set in straight positions alongside your other teeth and will not need to be moved by the aligner, making them compatible.

Crowns

Crowns are an extensive restoration of a tooth that has been damaged just above the gum line but has healthy roots; this leaves many people to worry that pressure from an invisible aligner may cause the crown to fall off. Luckily, if your crown is being correctly maintained with bi-annual checkups, it will likely not fall, and the tooth can be moved alongside any others without hassle during the realignment process.

Fillings

Much like a crown, even a very large filling can be successfully moved using invisible aligners, provided that there is no underlying decay or that the tooth that has the filling is not loose or showing signs of decay.

Root canals

Root canals are a bit more complicated as they are, in essence, fillings that have occurred underneath the gum line. You’ll be glad to know that if the tooth that has had the root canal is healthy, it will not negatively impact the orthodontic treatment you wish to undertake.

Just be sure that you attend your bi-annual checkups regularly before undertaking invisible aligners to ensure that your root canal is set in place.

Veneers

As you may have guessed by now, the majority of these restoratives depend on them being securely in place and not moving when it comes to treatment with invisible aligners. In the case of veneers, which are, in essence, porcelain shells placed over the front of your teeth, it is possible to have treatment with aligners, as it does not put pressure onto the veneer but rather the tooth. Provided that the veneers are strongly bonded to your teeth, there should not be an issue with invisible aligner treatment.

There has been a rise in the number of patients seeking out orthodontic tools to straighten their teeth within the comfort of their own homes. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this provided that you have the oversight and guidance of a dental practitioner, in some instances, it can become far too easy for dental patients to simply order aligners from the internet without the necessary professional care.

Understandably, this comes with its own set of complications and can actually cause more issues with the realignment process than are needed.

At Clear Braces Direct, we offer in-surgery treatments for misaligned teeth and are also happy to offer at-home treatments using Invisalign London. However, we will always ensure that our team is on hand to guide you through this process as you undertake it in your own home and will always be willing and eager to answer any questions you may have.

In this article, we will compare the use of Invisalign London from our team to the use of a standard aligner bought online to help you see the dangers of undertaking orthodontic care without the oversight of a dental team.

Precision

First, when it comes to wearing Invisalign London, our team will need to take an intraoral scan of your mouth so that we can plot each stage of the realignment process. If you use an at-home kit, you will likely be sent a dental mould which you yourself are responsible for taking. This can create issues with the precision of the aligners that will be created, meaning that the result will simply not be as good as it would be if you had come to our team.

Care

As mentioned earlier, when it comes to using invisible aligners from our team, we will always ensure that we are on the end of the phone to answer any queries you have. You can also communicate with us via the app, which you will need to use to send us your weekly selfies. If you order an aligner from an online provider, you will simply not have access to this care, which can cause further issues with the realignment process.

Re-ordering aligners

In some cases, you may misplace or damage one of your aligners beyond repair and will need to have a replacement ordered. When you contact our team, we will always aim to get this done as soon as possible and usually with no further cost to you. If you do this via the internet and an online provider, you may be in for a bit of a wait, which can delay the process and even cause your teeth to revert.

Communication

To ensure that your alignment process is going as planned, our team will need to have weekly photos sent to us from your phone via the app. While some online providers do offer this, they likely do not have the expertise that our team has and will not be able to offer targeted advice to help you.

Complications

There may be issues with tracking, which our professional team will be able to assess by looking at your weekly selfies. Those who offer this service without checkups or intraoral scans are less likely to spot these issues and may actually be less qualified and capable of resolving potential complications that arise.

Most people who have undertaken treatment in their childhood or teenage years with a fixed metal brace are aware of the seeming mountain of accessories required to ensure that this tool works correctly. This includes electric toothbrushes, portable electric toothbrushes to clean your braces while at work, and of course, interdental brushes to remove plaque from underneath the archwires.

Unfortunately, while you may think that undertaking invisible aligners will remove the need for accessories, you might be wrong there. But don’t worry! All these accessories are designed to ensure that orthodontic tools work as they need to so that you can get the straighter smile you want in the shortest time possible.

When you approach our team at Clear Braces Direct about undertaking Invisalign London, we will explain to you all the tools of the trade that are needed to ensure that this aligner straightens your teeth correctly and quickly. So you won’t have to wait around due to your aligners not working correctly. Great stuff!

So what are some of the accessories that accompany Invisalign London to ensure that the aligners work as planned? Read on to find out!

Chewies

Chewies are essentially small rubber foam cylinders that can be used when placing an aligner into your mouth, specifically when you have changed from one aligner to another. You need to ensure that the new aligner tracks correctly in order to move your teeth.

Chewies are reusable and can ensure that your treatment goes as planned with no delays by pressing the aligners against your teeth correctly. Simple!

Washes and crystals

You may have read that invisible aligners can be washed by simply rinsing them under a cold tap, and this is true. But some people want a bit more and are willing to go the extra mile to ensure that their aligners taste pleasant when worn. There are multiple washes and crystals designed for use alongside Invisalign London, and they can also freshen your breath at the same time. Just make sure that the type of wash you choose to rinse your aligners with is specified for Invisalign, as some may contain bleaches, which can discolour the aligners.

Removal picks

You may think that aligners can simply be pulled off of your teeth when you need to remove them; they technically can, but this can cause them to become damaged. Therefore, there are removal picks that can be used to simply pick the aligners off of your teeth. Physically, these picks resemble small plastic hooks and are great at preserving the shape of the aligner and ensuring that your fingernails do not scratch or chip at the shape.

Carry cases

When you receive your invisible aligners, they will come in a set carry case. While it can be tempting to simply chuck your aligners into your pocket or bag, this is not advised as this can cause them to become damaged and warp out of shape. If you lose your original carry case, there are many replacements that are just as sturdy and can keep the aligner safe and at a set temperature to prevent them from warping out of shape.

The app

If you are using Invisalign, you need to download the associated app for your smartphone, which allows you to send photos to our team once a week. We can then track how the aligner is progressing with your treatment and send you tips and advice if your treatment plan needs to be altered.

As an adult who has an orthodontic misalignment, you may be curious about which options are available to you.

If you grew up in the 90s, you may have heard that the only way for you to get straighter teeth in your adult years is to use a fixed metal brace. However, thanks to advancements in orthodontic treatment, this is now not the only option available and you may be able to wear an invisible aligner to get the straighter smile that you want.

At Clear Braces Direct, we are always eager to meet with patients who want to undertake orthodontic care at the later stages of life, and we will always be happy to assess your suitability for Invisalign London. This clear aligner has changed the face of orthodontic care for adults and is one of the most popular treatments on the market today.

But with that in mind, you may wonder how Invisalign London stacks up in comparison to the traditional fixed brace. In this article, our team will explore some of the factors of both treatments to see how they measure up.

Time

It is not very well known, but Invisalign London can straighten your teeth in as little as 3 to 6 months, whereas if you undertake traditional fixed braces, this can take around three years. This difference in treatment time is not due to the design of the orthodontic devices but rather the severity of the misalignment being treated. So, you may be able to undertake traditional fixed braces for the majority of the orthodontic work and then use invisible aligners for the finishing touches, which can speed up the process.

Discretion

It goes without saying that few people would describe a fixed metal brace as discreet. Hence why there has been so much work put into adult orthodontic care revolving around invisible aligners. Invisible aligners are made from transparent plastic, which means that when they are put over your teeth, even those standing closest to you will not be able to notice them, making them exceedingly discreet.

Discomfort

There is no such thing as a completely comfortable orthodontic realignment, and this is because these tools are designed to move your teeth! Consider that traditional orthodontic braces use tightening and adjustments, which, in essence, pull the teeth into the desired positions. Invisible aligners utilised the system of gently pushing the teeth, making them the more comfortable option of the two treatments.

Daily care

Daily care of both invisible aligners and fixed braces can be complicated. For invisible aligners, all you need to do to clean them is take them out of your mouth and rinse them under cold water. With fixed braces, you need to brush them extensively after each meal, avoid certain foods and invest in interdental brushes, making them a bit more complicated to care for.

Complications

There are, ironically, more complications that can occur with invisible aligners than with fixed braces. This can be due to poor tracking or fitting of the aligners, lack of daily wear (as you need to wear them for 22 hours a day) and secondary complications, such as patients not attending their appointments. Thus, when comparing the complications in many cases, fixed braces have fewer.