Invisalign
Invisalign is a system that will give you beautiful, straight teeth without the discomfort and appearance of traditional braces.
Customized plastic trays, called aligners, are used to gently bring your teeth into the correct alignment. Invisalign can correct most problems that traditional braces can fix from crooked teeth to problems with your bite.
The aligners are worn at night and throughout the day and are only removed for eating. They are virtually invisible, and most people will never know that you are wearing them.
Invisalign is available for both teenagers and adults. The average treatment plan lasts for about twelve months, but every plan is customized for the individual patient, so yours may be longer or shorter. We will work with you to create your own individual plan and keep you informed of the progress you are making.
Why Invisalign?
Invisalign has numerous advantages over traditional braces:
- Traditional braces require frequent appointments to tighten the wires and check the condition of the braces. With Invisalign, you simply switch to the next set of aligners, which are created according to the order of treatment laid out by you and your dentist.
- Braces can leave permanent marks on your teeth from the brackets. Even with good oral hygiene habits, plaque can still gather around the brackets and cause damage to the enamel of your teeth.
- Invisalign allows you to eat any foods you want without the restrictions on sticky or crunchy foods that are known for damaging the wires and brackets of traditional braces.
- The wires of traditional braces can poke at your mouth and cause pain and even injury. A broken wire often means an additional visit to your dentist or orthodontist.
Who Is a Candidate for Invisalign?
Are you concerned about crooked teeth? Do you have a prominent overbite or underbite?
Invisalign can treat these common problems and many others including:
- Protruding teeth
- Wide gaps
- Unusual spacing
- Crowding
- Open bite
- Crossbite
Caring for Invisalign
Practicing good oral hygiene habits while you are being treated with Invisalign is easy. Remove the aligners and brush and floss your teeth as usual. Brush your aligner and rinse with warm water or use the Invisalign cleaning kit to keep your aligners in good shape and free from bacteria.
Never use hot water to rinse or clean your aligners. The plastic could warp. If this happens, call our office immediately. You should also call our office if your aligner becomes cracked or is damaged in any other way. A cracked aligner will not correctly move your teeth and will impede your progress.
It’s important to always brush your teeth following a meal, before you replace your aligners. If you replace your aligners without brushing, not only could you cause bacteria to become trapped against your teeth, you could also cause staining and other damage to the aligners.
Please contact our office to find out more information. We are happy to schedule a consultation appointment so you can find out whether Invisalign is a good option for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Invisalign is a popular and amazing option to help straighten your teeth and improve the way you can bite. It is popular because it moves teeth without using the unsightly brackets and wires of traditional braces. We love Invisalign, and Invisalign can address quite a few orthodontic cases very impressively, but Invisalign may not be the best way to go in some instances. Sometimes conventional braces are needed. Sometimes, more advanced Invisalign treatments are required. As in any treatment option that may have multiple options, we will evaluate your problems and discuss the pros and cons of the various options. If it is an Invisalign case that we feel comfortable treating, we can move forward with your case in our office. If Invisalign isn’t a good option, or if it is a more advanced Invisalign case, we will refer you to an orthodontist so you get the best treatment possible.
When patients talk about “cosmetic dentistry” we are always interested to hear what people think that means. To us, dentistry has evolved to the point that we feel most services could be considered “cosmetic” as we use tooth colored filling material for almost everything. That said, many people consider cosmetic dentistry to include the use of porcelain crowns, porcelain veneers, bonded white fillings on front teeth, tooth whitening or bleaching, and white fillings on back teeth. And yes, we routinely perform all of these procedures. We also utilize Invisalign to help straighten your teeth, and dental implant restorations to restore a single tooth, multiple teeth, or even all of your teeth. In fact, we even feel the conventional dentures and removable partials we fabricate also fall into the cosmetic category as we not only use top labs and materials, but also take every extra step to ensure they look as realistic as possible. So yes, we do perform all of these cosmetic dental services, and we will discuss them with you, as well as present options and risks of treatment before we start your treatment. Give us a call to set up a consultation so we can see what can be done.
When people have chipped or worn teeth, it can result in esthetic concerns as well as produce discomfort of the teeth or joints. While patients want things fixed quickly, our first challenge is to determine the cause of the problem. We always want to know the cause because we want to prevent further breakdown of the teeth, as well as have long term success with any new restorations we may place. Sometimes the fix can be as simple as a filling, a crown or a veneer, while other times the optimal treatment may get more involved. We often see an underlying cause of tooth breakdown related to grinding or clenching teeth. When there is significant wear throughout, the restorative treatment to address this problem may involve a full rehabilitation of crowns on many, or even all teeth to re establish a normal alignment of the teeth. Other times we see an underlying cause that is orthodontic in nature and we need to treat the patient with orthodontics such as braces or Invisalign prior to any restorations. So, our “cosmetic” options will be determined by the problems we are presented with, and we will always show our patients X-rays, photos, and plaster models to explain our findings and recommendations prior to starting any treatment. If you have any concerns with chipping or wear, give us a call so we can see what options you may have to restore your optimal smile.
Meet Our Doctor:
Robert C. Clay Jr. DDS
Dr. Bob grew up on the far southeast side of Chicago. After graduating from St. Francis de Sales High School, he attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree, specializing in microbiology. Dr. Bob went on to attend the University of Illinois at Chicago Dental School where he received a second Bachelor’s Degree, a Bachelor of Science in Dentistry, followed by his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. Following graduation, he completed his state and national board exams and began practicing dentistry in ...
