If you have suffered from the negative effects on your self-esteem and happiness from uncomfortable or irregular teeth and jaws, braces can help to turn your hidden smile into a stunning straight grin, using a variety of options. The need for properly aligned teeth and jaws goes beyond simple aesthetic appeal, providing the individual with an effective bite, chew and fluency of speech, all contributing to your sense of comfort and happiness. Straight teeth also help to prevent physical health problems in the future, maintain healthy gums and improve your facial profile.
Orthodontic technology has come a long way in the last ten years. There are now available a whole new range of more aesthetically pleasing straightening devices that offer a much higher degree of discretion. By far the most discreet brace available is the Invisalign retainer. Introduced in 1999 by Align Technologies, the Invisalign retainer is a one millimetre thick plastic retainer that is designed to fit over the teeth making small adjustments. Each retainer is worn for a period of two to three weeks before a new retainer is used, again with a small adjustment. In all, an average of twenty retainers are used throughout the course of the treatment, although this varies on a patient-to-patient basis.
As most braces are fitted to patients in their teenage years, the level of discretion offered by Invisalign is invaluable. In the emotionally charged and difficult teen years nobody wants to stand out from the crowd, so a virtually invisible Invisalign retainer could be perfect for straightening teeth and retaining the patient’s confidence. Similarly for more mature patients keen to avoid the stigma attached to wearing braces at a later time in life, the Invisalign system can offer teeth straightening while maintaining the patient’s mature and professional appearance. One of the other major advantages of the Invisalign system is that the braces are completely removable. This means they can be taken out for meal times and important meetings or social occasions.
With recent advancements in the field of orthodontics, traditional methods such as brackets have undergone a change from the older ‘train-tracks’ of the past and can now be implemented smaller and are often clear in appearance, while treatment times have lessened, making the overall experience one that causes minimum interference to your life. If you are considering teeth straightening treatment, speak to your dentist about Invisalign braces.