Clear aligners are a less invasive method of teeth straightening and a great alternative to standard metal braces. Perhaps at a later age you have decided you would like to straighten your teeth, or maybe you just need to make a few tweaks to maintain a beautiful smile. While they achieve similar results to orthodontic braces, clear aligners work in a vastly different way.
Since their invention around 20 years ago, clear aligners have become a popular method for teeth straightening. But how do they work?
Clear aligners were created to improve the experience of teeth straightening, offering an almost invisible and removable alternative to braces. Aligner technology uses thin, transparent plastic shells to adjust teeth gradually. A series of manufactured aligners will be created from virtual models of your teeth to adjust them with each new aligner, and will often take between 10-50 aligners. They are changed at much shorter intervals than braces, usually every 1-2 weeks. You’ll need to wear your aligners for at least 22 hours a day to be effective. This gives you time to eat, brush and floss while the aligners are out.
How long it takes to achieve your desired smile will depend on the complexity of your bite. They can fix crowded teeth, overbites, underbites, open bites and diastema (gaps between the teeth). Although severe cases that are a bit more challenging may require conventional braces.
Your teeth will be shifted a little more each time you get a new aligner. Aligners are a bit more complex than just the plastic shells though. Attachments are used to create small pressure points on the teeth. These are tooth-coloured bumps that will be bonded to your teeth and help assert pressure from the aligners and push them in the right direction.
Over the 7-14 days that you wear an aligner it will be pushing your teeth into a different position. While your teeth may be in the right placement after one day, you keep wearing the aligner so that the ligaments connecting your teeth to the sockets can be shifted and adjust to the new position of your teeth.
Clear aligners are a great alternative to conventional orthodontics. You’ll be able to enjoy a brand new smile with less pain and limitations and it’s likely no one will even notice you’re having dental work done.
Looking for orthodontic services?
Manor Road Dental Practice offers clear aligners and Inman aligners to help you achieve a perfect smile. We offer a broad range of other dental services including cosmetic, hygiene and custom-fit mouthguards as well as facial aesthetics treatments and dental acupuncture. Contact us today to find out what we can do for you.