Not many people are blessed by Nature with beautifully wide, well aligned teeth. We yearn for them, and now we can have them with much less hassle and embarrassment, thanks to an innovative straightening system called Invisalign. In SW14, we can fit you with Invisalign at Sheen Dental.
In SW14, Invisalign is proving to be one of our most popular ways of straightening teeth because it gives more freedom and discretion than traditional metal ‘train track’ braces and even some other discreet straightening systems.
How does Invisalign work?
Invisalign works differently from the bracket and wire systems that most of us associate with teeth straightening. These exert a pulling force on the teeth to get them to move, whereas Invisalign uses a gentle push created by the use of a series of clear plastic mouth guard-style aligners.
These were the brainchild of a student at Stanford University in the USA, who was wearing his retainer at night to keep his newly aligned teeth in place and thought how much easier life would be if the retainer could also do the teeth straightening. The result is aligners that snap on over the teeth and hug them tightly. At 0.3 millimetres thick, they are as good as invisible once they are in place. Each patient is fitted for the aligners using digital scanning technology. This allows the whole process to be computer planned in advance and a certain number of aligners produced, each one an incremental step on the way to alignment.
Invisalign aligners should be removed when eating and drinking anything, with the exception of plain water. This is so as not to discolour, and hence render visible, the transparent aligners, but also for ease of use, allowing you to continue to eat whatever you like at meals without worrying about whether certain foods are going to get stuck. You must clean your teeth after every meal. You must also wear your aligners for at least 20 hours a day if you are going to stay on schedule with your treatment. You need to wear a retainer for some time after your treatment with Invisalign in SW14 is complete, to stop your teeth drifting out of line.