‘Invisible’ Orthodontics For A Conveniently Enhanced Smile In Burton

With modern tooth straightening methods, there is no reason to put off improving your smile.

If you have a problem with your teeth not being as straight as you would like them to be, there is a reasonable chance that you may have considered having orthodontic treatment, but then dismissed the idea. There are three common reasons why some people tend to do this.

1 – Cost
2 – Length of time the treatment can take
3 – The visibility of traditional dental braces

In today’s blog, we will take a look at how we can help our Burton patients by looking at these three things in turn, with particular focus on the third point.

Cost

In the UK, orthodontic treatment is only generally available on the NHS for patients under the age of 18 and where there is clinical need, and not for cosmetic purposes. This means that you will need to pay privately in most cases. To help our patients spread the cost of treatment, we offer a range of payment plans to enable as wide a range of people as possible to have this braces treatment if they so desire.

Long treatment period

Orthodontic treatment can take a year or more to complete, depending on the nature of the problem. Where only minor corrections need to be made to cosmetically improve your smile, there are a range of discreet orthodontic braces available for this purpose too. Unlike the type of general orthodontics we will be looking at shortly, these newer methods use the ‘wires and brackets’ approach to tooth straightening, albeit using tooth coloured materials to make them less visible, instead of older style metal braces which are darker in colour and therefore more noticeable..

The orthodontics we will be looking at next don’t necessarily shorten the treatment time compared to old style braces, but they do make life much easier while doing so. As we touched on earlier, the biggest barrier to wearing braces for many people is the fact that they are usually very visible. Let us take a look at how ‘invisible’ orthodontics enable you to have an even smile without that particular problem, as well as offering some other benefits as well.

Discreet teeth straightening

When the previously mentioned barriers to receiving orthodontic treatment have been overcome, perhaps the biggest hurdle for many still remains. That is the fact that traditional teeth braces tend to be very visible while being worn. As these are fixed into the mouth using wires and brackets, they can’t be removed for social occasions or any other reason. Anyone deciding to have teeth straightened using this method really does need to commit to it.

For many years, this has been a problem for patients and has led to many simply accepting that their teeth will have to remain crooked. Now, at the SG Dental and Implant Centre in Burton, we are happy to be able to tell you that you CAN now have your teeth straightened in a much more discreet way by using Invisalign orthodontics.

The Invisalign ‘revolution’

So, what is it that makes Invisalign orthodontics different to traditional ‘train track’ braces?  Quite simply, they don’t use metal at all and there are no wires or brackets used to apply pressure to the teeth in order to straighten them. Let us take a look then at how this method works. Following your consultation at our local clinic, we will take scans and impressions of your teeth. These will be used to produce the ‘trays’ that will be made and also to determine the final position of your teeth upon completion of the treatment.

The trays are made from a medical grade plastic and fit directly over your teeth. The scans etc not only work to reposition your teeth but to do so as comfortably as possible. You will receive a number of these trays and you use them in a numbered series. The first set of trays that you fit onto your teeth will start the journey of gently directing your teeth just a little towards the end position. This process must be done gradually as too much pressure can cause discomfort and could potentially even cause damage to your teeth.

Once the first tray has achieved its aim, you then simply remove it and place the next set. This continues until your teeth are finally positioned correctly, leaving you with a nice even smile. The time this will take depends on your situation and our dentists will be able to offer advice on this.

As the trays are made from a thin translucent material, they will be barely visible to those around you, enabling you to feel confident when out in public. This is one of the main appeals of this method but there are other benefits too.

The trays are designed to be removable by the patient. This should only be done when you are eating and for cleaning your teeth. This means that you can eat whatever you want and don’t have to worry about foods like spinach getting stuck in the wires and brackets; an issue which could also lead to tooth decay. You can eat what you want and then clean your teeth to remove any food and bacteria before replacing the trays.

If you have teeth that are crooked or protrude and would like to see if Invisalign would be a suitable method for you, we are happy to help you. The best way for us to be able to do this is during an initial consultation. You can book yours by calling the SG Dental and Implant Clinic on 01283 845345. We look forward to helping you.