Many people would love to “turn back the clock” and choose to wear braces when they were in their early teenage years. Most adults believe that they would look silly or unprofessional wearing braces, but braces are not the only option for aligning teeth. The Invisalign product acts exactly as traditional braces, only it is undetectable to the eye. Invisalign is a small plastic appliance that is worn for twenty hours each day over the course about a year.

What is involved in wearing Invisalign? There are around twenty thousand certified dentists and orthodontists in the United States who can provide the Invisalign products as treatment to their patients. During an initial consultation a dentist or orthodontist assesses whether the product will adequately address the extent of alignment needed. Crowded teeth, teeth with wide gaps in between, overbites, cross bites and teeth that have relapsed after removal of normal braces are the most suitable situations for Invisalign treatment. If the dentist determines that this would be a viable treatment approach, he/she will take a cast and photographs of the patient’s teeth and send them to Invisalign’s manufacturing facilities run by the company’s founding group, Align Technologies. The laboratory uses an advanced computer designing program to create from twenty to thirty aligning units for each patient. These aligners shift the teeth gradually .25 to .33 millimeters during every session into their ideal placement and are changed every two weeks for that purpose. The dentist or orthodontist retains the bulk of the aligners, and will dispense the next two aligners to the patient after reassessment.This ensures that the efficacy of the procedure and the equipment are properly monitored over the course of 12 months, and the best results are achieved.

Patients undergoing Invisalign treatment must wear this device for not less than twenty hours a day, and not eat or drink anything except water while wearing them. A patient should choose a dentist or orthodontist who is certified to use Invisalign products to treat their patients and attend regular check-ups. What happens to a patient who is not suitable for invisalign treatment? Conventional products are still available and are more likely to be recommended in more complicated alignment cases. Although they are not undetectable like the Invisalign products, traditional braces are considerably less bulky than in previous generations and work as effectively and quickly as Invisalign aligners. It is up to the dentist or orthodontist to determine the best treatment for any dental issues.