It is possible to have teeth straightened as adults.
The Invisalign product acts exactly as traditional braces, only it is undetectable to the eye. Invisalign is a small plastic accessory worn by the patient for twenty hours a day for about a year, by which time the teeth are straightened.
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.
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. A sophisticated computer designing program creates a series of aligning devices for each patient containing at least twenty to thirty sets. 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.
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. Results can be fantastic, especially in conjunction with other treatment, such as the case below which also included crown lengthening, veneers, and whitening.
It is essential that the treatment is applied by a dentist or orthodontist qualified to use Invisalign devices, and to meticulously followed by the dental practitioner to ensure optimal results.
What happens to a patient who is not suitable for invisalign treatment? Traditional corrective products are still used by orthodontists in the treatment of alignment problems, including the wire and metal braces for the more critical cases. While these devices are not invisible like the Invisalign aligners, they are much smaller than braces from the past, and can work just as quickly as the aligners.
A dentist or orthodontist is ultimately the best judge of any dental condition and the optimal method of treatment to be followed.