Few people are born with perfectly straight teeth. While no one wants to deal with braces, they’re an effective solution for an array of common dental issues.
Luckily, modern dental technology has produced sleeker braces than the traditional ones you might be thinking of. ‘Invisible braces’ are more accessible than ever, enabling patients to glean the many benefits of braces without the usual comfort and aesthetic issues.
Braces: an Overview
Misaligned jaws, crooked teeth, crowding, missing teeth, and bad bites (also called malocclusion) are all common reasons to pursue braces. These issues can be inherited genetically or caused by physical factors like thumb-sucking or injuries.
Children between the ages of 10 and 14 are typical candidates for the solution, as their facial structures are still developing. As many as 25-50% of children will need braces at some point in their childhood.
Adult braces are less common, but can still be utilized with additional procedures.
What Are Invisible Braces?
Invisible braces realign the teeth with a minimal appearance. Unlike traditional braces – which involve bonding brackets onto each tooth and attaching wires – invisible braces are designed to be as unnoticeable to other people as possible.
This makes invisible braces a popular option for adults!
Invisible Braces Treatments
A few different types of orthodontic treatments involve invisible braces.
- Ceramic or Clear Braces: like traditional braces, ceramic and clear braces use brackets, wires, and elastics. However, the materials are clear or tooth-colored to hide their appearance as much as possible.
- Clear Aligners: clear aligners like Invisalign involve a series of custom-made trays that shift teeth over time as patients progress through them. Although they can be removed for eating and drinking, patients must commit to wearing them 20-22 hours a day.
- Lingual or Damon Braces: Lingual braces are similar to traditional braces or clear braces, but they’re placed on the inside of the teeth instead of the front of the teeth. They’re nearly invisible, but can cause discomfort for some patients.
The Smile Dailey team will work closely with you to assess your needs and plan a path forward!
Aesthetic and Comfort with Invisible Braces
The #1 reason to pursue invisible braces is in the name: they’re nearly invisible. This perk enables patients to address oral health issues without the shame or stigma they might feel while wearing adult braces.
Comfort is another major factor for invisible braces. For Invisalign in particular, patients often feel empowered to eat, drink, and care for their teeth as they would without braces. However, discomfort is still expected when adjusting to the pressure of a new tray.
Clear braces and lingual braces have similar comfort levels to traditional braces. Lingual braces can even take some getting used to, as their placement on the backside of the teeth can change the way patients eat and speak.
It’s also important to be aware that adult braces treatment typically takes longer than children’s. People can expect to wear them for more or less than two years, depending on the treatment you choose and the severity of your issues.
Braces aren’t the most comfortable procedure, but our team looks forward to developing a treatment plan that aligns with your individual needs.
Hygiene and Invisible Braces
As with traditional braces, hygiene is an important element of successful invisible braces treatment.
People who wear braces and lingual braces must be diligent about ensuring food particles and other debris don’t get trapped in the brackets and wires.
People who wear Invisalign must also be diligent about removing their trays for any food and drink other than water. They also must clean their trays once or twice per day.
For anyone with any form of braces, daily oral hygiene such as brushing, flossing, and rinsing are a necessity. Some people with orthodontic appliances can benefit from using water picks, which emit small pressurized bursts of water that can effectively rinse away such debris.
Another caveat: Braces and sticky foods don’t mix. Crunchy snacks and chewy substances should be avoided at all costs because they can cause orthodontia to be loosened or damaged.
Our team will always be available between appointments to answer any hygiene questions!
Other Solutions: Space Maintainers
Space maintainers are nifty devices that can help teeth grow normally following premature tooth loss, injury, or other problems.
If your child loses a baby tooth early through decay or injury, his or her other teeth could shift and begin to fill the vacant space. When your child’s permanent teeth emerge, there’s not enough room for them. The result is crooked or crowded teeth and difficulties with chewing or speaking.
Space maintainers – which are nearly invisible – can help ensure that proper spaces are maintained to allow future permanent teeth to erupt.
