We hear this question at our Houston Orthodontic office almost daily. In most cases, we are happy to inform you that the answer to the question is “Yes!”
Invisalign treatment used to account for a very small percentage of treatments in the past, however, Invisalign has now become a major part of our practice. This has happened due to two primary reasons:
- Invisalign (aka Align Technology) is booming as a company. They are experts in marketing and position the product as an alternative to dental braces, especially for those who don’t want the appearance or in some cases, the discomfort of traditional braces.
- Over the last fifteen years, the team at Invisalign has made a commitment to improve their product through research and development. Consequently, we are able to tell many of our patients that their orthodontic goals can be accomplished with the same precision with Invisalign as with traditional braces. So the decision of whether to use braces or Invisalign is up the patient.
Let’s now talk about exactly how Invisalign technology works. Basically, Invisalign uses a series of clear aligners (similar to teeth whitening trays) that are custom fitted to each patient’s mouth. These clear aligners are required to be worn throughout the day and gradually work to shift teeth to their optimum position.
To create the Invisalign aligners, our Houston Invisalign office, uses the iTero scanner to map each patient’s teeth. The scan, which has zero radiation exposure, takes less than 20 minutes and completes a set of 60 images of your teeth, that when stitched together, provides a panoramic photo of all your teeth. When the scan is complete, we have a highly accurate digital model of your teeth that can be sent to Invisalign. In the past, creating Invisalign models required the patient to sit through uncomfortable and gooey impressions – with iTero technology, the uncomfortable impressions are a thing of the past.
After we send the digital models to Invisalign, we receive a virtual video of how the Invisalign aligners work to move your teeth to their perfect location. We share these videos with the patient so they can see the final result before they even wear their first aligner. We love the excitement in our patient’s faces when they see how their teeth move to the final exact position. Once the patient is happy with the proposed treatment, we order the aligners and get ready to make some incredible changes in our patients smile.
So there you have it, a walk through on how Invisalign is clearing the way for our patients to show off their perfect smile. We invite you to call our Houston Orthodontic practice and see how we can deliver a perfect smile using Invisalign and also Invisalign for Teens.