Having crooked teeth or a misaligned bite (malocclusion) affects the balance and symmetry of your appearance. It can also cause painful conditions like temporomandibular joint dysfunction. Additionally, crooked teeth can harm your oral health by making it more difficult to keep your teeth adequately clean. As a result, individuals with crooked teeth are at an increased risk of tooth decay, dental caries (cavities), and periodontal disease (gum disease).
Unfortunately, many patients decide to live with crooked teeth and malocclusion because they don’t want to go through orthodontic treatment with traditional, metal braces and because they have heard a whole host of incorrect information about treatment with Invisalign. Invisalign, however, is an excellent alternative to metal braces, and we are here to set the record straight by debunking seven common Invisalign myths.
The Truth About Invisalign: 7 Invisalign Myths Debunked
- Invisalign Costs More Than Braces
The truth is treatment with Invisalign and traditional braces cost about the same. The primary factors that determine total treatment costs are more strongly related to a patient’s orthodontic needs, the complexity of the treatment, length of treatment, and individual insurance coverage. If you are concerned about treatment costs, our team can talk with you about your insurance and provide you with an estimate for your orthodontic treatment plan.
- Invisalign Is Only for Adults
Invisalign is commonly recommended to adults because the success of the treatment depends upon the individual’s ability to adhere to the treatment plan and schedule. Although they are removable for meals and oral hygiene, Invisalign aligners must be worn for 22 hours every day.
That being said, Invisalign provides treatment courses specially designed for teens. These special aligners come with color-coded use indicators that fade from blue to clear to help teens (and parents) make sure the aligners are worn for the prescribed 22 hours each day. Additionally, the aligners come with unique specifications to accommodate growing patients’ changing jawbones and development. Plus, Invisalign for teenagers includes spare aligner trays – just in case an aligner is accidentally tossed at lunchtime.
- Invisalign Can Only Address Minor Orthodontic Issues
While some cases can be better addressed with traditional braces, Invisalign can address a wide array of more complicated orthodontic issues such as:
- Crooked teeth
- Crowded teeth
- Tooth gaps
- Crossbite
- Overbite
- Underbite
- Open bite
Invisalign aligner trays are customized to each patient’s needs, and the aligner trays can be designed with special attachments for rubber bands and other orthodontic features.
- Invisalign Will Give You a Lisp
Lots of patients choose not to treat their orthodontic issues because they worry that Invisalign will affect the way they speak, giving them a lisp. While this is true to some extent, the fact is that all types of orthodontic appliances can affect the way you speak. This is not unique to Invisalign.
While Invisalign can have a slight impact on your speech, it does not affect everyone in the same way. Also, as long as patients continue wearing and speaking with their aligner trays in, they typically adjust after a couple of days and see their speech return to normal.
- Treatment With Invisalign Is Slow
Treatment with Invisalign and treatment with traditional braces require about the same amount of time for any patient. The length of treatment depends much more significantly on the complexity and severity of the patient’s case. In other words, the farther the teeth need to be moved, the longer the treatment will take.
Orthodontic treatment with Invisalign (or traditional braces) can take anywhere from a few months to two years, depending on the patient’s needs.
- Treatment With Invisalign Is Painful
Treatment with both braces and Invisalign work by putting slight pressure on the teeth to gradually shift them into their desired locations and alignment. This pressure can cause a bit of discomfort and slight pain at first. This discomfort is experienced every time a patient has their braces adjusted or every time a patient starts wearing the next aligner tray in their treatment schedule. The discomfort, however, is usually minor and goes away after a day or two.
Invisalign is generally considered to be less painful than traditional braces because the trays are made from smooth plastic that is gentle on the mouth’s soft tissues. Traditional, metal braces can lead to sores and cuts on the tongue, lips, and cheeks, but Invisalign will not.
- Invisalign Aligners Become Stained and More Noticeable
Invisalign aligners can be removed and brushed clean. Additionally, each set of trays is usually only worn for about two weeks at a time. As a result, the trays do not have time to become stained and discolored before the patient moves on to the next, perfectly clear set.
Find Out If Invisalign Is Right for You: Request a Consultation With Our Roseville Dentist
If you’re looking for an orthodontist in Roseville who offers teeth straightening with Invisalign, look no further than BB Dental Studio. Our Roseville family dentist, Dr. Sara is experienced in providing orthodontic treatment with Invisalign to adults and teenagers. Dr. Sara can talk with you about all of your smile and oral health concerns and help you determine the course of orthodontic treatment that will work best for you and your lifestyle.
To learn more about treatment with Invisalign in Roseville, we welcome you to contact our office today.
