Invisalign Q & A

What is Invisalign?

Invisalign is a popular orthodontic treatment that corrects the alignment and spacing of your teeth using clear BPA-free plastic aligners instead of traditional metal brackets and wires. Dr. Sweeny uses Invisalign to address a variety of dental issues, including:

• Overbites, underbites, crossbites, and open bites
• Crowded teeth
• Gaps
• Crooked teeth

How does Invisalign treatment work?

Invisalign treatment begins with an assessment and examination of your teeth to ensure that Invisalign is right for you. Dr. Sweeny takes pictures of your teeth and uses imaging software to design your perfect smile and map out the migration of your teeth from their current positions to the corrected positions. This map is used to create your series of customized aligners, which guide your teeth through a series of small movements until they reach the correct position in your mouth.

You wear each set of aligners for two weeks before changing them for the next set in your series. Most people wear Invisalign aligners for nine to 18 months and go through approximately 36-72 sets of aligners. For the first several weeks of your treatment, you have biweekly appointments with Dr. Sweeny to change your aligners so she can check your progress and comfort.

Once Dr. Sweeny is satisfied your Invisalign treatment is going as planned, she sends two or three sets of aligners home with you and you change them yourself every two weeks. You still have checkups every four to six weeks for her to monitor your progress.

What are the benefits of Invisalign?

There are many benefits to choosing Invisalign orthodontic treatment, chief among them that the aligners are removable and invisible while being worn.

Removable aligners

You can take your aligners out for short periods of time to eat and clean your teeth. This means that you don’t have to give up your favorite foods, although since you need to clean your teeth before replacing your aligners, you may think twice about snacking. Also, since you can remove your aligners, you can brush and floss your teeth normally and don’t have to worry about food getting trapped like you would with traditional metal braces.

Invisible when being worn

Invisalign aligners are also virtually invisible when being worn. This means that you don’t need to put up with a mouth full of metal for months or even years of treatment. Unless someone looks very closely, they’ll never know you’re having orthodontic treatment.

Call or schedule a consultation online today to learn if Invisalign is right for you.