How does Invisalign work?

Invisalign® clear braces use a series of custom made invisible, removable and comfortable aligners to move your teeth into the correct position. The clear aligners move the teeth in increments until the desired result is achieved. This means you can still smile confidently during treatment.

Using 3D computer imaging technology, Invisalign® clear braces creates individual personalised aligners in the US using medical grade plastic.

Invisalign® clear aligners are worn for 2 weeks, 22 hours per day. The Invisalign® aligners are only removed for eating, drinking and brushing, after which you move onto your next pair of aligners that you wear for another 2 weeks. You keep going along until all Invisalign® aligners in your series are completed and you’ve completed your journey to straight teeth! As you replace each aligner, your teeth will move little by little each week until they have straightened to their final position that Specialist Orthodontist, Dr. Katyal has prescribed. This process is and technology is truly amazing on how Invisalign® works! Every 4-8 weeks, you’ll visit Clean Clear & Correct Smiles to ensure your treatment is progressing as planned and any adjustments are made.

How long does an Invisalign treatment take?

Treatment time depends on the severity of each person’s orthodontic condition and what their desired results are. Treatment with Invisalign clear aligners can be as soon as 6 months. In some cases where teeth need to straightened and the jaw to be moved into correct alignment, treatment can take up to 18-20 months.

Invisalign treatment times are similar to using conventional metal braces. Specialist Orthodontists are trained in deciphering the most ideal method to achieve the desired result using the most comfortable and aesthetic options. Invisalign clear aligners are comfortable, aesthetic and can achieve magnificent results more favourable than conventional braces when used by an expert in orthodontics.

Does wearing Invisalign affect speech?

It can, as with braces, there will be some mild initial speech changes which are very short-term. Your mouth is coming to terms with a new object when you first put in your Invisalign clear aligners. During this initial stage of getting used to your aligners, your speech is slightly affected. Some describe it as a slight “lisp”. This mild speech change resolves within 24-48 hours, so there is no need to panic. In fact, some patients take to the clear aligners immediately have don’t notice any changes to their speech. Talking as much as possible during the initial stage helps accelerate getting speech back to normal. To speed this process up, reading aloud will get you adjusted in n time.

Does Invisalign affect what you can eat?

Invisalign clear aligners are one of the only orthodontic systems that don’t effect your lifestyle. They comfortably blend in to your life without having a significant impact. So in terms of eating and your diet, nothing changes when you start Invisalign. You don’t need to make the same radical changes in diet as you would with conventional braces. With conventional braces you can’t bite into carrots or apples, you had to stay away from chewy sticky foods. Invisalign allows you to go about your life as before, it allows you to focus on your life and not on your teeth — that’s our job.
Just ensure you remove your Invisalign clear aligners before you eat — you shouldn’t eat with your aligners in. Drinking is the same thing, just take your aligners out if you’re drinking anything other than water. You want to make sure your clear aligners stay true to their name: clear. So if what you’re drinking isn’t clear then you need to take your aligners out. Invisalign clear aligners are easy: take them out when you eat or drink.

What does Invisalign look like?

Invisalign clear aligners look beautiful! They are discrete, clear, fresh and barely there. They look and fit just like contact lenses for your eyes. They can’t be seen from a distance but if you get uncomfortably close to the mouth, you can just make them out. Imagine, if someone you’re sitting next to is wearing contact lenses, you can’t see them but if you get a little closer and take notice of the eyes, you can see the contact lenses. This is exactly like Invisalign clear aligners. They are made of very sturdy clear medical grade plastic and they sit flush against the tooth. Some patients will have tooth coloured filling material attachments on their teeth; these help exert specific movements on the teeth. They look like small circles over the teeth, as they are tooth coloured there won’t be much if any at all impact on the aesthetics of the Invisalign clear aligners. If you are significantly conscious of potential attachments, let Dr Vandana Katyal know, in the hands of a Specialist Orthodontist, the attachments may be places behind the teeth to ensure utmost aesthetics.

Can Invisalign fix an overbite?

The beauty and genius of Invisalign clear aligners is that it can treat the very simple to the very complex. Overbite is a common orthodontic condition that affects many of us; this is where the top jaw comes over forward compared to the bottom teeth. This can have a negative impact on dental functionality, facial profile, muscular development and facial aesthetics. With a Specialist Orthodontist a treatment plan with Invisalign clear aligners is devised that can correct the overbite. Invisalign clear aligners have an elastics option, just as in the case of conventional metal braces, elastics are used with the Invisalign clear aligners to pull the lower jaw forward to fill in the missing space and correct the overbite. Invisalign clear aligners can completely correct an overbite and many other orthodontic bite conditions in the same way as conventional metal braces but with the added benefits of comfort, social confidence and aesthetics.

Is Invisalign treatment painful?

When you first get your Invisalign it will feel strange in your mouth. Your cheeks, gums and tongue are very sensitive and can feel every little abnormality in the mouth. So now that there are two plastic aligners in your mouth – your mouth will be in over-drive trying to adjust and get use to them in there. As effective as the mouth is in detecting new things, its very good at getting used to changes and healing itself. Its only a matter of time before you don’t even notice the aligners. As with all orthodontic treatments, when you first get your Invisalign clear aligners, your lips and mouth can get scratched and ulcerated while they get used to all the new things in your mouth. This doesn’t happen to everyone, patients have reported that they don’t get anything out of hand. CCC Smiles provide materials to manage areas that could be causing irritation. Regular pain medication such as Ibuprofen or Paracetamol are handy in helping adjust to your new clear aligners. It will go as soon as it came – the discomfort subsides within 24-48 hours decreasing consistently. Remember, you’re teeth are moving! There will be tension and some discomfort while they move. This is very normal. Your teeth can feel sore or sensitive, more likely in the first 2-3 days of wearing a new aligner after which the discomfort decreases as the teeth move into their new position. You might find it uncomfortable biting into hard foods and biting down initially. Again this is part of fun of treatment and will subside in the next couple of days. Soldier on – your teeth will look amazing in no time!

Is Invisalign worth it?

There is no significant price difference between Invisalign clear aligners and conventional braces. In the hands of a Specialist orthodontist, treatment outcomes are often no different between the two methods. If aesthetics, comfort and usability is important to you, Invisalign is worth every penny. It means you can fix any orthodontic problem whether small or complex without having to give up your social confidence, diet, and physical comfort to achieve the smile you want. Often times, we have a couple of teeth that are slightly out of place, we may think its not necessary to go through months of conventional braces just to fix something “small” but that might bother us. Frankly, it isn’t worth having to go through conventional metal braces (in often cases, again) to fix up minor orthodontic problems. With Invisalign clear aligners you can, at CCC Smiles we treat many patients who have undergone conventional metal braces in their teens but have had orthodontic relapse due to natural teeth movement or irregular retainer wear. It doesn’t take long and with Invisalign clear aligners you can discretely, aesthetically, and comfortably correct your teeth without sacrificing your lifestyle.

Want to find out more? Contact us today on 02 8058 9801

Want to find out more? Contact us today on 02 8058 9801 or book an appointment