If you’ve been considering Invisalign®, you’ve likely been told wonderful things by someone who had a great experience using this product. That’s great! Still, there is a tendency to downplay the rigour of oral health habits required to make Invisalign® a positive experience.
In order to understand Invisalign® at Lotus Dental Wellness in Edmonton from all angles, let’s first talk about who should consider it and who should wait.
Who is a good candidate for Invisalign®?
A good candidate for Invisalign® will have all their adult teeth. Your dentist will consult with you before proceeding with the process in order to really determine whether your teeth will be well-served by Invisalign® aligners. This involves taking a 3D digital X-ray of your teeth (digital emits very low radiation) and reviewing the images with you. At our dental clinic in West Edmonton, this is our first step.
The only reason to skip this step is if your family dentist in Edmonton is aware of contraindications in your oral health profile. For example, patients who grind or clench their teeth at night will likely crack their aligners since they are so thin. Certain restorations may not tolerate Invisalign®, and some presentations of the teeth are more successfully aligned with metal braces.
Yes, it’s true. Mild and moderate misalignment of the teeth is generally treated well with a course of Invisalign® therapy, but very crooked teeth will need more ‘muscle’. Metal braces offer better treatment for severe problems with alignment and bite.
What if I see the best dentist in Edmonton at the best dental clinic?
We sympathize with the disappointment of finding out that Invisalign® in West Edmonton isn’t a good option for you. Unfortunately, the outcome is not likely to change by switching your Edmonton dentist because the problem is capability of the product rather than skill of the practitioner. Instead, we recommend that we proceed with a conversation about the particulars of your alignment concerns and how either traditional braces or cosmetic dentistry could help improve your satisfaction with your smile. There are many dentists in westside Edmonton who perform cosmetic services, but if you can see the same dentist that you know and trust to do your regular dental checkups, all the better.
What does a day-in-the-life of an Invisalign® patient involve?
As a dentist in west Edmonton, this is where the rubber hits the road as far as patients who will or won’t go ahead with the Invisalign® program. And this is an important one, since making promises you can’t keep could harm your teeth in this case:
Our fictional patient, Kelly, is a marketing manager at a small firm where she works with an intimate team. Kelly loves the idea of being able to straighten her teeth without the burden of the metal braces esthetic. It took her a few days, but she’s into a routine, now.
Kelly wears her aligners all night and removes them before breakfast. She has her food and coffee, then goes immediately to brush and floss her teeth. She gives her aligners their daily clean, and pops them back in until the next meal where they will be removed for her sandwich and drink of choice. Before going back to her desk, however, Kelly makes her dentist in westside Edmonton proud. You guessed it – she brushes and flosses her teeth before her aligners go back in. She has stopped snacking as much these days since the need to brush afterward feels too inconvenient. At night, Kelly wears her aligners again – for a total of 22 out of 24 hours.
Can’t I just brush and floss at the beginning and end of each day?
Invisalign® requires really strict cleaning routines because of their method of action. The aligners place pressure on different areas of the teeth to move them over time, and in order to allow this to happen the aligners need a tight, rigid fit over your teeth. The downside of this? Any amount of acid, plaque and food debris will break down under the aligners and attack the teeth because there’s nowhere else to go. This puts you at risk for gingivitis, gum disease, cavities and discomfort due to an unsanitary routine.
Once you decide to go forward with the program, your dentist in West Edmonton will order your series of aligners and provide you with a schedule of when to change to the next set and when to come in for follow-ups. If you are a good candidate for Invisalign® and you stick to a great cleaning routine, you are likely to come out of the program with a perfectly aligned smile and a healthy eating routine that snacks much less than it used to. To get started, talk to your Edmonton Dentist or call Lotus Dental Wellness today.