She crosses the room, although she’s a little nervous at first.
“Have they noticed?” she wonders to herself.
So far, nothing suggests that anyone around her realizes what’s happening. This helps her feel more relaxed.
When she decided to get orthodontic care at her age, she was worried that it might make professional and social situations awkward. Instead, she’s learned that Invisalign® has been a discreet, yet effective way to straighten her smile.
If you are an adult who is interested in having a straighter smile, Invisalign might be a great option for you, too. We can’t promise you will feel like a spy trying to hide a secret, but we can say that Invisalign has helped many patients feel more comfortable going through orthodontic treatment at our dentist office in Modesto, CA.
If you would like to set up a consultation at Sierra Dental Care, call (209) 575-2400 or contact us online today.
Orthodontics Aren’t Just For Teens Anymore
In truth, there have always been adults who underwent orthodontic treatments. The difference is that it’s more common today. How common do we mean?
According to a recent consumer update by the Food and Drug Administration, 1 in every 5 orthodontic patients is 21 or older. A big part of the reason for this is the development of better and more discreet treatment options.
When you see a 13-year-old wearing metal braces, you may just see it as a rite of passage for that child. When you see a 35-year-old or 45-year-old with braces, it may cause you to do a double-take. It might even become a distraction if you are having a meeting or a conversation with that person.
We’ve had patients who have told us they had no intention of wearing braces because they felt too old or too self-conscious to do so. Many of those same patients were excited to learn about Invisalign.
With Invisalign, you wear clear aligners, which are sort of like smaller, custom-fitted mouthguards. Each aligner is made of a transparent plastic, which means they blend in when you place them over your teeth.
This can help you feel more comfortable wearing them in personal, professional, and social situations.
How Invisalign Works
If you wore braces when you were younger or you had friends with braces, then you know that brackets are attached to your teeth. An archwire connects the brackets, and together they push and pull teeth into new positions.
Braces have to be tightened regularly to keep your teeth moving in the right directions to create your new smile.
Invisalign’s plastic aligners gently push your teeth a little bit at a time. You will need to wear the aligners at least 20 hours per day for the best results, and you will change aligners every few weeks.
The aligners are custom-made for each patient. Using computer-aided design, a series of aligners is created based on where teeth are and where you want them to be. Each time you change aligners, you will know you are taking a step closer to your new and improved smile.
You also probably noticed that we mentioned that you need to wear the aligners 20 hours per day. With braces, you have no choice but to wear them 24 per day, every day of your treatment. With Invisalign, you can remove the aligners during meals and to brush and floss your teeth. Many patients find this to be one of the biggest benefits of wearing “invisible braces.”
Good Candidates For Invisalign
If you are interested in having a straighter smile, then it’s definitely worth finding out if Invisalign might be a better option for you.
We wish we could say that Invisalign will work for everyone. The truth is this: the only way to know for certain if it could work for you is to let dentists, like our team at Sierra Dental Care, look at your mouth.
Invisalign will work for people with a wide range of mild and moderate alignment issues. Here are some examples:
► Overbites
► Open bites
► Underbites
► Gaps between teeth
► Crowded teeth
► Crooked teeth
If you are affected by any of these issues and you are ready to make a change to your smile, then you owe it to yourself to learn what Invisalign could do.
Make Your Appointment
Your first step to change your smile could be setting up a consultation with one of our dentists in Modesto, CA. You can call (209) 575-2400 or contact us online to request your appointment.