Fix Your Smile with Invisible Braces

If you need braces to correct or straighten out crooked teeth, you don’t have to dread wearing those unattractive metal wires. Thanks to technological advancements in dentistry, straighter teeth and a winning smile can now be achieved with invisible brace Richmond. 

Invisible braces provide an aesthetic alternative to traditional bracket or wire braces. They are clear, barely visible, and easily removable. Invisible braces are also called clear aligners or clear braces. They are made using advanced computer technology which can also predict tooth movement. This makes invisible braces effective in straightening teeth gradually with minimal discomfort.

Invisible braces can treat a wide variety of dental issues such as:

• Crowding – when teeth are too close together
• Overbite – teeth overlap each other
• Underbite – lower teeth stick out
• Crossbite – teeth bite on the wrong side of each other
• Openbite – your teeth don’t meet when you bite
• Overjet – the front teeth stick out
• Misplaced midline – centre lines of lower and upper teeth don’t align
• Spacing – gaps between teeth
• Crooked teeth

Invisible braces are primarily designed for older teenagers and adults, and aren’t recommended when one still has baby teeth. Children and younger teens with orthodontic problems are required to use traditional metal braces. It’s recommended that they see a children’s dentist Richmond. Consult your private dentist Richmond or a quality NHS dentistry Richmond to determine whether you are a right candidate for invisible braces. 

Advantages of invisible braces over traditional metal braces

• The wires are small and tooth-coloured, which means they’re discreet and not easily visible to the naked eye.
• Discomfort is very minimal, since the teeth are gently repositioned and no extra pressure is exerted on the teeth.
• Treatment time is reduced up to 75%--typically 6-15 months compared to traditional braces which can take up to two years. 
• The cost of treatment is more affordable than traditional braces. 

Types of Invisible Braces

Clear aligners

 

Clear aligners are currently the most popular type of invisible braces, represented by well-known quality brands like Invisalign by Align Technologies and ClearCorrect by ClearCorrect Inc. Clear aligners are a series of custom-made clear, removable aligners that fit into your teeth to provide pain and irritation-free treatment with only minimal adjustment discomfort. Being nearly invisible, clear aligners are aesthetically more attractive compared to traditional metal braces. They are also minimally invasive, apply gentle pressure on your teeth, and are resistant to staining from daily wear. Clear aligners do not include any brackets, wires, or sharp edges that can graze, poke, or damage the inside of your mouth. You can remove them before eating, drinking, brushing, and flossing, and then reapply them without so much fuss. 

The only problem is that since they’re removable, one might easily lose motivation or forget to wear them consistently. This can also lead to the possibility of misplacing or losing them. If you lose them, you’ll need to have them replaced and this will incur extra cost. Although generally comfortable to wear, there might be slight pain or discomfort especially during the first time wearing them. As you progress with your treatment, the discomfort would gradually fade. 

Your dentist will first take three-dimensional impressions of your teeth and send them to the manufacturer’s laboratory to create your custom-fit clear aligners with the use of computerised technology. Once they’re made, they’re sent back to your dentist where you can try them on and assess if the fit is right. Clear aligners are made in sets. The number of aligners you need to use would depend on the severity of your orthodontic problem. Your dentist will instruct you to wear each aligner for a specific duration and he will also be the one to provide you with your next aligner set during your scheduled appointments. 

Only manufacturer-certified and trained dentists and orthodontists can provide you with clear aligners. They may also require special care and maintenance so listen to your dentist’s instructions and follow them to the letter.   

Ceramic brackets 

Ceramic braces are like traditional metal braces; the only difference is that it has tooth-coloured brackets or tooth-coloured wires instead of metal that straighten out teeth. They are made of composite materials. The tooth-coloured ceramic material blends with the natural colour of your teeth, which make them less visible than metal braces. However, they’re not as “invisible” like clear aligners or inside braces. Ceramic brackets are bigger than metal ones and include ligatures or small rubber bands. These act as built-in spring clips on self-ligating brackets that connect them to the arch wire. The ligatures are clear and changed every time you go back to the dentist to have them adjustment, which is usually on a monthly basis. They require a longer treatment time since they’re structurally weaker than metal braces. 

Like metal braces, ceramic brackets cannot be removed until treatment is final. Only your dentist can remove your ceramic brackets. Wearing them can also cause discomfort, irritation, and difficulties in eating, drinking, speaking, tooth brushing, and flossing. 

Inside braces 

Inside braces, or iBraces, are called so because they are attached to the back of the teeth, hiding them from plain sight. One well-known brand is Incognito Orthodontic Braces by 3M. iBraces use digital images of the interior of the teeth to create computer-designed custom brackets. These brackets attach to the insides of the upper and lower teeth. This makes them appealing for those who do not want the sensation of wearing ceramic brackets, metal wires, or clear aligners in front of their teeth. iBraces are fixed and non-removable. They can be used in combination with elastics to help speed up treatment. 

iBraces are more expensive than traditional braces and clear aligners since computer customisation and specialised equipment is used to create the brackets. Also, the techniques used in making and applying inside braces are still fairly new, and only a few orthodontists are experienced in it.