The Benefits of Clear Aligners Over Traditional Braces
What Are Clear Aligners?
Using a series of clear aligners to straighten your teeth, each one only shifts your teeth slightly, so you need to “upgrade” them every two weeks. You’ll wear around 20 to 30 sets of aligners before your treatment is finished. Some patients need to wear more sets & others need to wear fewer. It all depends on your specific case!
It is a powerful tool for treating minor to moderate orthodontic problems. If your problem is severe enough, we may not be able to treat your case with clear aligners. Traditional metal braces are a reliable alternative that can correct most bite issues. To find out which treatment is best for you, please call for a consultation today!
Procedure Overview
- We will start by giving you a local anaesthetic to numb the area, if necessary. Numbing may not be necessary for very small fillings, but feel free to ask the dentist about it if you are concerned about discomfort.
- Next, the dentist will remove the decay using a drill.
- Once the decay is removed, the dentist may use the drill a little more to shape the tooth so the filling will fit better. The dentist may also etch the inner surfaces of the space with an acid gel to help the filling hold on better later.
- If the material used for the filling involves resin, the dentist may use a special bright light to harden it. At the very end of the procedure, we will polish to tooth to make it smooth & shiny like the rest of your teeth.
Clear Aligners vs. Traditional Braces
Procedure Overview
As your treatment progresses, each new set will have minor adjustments. You may notice that a new set doesn’t fit quite right at first. This is because your teeth need to shift to fit the aligner’s shape. It is a gradual process, so each aligner only moves a few specific teeth at a time. Your dentist or orthodontist will check up on your progress every few weeks & give you new sets of clear aligners based on your current progress.
The pressure from the aligner is strong enough to move most teeth, but some may need an extra push. Your dentist or orthodontist can add attachments to help guide your teeth into place. An attachment is made with a small dot of liquid bonding resin that is applied to a specific tooth & hardened with a special curing light. This dot helps make contact with the aligner, applying extra force to teeth that may not shift on their own. Adding & later removing this bonding resin is a simple process that doesn’t require any anesthesia.