If you want to rapidly straighten your teeth in the safest and most comfortable manner, then clear aligners might be the solution for you. At its core, you can think of a clear aligner as a cross between a mouth guard, a retainer, and a bleaching tray.
How Do Clear Aligners Work to Straighten Teeth?
When people talk about orthodontics and straightening teeth, you might envision individuals spending years wearing shiny metal brackets connected by wires and rubber bands—and how you wouldn’t want to be one of them!
Clear aligners work by moving your teeth a little bit at a time with multiple aligner-like devices. When we treatment plan your case, we note the starting position of your teeth and plan the final, straight position of your teeth. Using this data, we are able to fabricate a set of custom aligners for you to wear. Each aligner is slightly different from the previous one and is designed to gradually move your teeth into the final, straight position. In this manner, we are able to provide our patients with straight teeth with a shorter treatment time and without the need to have metal braces placed or spend dozens of visits with the orthodontist.
What Do Invisible Aligners Treat Compared to Braces?
Aligners are excellent for treating cosmetic dental issues such as rotated teeth, crooked teeth, overlapping teeth, or teeth that are too far forward or backward. Aligners are not intended to replace traditional braces or orthodontic treatment for patients who have very complex treatment needs.
Here are general examples of treatments we can provide with clear aligner therapy:
Orthodontic Relapse
For patients who have lost their retainers and need small adjustments to get their teeth back to where they were when they were wearing their retainers.
Cosmetic Adjustments
For patients who need small teeth movements to get a better fit for implants, veneers or other esthetic dental procedures.
Crowding
As we grow older, our teeth tend to crowd – especially in the front of the lower jaw. Teeth aligners are a great way to fix the positioning of these teeth.
Diastema Closure (spaces/gaps in the teeth)
A diastema is a space in between the teeth, and we use this term to refer to spaces, for example, in between the two front teeth.
Does Dental Insurance Cover Aligner Treatment?
Insurance may or may not cover the cost or part of the cost of treatment. Certain dental insurance plans have provisions for orthodontic treatment, while others do not. We will be happy, however, to help you determine if your dental benefits include coverage for aligners.
What is the duration of clear braces treatment?
Aligners are designed to achieve teeth straightening in months – instead of years as with traditional braces.
How Long Can You Remove Your Aligners At a Time?
We recommend that patients wear their clear aligners all the time – except when they are eating or brushing and flossing. If you are able to wear your aligners for around 22 hours each day, we are usually able to have you advance to the next one in around two weeks – and get you that much closer to straighter teeth.
Are you Ready to Have Straighter Teeth?
Call our Hanford, CA, dental office today to make an appointment with Dr. Nagrani and get on the road to straighter, healthier teeth.