You’ve seen people with a perfect smile on advertisements and you just wish you could have that kind of smile. However, some of your teeth are crooked. If only they are straight, you will be able to have a perfect smile. If you have crooked teeth, you don’t have to fret because you can still wear braces to straighten them. Wearing braces doesn’t have to be painful, – it can be an easy and comfortable process if you opt for invisible braces.
Getting Your First Set of Invisible Braces
Invisible braces are clear aligner trays made with the impression of your teeth. There is one tray for the upper teeth and the other tray for the lower teeth. Just like traditional metal braces, you have to pay a visit to your local dental clinic to order new invisible braces. There is a lot of customization involved since the invisible brace is designed based on the patient’s teeth.
In the first appointment, your dentist will take down the measurements of your teeth and gum with a digital scanner. The measurement of your teeth and gum is stored in a digital document where the dentist can easily access. After that, the dentist will check your teeth and determine what alignment problem it has. Some of the common teeth misalignment problems are underbite, overbite, and malocclusion. The orthodontist will discuss the teeth alignment problem with the patient. Get more details at cliftonvilledental.co.uk.
The measurement information will be sent to a lab where they manufacture the aligner tray. High-quality thermoplastic material is used to manufacture the tray. It takes around 2 weeks for the tray to be manufactured. After that, you have to go to the dentist’s office to collect them. He will demonstrate to you how to put on the trays and see if you feel comfortable. After that, you will learn to put the trays on yourself.
How to Wear and Remove Invisible Braces?
After putting on the trays, you need to slightly bite on them so that they will be tightly fit around the teeth. Some dentists will provide aligner chewies to help the patient to wear the trays. You chew on these soft plastic tubes until the trays are in place. You will feel tightness around your teeth the moment you bite the aligner trays. The pressure is designed to push your teeth into position.
The tightness of the aligners means that they are fit comfortably around your teeth. The aligner trays are available in various colors. You will need to find a clear aligner margin on the tray. It is the spot for you to lift and remove it from the teeth. You can practice a few times in lifting off the tray from the margin spot until it becomes easy for you to remove it. You want to be skilled in removing the tray fast so that people don’t keep looking at you. When you see the dentist, you will receive a series of clear aligner trays.
How are the First Few Days of Wearing the Clear Aligners?
During the first few days, you will find yourself experiencing more salivation than usual. However, this is a normal symptom as you are introducing a foreign matter in the mouth. Some people don’t have salivation problems but they experience dry mouth. You should drink a lot of water if you have a dry mouth while wearing the trays. Most of the problems experienced by wearing clear aligners are temporary and easy to solve. If you face any problem with your aligners, you should meet with your doctor and consult him.
How to Take Care of Your Clear Aligners?
The trays can easily become damaged so you need to take steps to look after them. You simply add a cleaning tablet into a glass of lukewarm water and soak the trays in it. The crystals will kill the bacteria on the trays. You can also rinse your trays with tap water if you don’t have time to soak them. Before putting on the trays, make sure you have brushed your teeth. The aligners are made with thin polyurethane plastic and are susceptible to damages from extreme temperature. Therefore, you should always take your aligners out when you are drinking a hot beverage. Aligners need to be stored in their casing when they are not in use. They can become damaged if stored in bags or wrap around the tissue paper.
How to Wear Clear Aligners?
There are 3 ways to wear clear aligners including full-time, daytime, and nighttime. If you wear the aligners full time, you have to wear them for at least 22 hours a day for 2 weeks. So, it takes 308 hours of wearing to straighten the teeth. Your teeth will not stabilize if you are wearing less than 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, you can change to the next pair of aligners. Usually, the aligners will be identified with markings, for example, 1 or A means it is the first pair of aligners to wear among the lot. You should carry the previous aligners when you pay a visit to the doctor the next time.
You can wear it in day time only if you are not used to falling asleep with aligner trays. Day time wear method is suitable for people who have to wear CPAP devices at night. Another benefit of daytime wear is that it allows you to continue protecting your teeth while working on obtaining a perfect smile. If you choose this method, you will be increasing the length of the treatment by 50%.
The nighttime wear method involves wearing clear aligners at night. This method is suitable for people who don’t want to wear them during the daytime. Some people feel that wearing aligners interferes with their speech so they prefer not to wear them. Clear aligners are noticeable when people are looking very near. For this reason, you may not want to wear them during the daytime. It could also be that you find yourself drooling when wearing the aligners. Whatever your excuse is, you can opt for the daytime wear method as the solution.
