Invisalign® in Lake Geneva

Invisalign vs Braces

Braces work by cementing metal brackets to the teeth and connecting them with metal wires. These brackets and wires apply pressure to the teeth that slowly shift them from a crowded, crooked, or misaligned position to a straighter and more aligned one. Every so often, your dentist tightens these brackets to adjust the pressure so the teeth continue shifting closer to their target position.

Invisalign works by fitting custom-made, clear and removable plastic trays to the teeth. Every so often, the dentist will trade the current set of trays for the next set in the series, each one shaped slightly differently in order to further shift the teeth toward the target position.

The main differences of Invisalign vs braces, then, are their visibility invisibility, comfortableness, and how they shift teeth. They also differ in that Invisalign aligners are removable while braces are not. This makes Invisalign aligners much less cumbersome to clean and allows your teen to clean their teeth and gums more easily and thoroughly.

Who Can Get Invisalign?

Invisalign treatment is available for adults and teens but not children. They are available for people who have mild or moderate dental alignment problems like simple spacing or crowding issues or a minor bite issue. If a patient has more severe dental problems, a more complex form of treatment may be necessary.

For more information about whether your teen can get Invisalign in Lake Geneva, contact Lake Geneva Pediatric Dentistry anytime.

Also note, if you’re considering getting Invisalign aligners for your teenager, think about whether your teen can correctly wear and care for them.

The Way Invisalign Works

Invisalign dentists formulate a treatment plan unique to each patient based on a preliminary consult, a full oral examination and dental X-rays and digital dental scans. From there, the Invisalign dentists order custom-fit aligners, then fit them to the patients’ mouths and show them how to place, remove, and clean them. Over the course of a series of aligners switched out every one to three weeks, the patients’ teeth will shift into their new positions incrementally over time.

How Best to Care for Your Teen's Invisalign Aligners

To get the most out of Invisalign aligners and keep your teen's mouth as healthy as possible during treatment, there are some general guidelines to follow. The first is to continue their daily dental hygiene regimen as normal; the only difference is that your teen must remove the aligners before brushing and flossing and must clean the aligners as well as their mouth.

Your teen can also protect the aligners by avoiding chewing gum and tobacco use of any kind. Because the Invisalign trays are made of plastic, gum can stick to them and tobacco or tobacco smoke can stain them.

Invisalign treatment is most effective when your teen follows the dentist's instructions completely, including wearing the aligners all the time, waking and sleeping, and only taking them out to eat and to floss and brush their teeth.

How Much Time Treatment With Invisalign Takes

The length of your teen's Invisalign treatment will be unique to their needs and objectives. It all depends on how severe the misalignment is to be corrected and how complex the treatment will be that's required to correct it. Most treatment plans take from 10 to 24 months. After treatment, however, most Invisalign dentists recommend wearing Invisalign retainers so their teeth won’t just naturally shift back into their prior positions.

Why Invisalign Is Worth the Cost

Straightening your teen's teeth isn't only about giving them a more attractive smile and the self-esteem that comes with it; it's also about improving and maintaining their oral and overall health.

Misalignment of the teeth and jaw can detrimentally impact how your teen speaks and eats. Over time, uncorrected misalignment can worsen and cause other problems. For example, difficulty eating properly can affect your teen's diet, which in turn can affect their health. It can also be harder for them to clean their mouth thoroughly with misaligned teeth, causing food debris to settle, bacteria to build up, and plaque, tartar, tooth decay, and gum disease to develop.

The Price of Invisalign

The Invisalign cost will vary according to each patient’s unique case. Most Invisalign cost concerns can be ameliorated, however, by a variety of programs. Invisalign insurance, for example, may be a part of your overall dental insurance policy. If you have a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), you can apply some of those funds toward your teen's Invisalign treatment. If you come to Lake Geneva Pediatric Dentistry for Invisalign in Lake Geneva, you can also arrange for a payment plan that breaks down the overall Invisalign cost into several smaller, more reasonable monthly payments.