Invisalign® in Holmdel, NJ
If your teeth are crooked, you may wonder what your options are for straightening them. For minor or moderately crooked teeth, braces can be the wrong solution. Instead, clear aligners, like Invisalign®, maybe the best option for older teenagers and adults.
How Clear Aligners Work
To straighten crooked teeth, they need to move either slightly to properly line up, or they may need to shift drastically, depending on their positions. If the teeth are overcrowded and not just misaligned, then one or two may need extracting to create more room for the other teeth.
Clear aligners come in a set of tight-fitting plastic mouthpieces that slip onto your teeth to move them. Our dentists at Dipika T Shah, DDS, LLC in Holmdel each have years of experience measuring the inside of mouths and taking impressions of teeth to ensure that aligners will be tight enough to do their job.
How Long do Aligners Stay in Place?
Invisalign® comes in a series of thermoplastic trays, each of which stays in place for about two weeks before being changed to a tighter tray to gradually move your teeth. When it’s time for a new one, you will be able to remove the old tray and insert the new one yourself.
A set consists of about three to four trays at a time, and when you’re on the last one, you will need to make an appointment to have your dentist examine your teeth to ensure they’ve moved enough to go onto the next set. If they haven’t, then the dentist will need to take new impressions of your teeth to get you a set of refinement trays.
Refinement trays, which Invisalign® includes in the total price of the aligners, will finish moving your teeth into place before you move onto the next set of trays. Each tray stays in your mouth for about 22 hours a day, so you can remove them to eat and brush your teeth.
Completing the Process
When you finish wearing the last set of aligners, a retainer will need to go onto your teeth to complete the straightening process. When you come to Dipika T Shah, DDS, LLC in Holmdel to get your teeth straightened, our dentists, who are well-trained in how Invisalign® aligners work, will discuss the process and help you get started on improving your teeth to create a gorgeous smile.