Can Invisalign® Help My Teeth?

Invisalign® is a popular alternative to braces. Whether you’re a teen or an adult, you can benefit from wearing Invisalign if you have certain issues that braces can fix. In some cases, major improvements can be seen in as little as six months.

Here, Dr. Thomas D. Sokoly of Sokoly Dental gives insight to help you understand if Invisalign might be right for you.

How Invisalign works

Invisalign is a custom-made system designed to perfectly fit your mouth that begins with a Sokoly team member taking a mold of your mouth, which then goes to a lab. Next, the lab technicians  create a series of clear thermoplastic aligners for you to wear. 

When your aligners come back from the lab, you come in for instructions on how to wear them, which involves wearing each set for about two weeks.

The key to success 

In many ways, the success of Invisalign depends on your habits. You’ll get the best results from Invisalign wearing the aligners for as many hours a day as possible. You should only take them out long enough to eat and drink and also to clean them. 

We usually recommend that after you complete all of your Invisalign aligners, that you wear a retainer for about a year. You want to keep that new smile in place!

The conditions Invisalign can help

Invisalign can help many dental conditions — even ones you might not expect. Here’s a list of some dental conditions Invisalign can help:

Crowded teeth

Unless your teeth are so crowded that we need to remove one or more teeth surgically, this condition can usually be corrected by braces or Invisalign.

Gaps between your teeth

If you have a gap between your teeth, you don’t have to try to rock the look. You can wear Invisalign and close the gap, usually in less than a year.

Overbite

This condition, in which the upper jaw protrudes too much over the lower jaw, is often fixable with Invisalign.

Underbite

This condition, in which the lower jaw protrudes over the upper jaw, is also often fixed with Invisalign.

Crossbite

This condition occurs if part of your teeth are misaligned with the top ones, unlike an underbite or overbite, which affects all of your teeth.

This isn’t just a cosmetic issue, either; it can actually cause mouth and jaw pain (which can be severe) and even frequent headaches. Yes, Invisalign can fix this, too, which can also take away any pain this condition might experience.

Open bite

An open bite is another dental condition that like the others, falls into a category we call malocclusions. An open bite is a misalignment of the upper and lower jaw, but it often fits a certain pattern. Some of the most common open bite issues develop from sucking your thumb for a long time.

Invisalign can sometimes fix an open bite, but it really depends on its severity. In more severe cases, you may need to meet with an oral surgeon.

If you’d like to talk with Dr. Sokoly about Invisalign and find out if you’re a good candidate, book a consultation today. Contact the Washington, DC office or make an appointment online now.