During adulthood, it may feel like the time for corrective orthodontic treatment has long passed and that perhaps going the long and arduous route of dental implants is now the only solution to getting a perfectly straight smile. However, Invisalign presents a quick and mostly painless option for correcting crooked teeth, and in some cases malocclusion, (which is having problems with bite), using a completely invisible and fairly fast-acting clear aligner.
Adults in the workplace
It can be difficult to take someone seriously when they’re standing in front of a group of professionals trying to give a presentation, while looking like a high school student with a full set of metal braces in their mouth. However, it does not do to leave one’s teeth crooked and misaligned either, as psychologists have found that people with straight teeth are perceived by others to be more successful both in love and professional life, they are more approachable and are thought to have better hygiene. So what is the solution? In recent years clear aligners have been used by many adults with resounding success and as a bonus, no one even notices that there is anything being done to fix the teeth until one-day, they’re staring at a straight smile and can’t remember it being any different.
The adult jaw
Unlike teens who are the best candidates for braces, the bones of adults have stopped growing, so some structural changes cannot be accomplished without surgery, but for mildly crooked teeth, a clear aligner will still be able to straighten an overcrowded smile. The time it takes to straighten teeth changes from person to person, but with this treatment, some have seen results in as little as 6 months.
Adults may experience bone loss as a normal part of ageing, but it may affect how the teeth will respond to a clear aligner, so it is prudent that a specialist works with a periodontist if need be. Patients will be advised on such circumstances upon inspection of an X-ray.
Clear aligners
Patients will be pleased to hear that, should they be a good candidate for this treatment, they won’t have to deal with the inconvenient viscous dental material used to make a mould of the mouth, so no foul taste and no gagging. A hi-tech 3D digital scan will be taken of the mouth and can be immediately seen on a computer screen. This technology is incredibly accurate and personal aligners will be made for an individual based on a computer algorithm that predicts how the teeth will shift over time.
Once created, a set of these personalised clear aligners will be sent to the patient to be changed every 1-2 weeks, giving them a smile in less than half the time of traditional braces.
The ultimate draw for most adults is that the aligners are virtually invisible. They fit over the teeth like a guard and go unnoticed by peers; they are removable for eating and cleaning and are interchanged often enough that they never become discoloured.
