Crooked teeth negatively impact your life. You may be reluctant to smile and even try to hide your teeth behind your hand or a closed mouth. Self-conscious people lack confidence and often avoid social situations. Crooked teeth also have a number of potentially negative health effects that can become serious over time. Invisalign braces are barely detectable to the naked eye and quickly straighten teeth, giving you an attractive smile while improving your health and overall sense of well-being.
Invisalign Basics
After you’ve chosen an Invisalign-trained dentist, your dental professional will create a 3-D image of your mouth and teeth. There is no need for the old-fashioned physical mold used to fashion traditional braces. Your dentist will then send it off to have the aligners custom made. Once you receive them, you will wear them most of the time, removing them to eat and brush your teeth.
The timeline for straightening your teeth varies according to how severely your teeth are out of line. You will wear multiple sets of these see-through braces as you progress toward straight teeth. During the process, you will see the dentist approximately every six weeks.
Benefits
Traditional braces straighten your teeth, but they pose some challenges. Wire braces are food catchers, making them extremely difficult to clean properly.
Metal braces are hard to miss. For many, the thought of wearing a mouth full of metal for months or even years is daunting. Invisalign lets you straighten your teeth without dramatically changing your appearance. You can feel confident while your teeth are being put into their proper position. Metal braces can be painful, especially when they have to be tightened. Invisalign allows you to improve your smile comfortably, with almost no inconvenience to you.
Health Benefits
You may be motivated to get Invisalign braces primarily to improve your appearance, but straight teeth are important to your health as well. If your teeth are crooked, crowded or far apart, you are more likely to have gum disease. Food can become trapped between your teeth. Also, your gums don’t fit tightly around the crooked teeth, so they don’t keep food and bacteria out. Straight teeth and healthy gums go together. If you have straight teeth, you are also less likely to suffer from tooth decay.
When tooth and gum issues are left untreated, they can cause life-threatening issues. Scientists have connected the following conditions to periodontal disease: diabetes, heart disease, dementia, rheumatoid arthritis and premature birth. Fixing your smile not only improves your appearance but helps protect your health.
Virtually Invisible
Other people can be cruel, and young children and teenagers are most susceptible to taunting about their appearance. Before treatment, they may be mocked for their crooked teeth. If they wear metal braces, they may also suffer from frequent teasing. Invisalign braces are appropriate for many young people, and since they are clear, the peer group is likely to be more interested than abusive.
Kids and teens love the look, and parents love how easy they make oral hygiene. Kids and adults both simply take out their aligners, brush and floss their teeth, and brush the aligners. With metal braces, proper cleaning is a long and often frustrating process. Trying to remove lettuce trapped under metal wire could drive anyone mad.
Psychological Benefits
Perhaps the most important benefits of straight teeth are psychological. If you are unhappy with your teeth, you will avoid smiling, and smiling is important to your state of mind. Research suggests that a positive facial expression leads to positive emotions. Even if you feel down, a “fake smile” may elevate your mood. Smiling can relieve stress after a bad day or a frustrating encounter. If you avoid smiling at work because of your teeth, you will have a more difficult time doing your job.
In addition, people are more likely to trust and approach you if you smile. While that effect doesn’t seem fair, it is real. So hiding your crooked teeth may work against you in every aspect of your life. You can be absolutely honest, but you’ll seem less so if others don’t see you smile.
Smiling is said to make you more productive, happier and even more creative. Having straight teeth makes it easier for you to smile frequently and benefit from the psychological effects.
Your wish for a beautiful smile is not superficial or selfish. You deserve to have Invisalign braces simply because they improve your looks, but using them also benefits you in many other ways. They are less intrusive than metal braces and are more comfortable and easier to care for. They give you straight teeth, which improves your overall health. You will be less likely to suffer from gum disease and tooth decay that can cause serious illness. Best of all, you will be free to dazzle the world with your beautiful smile.
Straight teeth should be a priority for everyone. Invisalign braces help you get the teeth you deserve using a simple and effective process. Schedule an appointment with your Invisalign-trained dentist today to find out how these braces can improve your life.
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