Benefits of Clear Braces
Clear braces are a relatively new innovation, compared to the centuries-old tradition of wire braces. However, clear braces are growing rapidly in popularity, especially as an adult orthodontics option, because they offer so many benefits to people looking to straighten their teeth. Some of the appealing benefits of clear braces include:
- Almost invisible
- No diet restrictions–eat all your favorite foods
- Completely removable
- No special cleaning
- No uncomfortable wires
- Results in six months or less (in some cases)
- Potential cost savings
Many people are drawn to clear braces because they’re almost invisible. Adults, especially, find it appealing to potentially straighten teeth without brackets or wires.
Clear braces also have the benefit of being completely removable. You take them out to eat and to brush, and you can take them out other times, such as for public speaking, professional photos, and other special occasions.
Because clear braces are completely removable, there are no diet restrictions or special cleaning. You just remove the braces when eating or brushing.
People also like that they won’t have wires in their mouth that can be uncomfortable. No wires to poke or rub against your gums, just smooth clear plastic aligners.
The length of time for treatment with clear braces depends on the severity of your case. However, often people can get results in six months or less, especially for cases where tooth movement is limited.
Because clear braces can often be completed quickly, they save our time as well as yours. This means that clear braces can sometimes cost less than traditional braces.
What Clear Braces Can Treat
Clear braces are a versatile orthodontic treatment. They can treat most cosmetic concerns you might have about your teeth, including:
- Gapped teeth
- Crowded teeth
- Midline off-center
- Tipped teeth
- Crooked teeth
Clear braces are effective at moving teeth in your mouth to relieve problems like spaces between teeth or teeth that move forward or back because they are too crowded. Teeth that are tipped are also effectively treated with clear braces.
Clear braces are not effective at treating serious bite issues. Because they are both highly convenient and very effective at treating cosmetic problems with your teeth, clear braces are especially popular among people who have already had braces, but teeth have drifted.
How Clear braces Work
Clear braces work using the same basic principles as other orthodontic treatments. Your bone might seem like it’s solid and unchanging, but your body is constantly remodeling bone. As part of that remodeling, your body can respond to pressure on the bone by removing bone from stressed places.
Clear braces take advantage of this by applying pressure to your teeth. The teeth put pressure on the bone, and the body removes bone from one side of the tooth and builds it up on the opposite side. This allows your teeth to move.
The clear braces process begins with us taking detailed images of your teeth. These images are fed into a computer, which determines how to move your teeth from their current position into their desired position. Then the computer breaks the process up into a number of steps. Each step is then turned into an aligner. By wearing these aligners in sequence, your teeth move into their desired position.
To get the full effect of the aligners, you have to wear them for the recommended amount of time each day–usually 20-22 hours. This means that although you can take your aligners out whenever you want, you should wear them most of the time.
In addition, you need to wear each aligner for the recommended number of days, usually 1-2 weeks. Your body needs time to reshape the bone: trying to rush orthodontic treatment can mean that not enough bone is built around your teeth. This can put your teeth at risk of being lost, and it can make relapse more likely.
Choose Dental Excellence of Blue Bell for Clear Braces
Clear braces work great for people who are the right candidates for them. To select the right candidates takes a combination of detailed training and experience. At Dental Excellence of Blue Bell, Dr. Ken Siegel has been helping people in the Montgomery County area get good results from clear braces and many other cosmetic dentistry procedures for over 35 years. He also has more than 1000 hours in continuing education, and he uses his training to help patients get the results they’re looking for.
To learn whether clear braces are right for you, please call (610) 272-0828 today for an appointment with Dr. Siegel at Dental Excellence of Blue Bell.
