Invisalign (For Adults and Teens)
Invisalign is a great aesthetic alternative to regular braces. Although there are many other clear aligner products on the market today (like Smile Direct Club and Clear Correct) the Invisalign brand name has become synonymous with what is generally more appropriately called removable appliance therapy or aligner therapy. Invisalign has definitely been around the longest and perfected the art of this technique, but be aware that the end result is completely dependent on your ability to wear the aligners all day (like braces).
Invisalign is just another tool to move teeth, but the mechanism that moves teeth (your body's infmmatory response) is still the same whether you are using braces or retainers/invisalign. Teeth move when there is a continuous pressure on them in one direction that cuts off circulation on one side of the tooth and generates an inflammatory response that starts remodeling the bone around it. If the force is not continuous (it's intermittent), the ligament that holds your tooth in the bone just absorbs the pressure and resists it or rebounds (like what it does when you chew) so the tooth stays in the same spot.
Because aligners are removable, they are also only a pushing tool (as opposed to braces which can both push and pull at the same time because they are attached/glued to your teeth). So they are move effective at movements that require more pushing and very little pulling.
Some of the benefits of aligner therapy though is that there are very few to no emergency visits and you can often go longer in between appointments. They are also a lot easier to clean and keep your teeth clean with because you can brush and floss normally which is good for people who have a high propensity for tooth decay. You can also use aligners as whitening trays and to protect your teeth if you grind your teeth at night.
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