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What is Invisalign?

Invisalign is the invisible way to straighten teeth without braces. Invisalign uses a series of clear plastic removable "Aligners" to straighten your teeth without metal wires or brackets. Invisalign has been proveneffective in clinical research and in orthodontic and general dental practices worldwide.

       

How does it work?

Dr. Ryan requires a special orthodontic evaluation, radiographic exam,
and impressions to determine if the patient is an Invisalign candidate.

If the patient is a candidate, the impressions are then "CAT scanned" at the Invisalign laboratory and a video 3-D "CAD Cam" representation of the patient's actual teeth are returned to Dr. Ryan's office on a CD. The patient can then view
their actual orthodontic movements through time. This technology is extremely advantageous over traditional braces because patients can then see the actual result before treatment is begun.

If the treatment plan is accepted, patients wear each set of "Aligners" (for about 2 weeks each), removing them only to eat, drink, brush, and floss. The number of aligners (ie. 2 week sessions) depend on the difficulty of the movements required.

   


As the patient replaces each Aligner with the next in the series, their
teeth move—little by little, week by week—until they have straightened to the final desired position. Patients will visit our office once every 6 weeks (ie. 3 sets of Aligners) or so to ensure that treatment is progressing as planned, as to receive their next three sets of Aligners.

          



As shown above, patients will often bleach their teeth during treatment because the "Aligners" act as perfect bleaching trays.

Duration of treatment can range from months to years depending
on the individual patient and movements required.
   

How does Invisalign compare to traditional braces?

Invisalign will accomplish the same orthodontic goals as traditional braces, given the correct patient selection. Certain orthodontic movements favor Invisalign and other movements favor traditional braces.

In many respects, Invisalign has tremendous advantages over traditional braces.

Esthetically, the Invisalign aligners are virtually invisible when seated. Hygienically, the aligners can be removed to floss, brush and eat. In contrast, traditional braces, show a face full of metal when you smile.More importantly, traditional braces can not be removed when you eat. They act as a giant plaque trap, harboring bacteria, increasing the chance of a "cavity". Also, by avoiding the bonding of metal brackets to the surface of your tooth, you can prevent potential tooth discoloration or white spots left from the metal bracket cement.



What are some other advantages of Invisalign for more advanced Cosmetic cases?

In cases where there are tooth problems such as: chipped teeth, broken teeth, large old fillings, ugly old crowns, tooth shape discrepancies, extreme tooth discoloration, stain, or yellowing that can't be fixed with bleaching, etc.; Invisalign can straighten these teeth, but it can not fix these inherent cosmetic problems with the teeth.

This is presents a big advantage in having a general dentist well versed in many aspects of dentistry perform your Invisalign treatment.

 In these cases, Invisalign offers a nice 1st line treatment before doing LUMINEERS, Traditional Veneers, Porcelain Crowns, or other cosmetic modalities . Invisalign gives Dr. Ryan the ability to move the teeth into a perfect position for Lumineers, Veneers, or other cosmetic porcelain restorations to subsequently be placed with minimal tooth preparation (removal of tooth structure) and maximal cosmetic result.
(see Lumineers section.)

Dr. Ryan also offers laser dentistry for aesthetic contouring of the gums (see laser section.)

Additionally, as mentioned above, the Invisalign "aligners" act as the perfect bleaching tray to effectively whiten teeth or fluoride trays for fluoride treatments on teeth (to assure protection against decay or cavities.)

Dr. Ryan will often whiten or fluoridate the teeth (at no additional charge) while the patient is undergoing Invisalign treatment.

Since Dr. Ryan has the ability to implement all of these treatment modalities, he is able to offer many aesthetic avenues to achieve an optimal cosmetic result.