The Road to Your Dream Smile Is Clear
Would you feel more confident with a straighter smile? If so, don’t hesitate to schedule a consultation with our Orange dental team so we can review all of your treatment options with you! Invisalign is one of the most popular ones because it can discreetly straighten your teeth up to two times faster than traditional braces. If you want to learn more, get in touch with us to schedule an appointment or keep reading.
Why Choose Michelsen Dental for Invisalign?
- Top-Rated Dental Office in Orange
- CareCredit Flexible Financing Available
- Convenient Appointment Times
How Invisalign Works
When you come into Michelsen Dental, the first thing we will do is take a digital scan of your smile. This scan is sent to a lab where the clear aligners are made specifically for you using SmartTrack technology.
When your aligners are finished and you come to our office, Dr. Michelsen will make sure they fit right before sending you home with your new clear braces. Your aligners will come in sets, and each set will be worn for about two weeks.
You should wear the aligners night and day, and take them out only when it’s time to eat, drink, or brush and floss. It is important to aim for 20 to 22 hours of wearing time every day. We will also have you come into our office every six to eight weeks to make sure your aligners are working properly.
Who Invisalign Can Help
There’s good news: Invisalign has helped millions of patients around the world straighten their teeth and achieve their dream smile. So, it’s quite versatile! Here are a few of the orthodontic problems that clear aligner treatment can address:
Crowded Teeth
Crowded teeth don’t just have aesthetic drawbacks; they negatively impact the health and function of your smile. Fortunately, mild to moderate cases can often be corrected with Invisalign, which means that no metal brackets or wires are needed! Instead, we will create a custom series of clear aligners that will gently guide your teeth into proper alignment.
Gaps Between Teeth
Gapped teeth also have the potential to negatively impact your oral health. After all, food particles, plaque, and other debris can easily get lodged in the open spaces, increasing your risk of tooth decay, gum disease, and the like in the process. Before that happens, we want to intervene with the necessary orthodontic care.
Bite Alignment
Remember, Invisalign can improve the position of your teeth as well as the alignment of your bite. So, if you have a bite problem, like an overbite, it’s worth setting aside time to come to our office and find out if you’re a candidate for Invisalign. That way, we can intervene before problems like jaw pain, trouble chewing, and difficulty enunciating become a common occurrence.
The Benefits of Invisalign
Invisalign debuted over two decades ago now. All of these years later, it continues to be one of the most sought-after orthodontic treatments. If you’re interested in learning why you should choose clear aligner treatment (and why so many others have), read on!
The Aligners Are Essentially Invisible
Not only are the aligners custom-made from impressions of your teeth, but they are made from see-through materials. As a result, it will be difficult for the people around you to tell when you are and aren’t wearing your trays! The key to keeping them clear is taking really good care of them. If you adopt bad habits, like keeping them on while you drink your morning coffee, they will quickly discolor.
There Aren’t Any Dietary Restrictions
Another considerable perk is that there aren’t any dietary restrictions with Invisalign. In other words, you don’t have to give up any of your favorite foods during your teeth-straightening journey! All we ask is that you are careful with extremely crunchy foods to prevent an attachment from breaking. It’s also important to do what you can to prevent tooth decay, so don’t overindulge on added sugar.
Brushing And Flossing Are Easy
Brushing and flossing are easy with Invisalign because all you have to do is remove your aligners! In fact, patients often only need to make one adjustment to their oral hygiene regimen: cleaning their teeth after lunch. Even this won’t be a hassle though; just keep travel-sized dental care essentials with you, like a toothbrush and toothpaste. That way, you can clean your teeth easily no matter where you are.
The Trays Are Comfortable To Wear
Even if you haven’t had traditional braces, you may know that the brackets and wires aren’t the most comfortable. The good news is that Invisalign is completely metal-free, and the aligners are custom-made to fit the unique contours of your mouth. So, you won’t have to deal with soft tissue irritation!
Note: You can still use dental wax if one of your aligners is a bit sharp. You can also let us know; we can file down the edge so it doesn’t bother you anymore.
The Average Treatment Timeline Is Only 12-18 Months
If you were hesitant to commit to clear aligners because you didn’t want to wear braces for three, four, or five years, we have good news: the average treatment timeline is only 12-18 months. The key to staying on-track with your treatment plan is abiding by the guidelines, like wearing the aligners for 20-22 hours a day.
There Are Fewer Check-In Visits
To keep your teeth moving, adjustment appointments are necessary with traditional braces. Typically, these are every four weeks, which, as you can imagine, can quickly fill your calendar. Invisalign is different; the check-in visits are usually every six or eight weeks instead. Plus, they are often less than 20 minutes each time. So, you can see why busy teens and adults love Invisalign!
How Much Does Invisalign Cost?
If you’ve spent any time trying to research the cost of Invisalign, you’ll quickly realize it’s hard to find a consistent answer. That’s because every treatment plan is custom-made with the patient’s unique dental needs in mind! Don’t worry – that doesn’t mean that finding out the price is hard; all you need to do is schedule a consultation with our Orange dental team so we can conduct a thorough oral exam. Until then, you can keep reading to learn important information related to the cost, including whether or not dental insurance covers a portion of it.
Factors That Affect the Cost of Invisalign
As we touched on above, your exam is crucial because it gives us insight into the complexity of your case. Once we have detailed X-rays and we’ve examined the position of your teeth, we’ll be able to determine:
- If we need to straighten one or both arches of your teeth
- If rubber bands need to be added to your treatment plan
- How many aligners are needed
Important note: It is possible for additional costs to come up after you’ve already begun treatment. One example is if a new plan needs to be made because you fell off-track with the original one by not wearing your aligners for 20-22 hours a day.
Invisalign vs. Mail-In Aligners: Which Costs More?
When comparing the cost of Invisalign to mail-order aligner companies, you’ll quickly realize that Invisalign is more expensive. Before you let that convince you that it’s not worth it, it’s important to learn why there is a discrepancy in the price. While Invisalign requires a thorough upfront exam and is supervised by a licensed dental professional, mail-order aligners bypass the initial consultation, and patients have nowhere to turn if something goes wrong. Plus, alternatives like these don’t have support from professional organizations in the industry, like the American Dental Association.
Does Dental Insurance Cover Invisalign?
Sometimes! In cases where Invisalign is determined “medically necessary,” it’s common for dental insurance providers to cover a portion of the cost. So, if you are currently insured, it’s worth familiarizing yourself with your benefits. If you’re having trouble or you’re interested in learning if we welcome your benefits, don’t hesitate to give us a call so we can help. We have experience working with many of the nation’s leading providers, including Cigna, Ameritas, Delta, and Guardian.
Options for Making Invisalign Affordable
In addition to welcoming dental insurance, we have our very own dental savings program that grants you immediate access to benefits like significant discounts on preventive and cosmetic dentistry. We also are proud to work with CareCredit, which is a third-party financier. They offer several payment plans, making the cost of Invisalign fit into nearly every budget. Lastly, we offer periodic special offers that help reduce your out-of-pocket expenses significantly!
Invisalign FAQs
From how to clean the aligners properly to what Invisalign attachments are (and why they are important), many prospective patients have questions about this discreet orthodontic treatment. If you’re in the same boat, don’t worry – we’re here to help! You’re welcome to get in touch with our team directly with any questions you have. Or, you can read on for the answers to some commonly asked questions about clear aligners.
Can You Get Invisalign After Braces?
It’s certainly possible! In fact, many patients who have struggled with severe malocclusion have started their orthodontic treatment with traditional braces and finished with clear aligners. Ultimately, the choice will be up to you and our Orange dentists. So, if you’re interested in hybrid treatment, don’t hesitate to schedule a consultation with our team.
How Do I Clean My Invisalign?
Many patients overcomplicate the process of cleaning their aligners. In reality, all you need is some water and a soft-bristled toothbrush. After thoroughly rinsing your trays with room-temperature water, you will dampen the bristles of your toothbrush and use them to gently clean each surface. That’s it! Of course, if your aligners are starting to discolor or smell bad, then you can also use the cleaning crystals that came in your welcome kit to provide them with a deeper clean.
What Are Invisalign Attachments?
Have you seen little pieces of tooth-colored resin on the teeth of someone you know with Invisalign? Those are attachments. Although they are small and discreet, they play a crucial role in the teeth-straightening process by giving your trays something to grip onto. This allows patients with more moderate cases of malocclusion to get the beautiful results they desire as well!
Important note: if you have attachments, then it can be helpful to avoid eating extremely crunchy, hard, and sticky foods. This will reduce the chances of them coming off during your treatment, which does require a visit to our office.
Who is Not Eligible for Invisalign?
Although clear aligner treatment is ideal for the large majority of patients, there are some exceptions. A few examples include patients who don’t have all of their permanent teeth, patients who have severe cases of overcrowding, patients who smoke (or are unwilling to quit), and patients who need dental work. Of course, if there is any reason why you aren’t a candidate initially, we will still review the solutions available to give you to straight, beautiful, and healthy teeth you desire.
Does Invisalign Give You a Lisp?
There is a rumor circulating that Invisalign gives you a lisp. It doesn’t. In fact, the large majority of patients don’t experience any changes to their speech during clear aligner treatment. The small number that do can have peace of mind knowing that it’s temporary and can easily be addressed with plenty of practice. Remember, the trays are incredibly thin and custom-made just for you, so they won’t be bulky or obtrusive enough to seriously alter your speaking patterns.
Your life is demanding, and getting straight teeth shouldn’t get in the way of your busy schedule. Invisalign is designed to fit your lifestyle, and we want to see you with a straight, confident smile! Call our office to schedule an appointment today. You can also visit us in Orange if you live in nearby Tustin.
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