Invisalign is a clear aligner (or tray) system. The aligners are custom-made to your mouth and you receive a series of aligners. Each set of aligners are worn for a period of about 2 weeks, for 22 hours a day. The aligners are removed only to eat, drink, and brush and floss your teeth.
They are not technically "braces" although often they have been given the moniker, "clear braces." They are trays, similar to home whitening trays, but much thicker and stronger.
Having been a patient myself, I can say that yes, Invisalign is basically invisible! Only if someone gets real close (and you would probably really like this person or else this person was one of those "close" talker-types), he might think your teeth look a little "shinier" than usual.
Within each aligner, small movements are "programmed" into the tray. Over the 2 week period, your teeth slowly adjust to the new position of the tray. As you move on to the next set of aligners, the teeth continue to follow and adjust to the new positions.
So this is basically what you need to do Invisalign in our office:
teeth (har har)
crooked teeth (har)
OK let's be serious! You need:
1) A full set of xrays. We need to determine that there are no active areas of decay, gum disease or other problems before you begin treatment. If you suddenly needed a crown in the middle of your Invisalign treatment, then the aligners would no longer fit and then you would need to order new ones, and pay more $$$ so why not figure this all out ahead of time, no?
2) Face photos and Tooth photos. We need these as your "before" photos to help with the treatment planning of your case. It is also a great comparison tool at the end of treatment to see how far you have come with your smile.
3) Impressions. These are commonly called "molds." We take a plastic tray, fill it with some gooey material and then place it over the teeth with light pressure. It's a good thing I do Pilates because sometimes I do feel like I am using almighty strength to make sure the impression material covers all the teeth! Then we sit like that, you with this tray in your mouth, me with biceps pulsing for about 2 minutes. I stare down at you, you stare up at me, we stare around the room, and I might hum a little tune as we wait for the material to "set." Then when it's time to remove the tray there is generally a suction that prevents it from popping right out. This is actually a good sign. It means I achieved a good "seal" around the teeth. But there is always a moment when I first tug at the tray and it doesn't move, that I see your eyes open ever so wide wondering, "Is this thing going to come out?" Luckily, moments after that the tray has already come out! Then repeat for opposite arch. By that time, you are an old pro.
4) Bite record. We tell you to open wide, and then we place another gooey purple material along your lower teeth. One patient likened this to being "caulked." He also started laughing hysterically which was bad timing as I had just placed the gooey material. I had to use my mean voice, oops I mean stern, to tell him to now, 'BITE TOGETHER!' Patient obeyed. Wait 30 seconds...
Sit up, then we give you a mirror and tissue. You look in the mirror and look horrified at all the green and purple goo that has dried on your chin, your lips, sometimes your neck, and even in your mustache (hopefully you are male). A second later you laugh as you realize the pieces of goo peel right off. Granted, some of the pieces peel right off down your shirt, but is it really going to hurt anyone?
This whole process usually takes about 45 minutes, if you do it all on the same day. If you come just for impressions and bite record, it's usually 15-20 minutes. Then you leave the office and will return in about 3-4 weeks for your new INVISALIGN aligners! Exciting!!
C ya,
invisalign gal
