I am keeping to my New Year's resolution and updating my blog. I hope you are all reading it! :)
I thought I would talk about the kinds of patients we generally see, the people who come through our doors asking for Invisalign, or those people who didn't even know about this fabulous treatment. Doesn't the saying go, "You don't know what you don't know," right?
The most common expression I hear from patients is, "I had braces as a teen and I lost my retainer." These people probably had very straight teeth for a while, but without that retainer, the teeth like to MOVE. They get all confused and don't know where they are supposed to be. "Should I stay in this new place? But I kind of miss the old one...maybe I'll just inch a little closer to that space for awhile..." This is what we call, "orthodontic relapse." The teeth just want to go where it's more familiar, and that is why the retainer is SO important. The retainer tells the teeth and reminds the teeth where their new position is. It reminds them constantly. The philosophy is that eventually, the teeth will figure it out and stay there. These patients are usually the ideal Invisalign patient. They know how their teeth looked straight, and sometimes it doesn't take much to get them back to that place.
Another common thing we see is lower crowding of the front teeth. This can range from mild crowding to more severe. We tend to see this get worse as we age. People think this may be due to wisdom teeth coming in, but that is usually not the case. For whatever reason, people experience this "forward (or mesial) drift" and then lower crowding results. The consequences are several. One of course would be esthetic. Crowded teeth just don't look as nice as straight teeth! The second is hygienic. It is simply much more difficult to floss and clean crowded teeth than it is straight teeth. Plaque and tartar build up in these crowded areas more readily, and when stains occur in these places it can be more pronounced. As a result, the gums can become red, puffy, and appear generally unhealthy. In addition, a patient may notice that the edges of his teeth are uneven. This is often due to the bite being compromised in some way. By straightening out the teeth, it can improve the bite as well as the overall symmetry of one's smile.
Often, a person will come in wanting ONE tooth fixed. She might say, "I don't like how THAT (and she will point to it) tooth is sticking out." After we take initial photos, we talk about the tooth in question as well as other issues she may have. Patients are amazed at what they see in their photos. Some are fascinated, while others become self-conscious and horrified. When the Invisalign treatment is complete, most patients are pleasantly surprised at the results of fixing not only that one tooth, but the others as well!
Occasionally a patient might need an implant for a missing tooth, but maybe the tooth above or the tooth next to the space has drifted a bit too close into the space. Invisalign can help to push those teeth back to where they belong and even create a "fake" tooth while the patient is in Invisalign!
We have teens all the way up to adults in their 60's and up doing Invisalign. It can be quite transforming. People feel like their teeth even look whiter once their teeth are straight. It's really more like they are able to keep them cleaner!
The more I work with Invisalign the more I love it.
TTYL....
Invisalign Gal :)
