Invisalign Vs Traditional Braces
Traditional braces used to be the only way to straighten your teeth. Glaringly visible, uncomfortable, and limiting your diet, they weren’t the most attractive options for teenagers and adults alike wanting to straighten their teeth. Teeth straightening has come on leaps and bounds from pulling teeth into position with harsh metal wires, but are the options that are available now really better than traditional braces?
Invisalign, for example, has become an increasingly popular option for many patients around the world, let alone the UK, but is Invisalign really and truly a good tooth straightening treatment option? For more information on Invisalign visit their website below.
Is Invisalign Better Than Traditional Braces?
Physical Appearance
You probably don’t need reminding about what traditional braces look like. Typically associated with train tracks with bulky metal wires and brackets, perhaps we’re already giving you flashbacks to your treatment as a teenager with them. There are no disguising those bulky metal fixtures, unfortunately. In terms of physical appearance, Invisalign far surpasses traditional braces.
Invisalign aligners are made of clear plastic that fits over your teeth rather than fixed to them. Their clear yet durable plastic material ensures the optimum treatment discretion, allowing your natural teeth’s colour to shine through the plastic and leave your smile unencumbered.
How They’re Worn
Traditional braces use brackets fixed with glue and interconnecting wires that become permanently fixed to your teeth before the day of their removal. This fixed nature means that they can often limit your diet choices, prohibiting you from eating the foods you enjoy. Even if you do cut back on some of your favourite foods, debris from what you can eat still gets stuck between the brackets and wires, creating unattractive deposits and the need for comprehensive cleaning.
Invisalign, on the other hand, trumps traditional braces with their ability to be removed. Because Invisalign fit over and doesn’t fix onto your teeth, they are completely removable. This means you can remove them for eating, brushing, and the occasional night out with no complaints. As long as your aligners are worn for around 22 hours a day, your teeth straightening journey will continue.
Comfort Levels
Traditional braces are uncomfortable, and it doesn’t take a dentist to tell you that. Ask anyone you know who had fixed braces in their younger years and they’ll tell you of their discomfort and sometimes pain. Traditional braces pull and tug your teeth into a new position, generating a lot of force and pressure to achieve their end result. Plus, metal wires and brackets can upset the soft tissue in your mouth fairly regularly.
Invisalign offers comparatively more comfortable treatment partially because of what it’s made of and partially because of how it works. The material is a smooth plastic mould custom-made for your teeth, so this personalised treatment gradually guides your teeth into a more flattering and aligned position. The smooth plastic comes with no additions, add-ons, or anything other than its curved edges, so there’s no damage to the soft tissues in your mouth too.
Invisalign Vs Traditional Braces Treatment Time
Do you remember that person at school, college, or work that seemed to always have braces on? That one person you could never imagine without them? That’s probably because of the lengthy treatment time that comes hand-in-hand with the treatment – up to 2 or 3 years, in most cases. Invisalign’s treatment time, by contrast, is far shorter while still achieving great teeth straightening. Your treatment could be started and finished within the same year, and even in as little as 6 months. Minimal visibility, minimal discomfort, and minimal treatment time make quite the formidable trio for teeth straightening technology.
Contact Us
The battle between Invisalign and traditional braces has been won by the former, conquering fixed braces in all areas of the treatment. For optimum comfort, discrete treatment, and no lifestyle limitations, always choose Invisalign in York. If you’re considering these invisible aligners for yourself or your teenager, enquire online or speak to a friendly member of our Blossom Dental team on 01904 653356 today.
