Category: Braces

While the image of a braceface is one we tend to think of during our teenage years, crooked teeth affect more adults than you probably realise, and everyday more and more adults are seeking solutions for their teeth. Many adults feel that the look of traditional metal braces can take away from their maturity in professional, social or romantic settings.

So what other options are there for adults seeking to straighten up their teeth and achieve their dream smile? Luckily, with all the advancements in dental technology, adults hoping to realign their teeth can use Invisalign. In St John’s Wood, our team here at Aura Dental has helped many adults achieve their dream smile using Invisalign.

What is Invisalign?

Invisalign in St John’s Wood has become a popular dental treatment that aligns teeth using transparent custom fit aligners that can be taken out during meals and brushing. The aligners should be worn at all times of the day except when eating and cleaning teeth. At Aura Dental, we use a 3D computer imaging technology, ClinCheck, to map out the movement of teeth to achieve a perfect smile.

What does the treatment look like?

You will wear your clear aligners all day every day except meals and brushing for 7 to 10 days before replacing with your next set. You should visit the dentist to check on the movement of your teeth every 6 to 8 weeks, and the average treatment lasts 9 to 12 months. But when planning to get Invisalign in St John’s Wood, you should discuss your treatment and time frame with your dentist.

Is Invisalign just for adults?

Invisalign is not only for adults. At Aura Dental, we offer 4 types of Invisalign in St John’s Wood: Express, Lite, Comprehensive and First. Invisalign First is designed for ages 6 to 10, which helps develop jaws to make room for existing or incoming teeth. Express, Lite, and Comprehensive are all suitable for adults and teenagers. Express is for slight movement, typically only 7 aligners, and Lite is around 14 sets of aligners. Comprehensive is for a more in-depth orthodontic work lasting 6 to 12 months.

Braces help with closing gaps between your teeth or to straighten teeth. Braces help to gently reposition your teeth over time to help with realignment and straightening them out. There are different types of braces in St. John’s Wood that can help with these dental problems.

How to tell if you need braces

If your teeth are overlapping or bite unevenly when you’re eating, you may need braces. Over-crowding can be caused when wisdom teeth grow later in life and push the other teeth together. Where there is misalignment between the teeth, symptoms can include jaw pain, speech impediment and difficulty chewing. If the teeth are overcrowded, it can be difficult to clean between your teeth, which can result in tooth decay. If you feel it’s time to find a dentist offering braces in St. John’s Wood, look us up. Aura Dental is a professional and modern clinic offering both fixed and removable braces in St. John’s Wood to suit your individual needs.

Types of braces

There are a few types of braces in St. John’s Wood and these are:

• self-ligating braces, which are metal braces used to treat simple or more complex issues and give a great result
• lingual braces are a type of fixed brace that attaches to the inside of your teeth, meaning that they cannot be seen
• ceramic braces, which are less visible and lightweight so that they are comfortable to wear
• Damon braces are self-ligating and are known for providing a result more quickly, as they enable the teeth to move on their own without needing adjustment
• clear aligners are aligners that can be easily removed for eating and cleaning and can be changed every few weeks for a new set.

Taking care of braces

We provide guidance about looking after your braces in St. John’s Wood. As with any teeth cleaning routine, it’s important to brush with fluoride toothpaste twice daily. Floss every day to reach in-between the braces. With removable braces, you can take them out and brush them separately.

How long to wear braces for

This can vary, depending on the issue, results needed and the type of brace you’re using. It can be anything between six months up to two years.

Two things that put people off getting straighter teeth are the hassle of cleaning around their braces and attracting unwanted attention for the duration of their treatment. However, with Invisalign in St John’s Wood, you can avoid both.

When you come to Aura Dental for Invisalign in St John’s Wood, you will have a free consultation including an OPG panoramic x-ray. We will first make an in-depth examination of your teeth to make sure that this innovative straightening treatment is the right one for your specific alignment issues.

Invisalign is different from other straightening methods in that it pushes teeth into position rather than pulling them. It’s great for most mild to moderate misalignments, but there are some things it can’t do, like pull down teeth that have not descended properly.

If you are good to go ahead with Invisalign in St John’s Wood, then we will take detailed measurements of your teeth. These go into a programme that will produce a 3D image of your teeth and then show you the process they will need to go through in order to become aligned.

Many people find the final image of their lovely straight teeth to be a real inspiration as they go through their treatment. The average treatment time is 9-12 months.

Now the good stuff

So, what makes Invisalign so popular is that these ultra-thin, transparent aligner trays are pretty much invisible when you put them on over your teeth. You can go to work and to social occasions without having to worry about people staring at you or asking intrusive questions about your treatment.

You take the aligners out when you eat and clean your teeth, so you still have complete freedom of choice around your food, and cleaning is no more complicated than before.

Wearing Invisalign

You need to be disciplined to use Invisalign. This means wearing your aligners for at least 20 hours a day. If you don’t, the teeth don’t get enough sustained pressure on them to move.

Why not book a free consultation with us at Aura Dental now? It could be the start of a great straightening experience.

Misaligned teeth such as underbites, overbites and crossbites may well be causing you to suffer from achy jaws due to irregular wear and tear of your teeth. These out-of-line teeth, are harder to clean, and can therefore harbour more bacteria in all those nooks and crannies, increasing incidences of tooth decay and possible gum infections. So why aren’t you fixing your wonky teeth?

You may have been avoiding braces due to the belief they have to be metal and fixed, requiring a high involvement with your dentist. Thanks to innovation and clever design, there are now removable, transparent brace options that we at Aura Dental offer our patients. In St John’s Wood, Invisalign offers adults a new approach to gaining straighter teeth.

Invisalign

Invisalign in St Johns Wood consist of a series of customised, transparent, removable aligners. They are worn like a mouthguard, steadily straighten your teeth in small incremental steps. Each step represents a new bespoke aligner. It takes each aligner approximately 7-10 days to reset your teeth into their new position. Once repositioned, the process is repeated with the next aligner. The whole realignment journey takes approximately 18 months to complete.

Why they work so well

The aligners are printed using 3D technology, firstly by creating a 3D image of your mouth, and then using a computer design program to produce a ‘finished’ projected image of your teeth after treatment. A journey is then plotted step by step, linking the initial start image to the finished final position your teeth will be in. Each step represents a new aligner, that has a slight shift included into its design. Each aligner is 3D printed to pinpoint accuracy.

This accuracy allows the aligner to fit precisely over your teeth, so it will not slip and requires no fixative or fixing apparatus to keep it in place. Since it is also made from transparent, hard-wearing plastic, these braces are virtually invisible when worn.

The additional benefits are experienced by our patients because Invisalign can be removed easily for cleaning, eating, and also the odd, rare special event.

To discuss Invisalign in St Johns Wood, get in touch with Aura Dental today.

The idea of having your teeth straightened with metal braces, especially as an adult, can be a daunting prospect. Thankfully there are now options for the image conscious that combine efficiency and clever design, rendering braces almost invisible.

There are now various discreet braces in St John’s Wood that blend in with the natural tone of the teeth. Using tooth-coloured, transparent or in the case of removable appliances, clear apparatus. This creates braces that are very discreet to wear, making them the obvious choice for anyone in a high-profile role that demands a polished image or for anyone who is simply self-conscious.

At Aura Dental, we offer a range of discreet braces in St John’s Wood. Your dentist will be able to identify the best fit for you and your specific requirements;here is a round-up of some of the options we offer.

Inman aligners

The Inman aligner is an innovative, removable teeth-straightening brace that targets only the front 4 to 6 teeth. The deviceitself consists of two opposing spring-loaded aligner bars that apply gentle but continuous pressure to the teeth. This targeted approach can realign teeth in as little as 3 months.

Invisalign invisible braces

If you need correction to overbites, underbites or some mild-to-moderate misalignment, Invisalign could be an option for you. These are completely removable, transparent aligners that are more akin to tooth guards than braces. They consist of a series of 3D printed, bespoke aligners that straighten teeth with small, incremental steps. Fully in charge of your own treatment, you will remove and replace them with the next aligner in the series every 7-10 days. You’ll need to follow care plans prudently and clean your teeth regularly to maintain the crystal clarity that renders these braces so invisible. Patients are recommended to wear them at least 22 hours per day for maximum effectiveness, but they can be removed for special occasions.

Six Month Smiles

Six Month Smiles are fixed braces with clear brackets and tooth-coloured wires, which are barely visible. These braces are ideal if you want to straighten your front teeth quickly and effectively within 6 months.

Contact us today for your invisible brace consultation.

Thanks to TV programmes such as Ugly Betty, traditional wires and brackets braces have scaled the heady heights of fame to become almost cool in their notoriety. In fact, they could even be seen as a fashion accessory for the millennial, hipster type. If you’re not sporting a man bun or you’re just more of a retiring type, however, you may wish for a brace option that helps you blend in and not stand out.

Surprisingly, there are discreet teeth-straightening possibilities for mild-to-moderate teeth misalignment. At Aura Dental we have invested in several variants of discreet, braces including an option that isn’t even a brace but is more like a tooth guard called Invisalign. In St John’s Wood, these plastic aligners provide you with a teeth-straightening solution that will never compromise your image.

Discretion when you need it

Your St Johns Wood Invisalign journey to straighter teeth starts with the digital scanning of your mouth. Once we have a perfect image, using CGI animation technology, we create a ‘finished image’ of the best, projected outline of your teeth, once straightened. We then create a treatment plan, plotting steps to the end result. This treatment plan is sent to the Invisalign labs in America for 3D printing. This printing process allows for pinpoint accuracy that provides 3 advantages that Invisalign offers over other braces;

No fixing necessary

Precision printing creates aligners that fit so closely to the shape of your teeth they require no fixing apparatus to keep them in place. No wires or brackets will be needed to keep Invisalign in St Johns Wood in position.

Crystal clear

The combination of close fit plus being printed from clear plastic, renders Invisalign almost invisible, creating one of the most discreet brace options for our patients. You will need to care for your apparatus, following our instructions to maintain their clarity, but as long as you do, no one will spot your aligner.

Fully removable

Your aligners will be fully removable, meaning cleaning and eating can be conducted as normal. You will need to wear them for at least 22 hours a day for the best results. If you need to, however, you can remove them for special occasions.

There are clear advantages to wearing Invisalign in St John’s Wood. Braces that are see-through? Sounds almost too good to be true, but that’s what you get with Invisalign aligners. They also fit neatly into your lifestyle, as they are easy to clean and maintain. You take them out for eating and drinking, so there’s no chance of a stray bit of food getting caught in the brace. You can also eat what you like, there’s no need to avoid sticky or chewy food.

But there’s one advantage of Invisalign that you probably don’t know about. Unless you know someone who has been through the process already, this plus point doesn’t usually come up on the list of benefits. Invisalign can cause you to lose weight. Hang on a minute, doesn’t this also sound too good to be true? Well, it doesn’t happen for everyone of course, but at the least it can bring awareness to what and how you eat.

It’s all because with Invisalign in St John’s Wood, you need to take the aligner trays out each time you eat or drink anything other than plain water. This is because they will stain if they come into contact with the pigment in food and drink, removing that big advantage of being transparent. Removing the trays also avoids any food particles getting trapped between the teeth and the aligner, which would increase the risk of tooth decay.

Patients report that, because each time they eat or drink they are now very aware of it as they remove their aligners, it tends to cut out mindless snacking, hence the loss of a few pounds over the course of treatment.

Strange to think that a dental treatment could cause you to become aware of your eating habits, but that’s the hidden and unintended benefit of Invisalign in St John’s Wood.

If you want to find out more about this practical and simple treatment, call into the Aura Dental surgery today and talk to one of our braces dentists. They can assess you to find out if Invisalign in St John’s Wood could help you to achieve a straighter and happier smile.

In St John’s Wood, Invisalign clear aligners have many advantages. As they are made from transparent plastic, once in place over the teeth, they can’t be seen. They are also removable and taken out for eating and cleaning, so easy to maintain. There’s no brackets or wires to contend with and they require only occasional check-up appointments.

However, they do require a bit of discipline. With fixed braces, there’s no option to take them out. Once the dentist has fixed them in place, there they stay, and only the dentist can adjust them. With Invisalign, it’s more down to you.

Here at Aura Dental, if you decide to go ahead with Invisalign in St John’s Wood, our braces dentist will take impressions, photographs and x-rays to make sure they have a complete picture of the make-up of your teeth. This information is sent to the Invisalign technicians in the US, who use it to create your bespoke aligners. Each set of aligners is made up of a pair, one for your upper arch and one for the lower. You wear each set for 7-10 days until the feeling of tightness has worn off. This is your cue to change for the next in series, as it means the teeth have gone as far as they can go with this pair.

You are in control of the process. With this power comes responsibility. You need to remember to take your aligners out each time you eat or drink anything other than plain water, as otherwise they will stain, and bang goes the transparency.

And once you have taken them out, you need to clean them, clean your teeth and pop the trays back in. And this is every time you eat. In daily living this might not be so difficult, but what about if you are at a special occasion or out for dinner? As you wear Invisalign for 12-18 months, it’s quite a commitment. You also have to wear them for 22 hours a day, or you risk having to start the treatment all over again.

But, if you have the discipline, you get straighter teeth without anyone even knowing you were wearing Invisalign in St John’s Wood.

Whichever type of braces in St John’s Wood we fit you with here at Aura Dental, you will need to wear a retainer afterwards to keep your teeth in their new positions. This may last a year or two, or it could be for the rest of your life.

We offer 2 types of retainers: fixed and removable. A fixed retainer has the advantage of being bonded in place. It can’t be removed, so if you, or your child, would struggle to remember to remove, clean and replace a retainer, this could be the way to go.

The retainer is bonded to the back of the teeth with one thin wire, so it isn’t visible when you speak or smile. You will know it’s there and be able to feel it with your tongue, but previous braces in St John’s Wood patients tell us that after a while, they get used to this and forget the retainer is there.

How does it stay in place you may ask? Our braces dentist uses a composite bonding material which they harden with a curing light. This fixing is so strong that only a dentist can remove it – there’s no chance of it suddenly falling out at an embarrassing moment.

If a significant gap in your teeth has been closed by braces in St John’s Wood, you may be advised that a bonded retainer is the way to go.

If you’re suitable for a removable device, these are also discreet and won’t be spotted by the average eye. They are made of thin, clear plastic and either fit over the whole arch or a group of teeth as necessary.

These are created by taking an impression of your teeth that is turned into a plaster cast. The cast is covered by a heated, thin sheet of plastic that is vacuum sucked over it. This forms your bespoke removable retainer.

The removable retainer needs to be cleaned and maintained to make sure no strays bits of food get stuck to it and that plaque doesn’t build up on the surface. The braces dentists here at Aura Dental can advise you on how to care for your retainer.

Anyone who’s ever watched the wonderful First Dates on TV will know that age is no barrier at all to going on a date. There are plenty of seniors out looking for love. One thing that is noticeable on First Dates is the big discrepancy in how the teeth of the young daters look compared with those of the over 60s.

But for many dental treatments, including Invisalign in St John’s Wood from us at Aura Dental, age is no barrier. If you’ve had to put up with snaggle teeth all your life and you want to get out there and find your new dream partner, why not lure more people in by having your teeth straightened the stealthy way?

Invisalign in St John’s Wood is the perfect solution for straightening and still being able to go on dates because the aligner trays are pretty much impossible to see once they are on over your teeth.

Here’s how they work:

Consultation

The first thing to do is to come in for a free consultation, and once we’re sure that Invisalign is the right treatment for you, we can scan your teeth and using the 3D image that appears on the screen, show you how Invisalign can move your teeth into their correct alignment.

Manufacture

If you decide to go ahead with treatment, we send your measurements off to Invisalign in the US, where your aligner trays will be 3D-printed (yes, really!) and sent back to us.

You will receive a series of aligner trays. You start with #1 and wear it until it starts to feel like it fits. This means that the carefully positioned bumps and ridges have done their job of nudging your teeth a tiny step along the path to alignment. Then it’s onto aligner #2, and so on through the series, which takes, on average, a year to complete.

You take your aligner out to eat and drink and to clean it and your teeth, which takes a lot of the hassle out of teeth straightening. Also, as long as you make sure you wear your aligners for 20 hours a day, there’s nothing to stop you going aligner-free on those exciting dates.