Crowded teeth and Invisalign in St. John’s Wood
Invisalign has transformed tens of thousands of smiles around the world and can treat just about any orthodontic problem effectively, however, those with crowded teeth may need a little extra dental work in order for the treatment to have the effect you are hoping for. This is why Invisalign in St. John’s Wood should be your go-to for a clear aligner system rather than the systems you may see online that can be created simply from an impression you take of your teeth at home. At Aura Dental we can ensure that your teeth are correctly prepared for the best possible results that can be expected from clear aligners, in fact, we will even be able to show you a simulation of those predicted results at your first consultation with us so that you know what to expect before treatment even begins.
The Invisalign system
All treatments for Invisalign in St. John’s Wood begin the same way; with a professional consultation with one of our dentists who will be able to determine if you are a good candidate for treatment. If they give the go-ahead then a painless 3D scan will be taken of your teeth and the information uploaded to a computer which then creates a 3D image of your mouth. A very clever algorithm will calculate and simulate how your teeth will be expected to shift over time and give the dentist the information they need to progress with your personal treatment plan.
Those with overcrowded teeth will require one extra step in their treatment plan in order for it to be as effective as the simulation suggests and this is Interproximal Reduction (IPR)
What is IPR?
This is a technique used to prepare crowded teeth and make a tiny space between them so that they are able to shift accordingly. The technique involves gently filing away bits of tooth enamel between certain overcrowded teeth in order to to create more space. A very thin flexible strip of material similar to sandpaper is used to do this and it takes away very small amounts of outer enamel in order to help shift the teeth. This may sound scary but healthy teeth have about 2.5mm of enamel surrounding them and we will only remove about 0.2mm – 0.3 mmm of that, so the dentin of your teeth will still remain safely encased in a layer of enamel.
Business as usual
Once this extra step for overcrowded teeth is complete it’s business as usual with Invisalign in St. John’s Wood, the information we collect on your newly filed and scanned teeth will be sent to a lab where your clear aligners will be custom created. Once those aligners have been made and sent to us you will be able to collect them with instructions from your dentist on how and when to wear them (usually no less than 22hrs per day), how often to change them and how to clean them in order to prevent any plaque buildup.