The Invisalign discipline

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.