At some point in most family members’ lives, there is going to be at least one of them who needs to have orthodontic work done. There are more choices out there than the usual braces route – there are some that can go behind the teeth and then there are the ones that are clear mouthguards, like Invisalign. The question is – what wins out in the battle of braces vs. Invisalign?
An Invisalign patient has a mold made of their mouth and then a series of customized mouthguards are then made that are supposed to be changed roughly every two weeks. As the time goes on, one’s teeth are supposed to gradually shift and straighten out. With braces, a series of brackets and bands are cemented on teeth and then are left there for a predetermined length of time.
Invisalign allows patients to eat what they want – all they have to do is take out the mouthpiece to eat and then they brush their teeth before they put the Invisalign back in their mouth. That’s often a relief, since they won’t have to radically alter their eating habits, unlike with braces, where patients have to avoid many different kinds of food.
Braces-wearers have to be very diligent with brushing their teeth, since it’s almost absurdly easy for food to get stuck in between the bands. Also, they have to really careful about eating anything hard, like candy, because one big bite on something like a jawbreaker can result in the loosening of a bracket.
One thing that can irk a lot of patients with braces is that it seems like they are constantly marching back and forth to the office to have their braces tightened. They may be missing after-school activities that they might have been able to do without braces. Time is of the essence to anyone, but it seems especially egregious to a teenager to miss any chances to go out and have fun.
Invisalign has a couple of drawbacks too. The first one is that the mouthpieces can be easily lost. A teen who takes it out of their mouth to eat lunch with their friends in the cafeteria may then forget about this clear piece of plastic still sitting on their tray and promptly deposit in the garbage. That may cause their parents to have to deposit more money to get a replacement – though it may be easy to just get that particular mold made again and wait a couple of days.
While braces are worn all the time, Invisalign does also require a hefty time commitment to be able to get the desired results. Some people may like the idea of basically just having the braces in all the time and are willing to sacrifice their eating habits for a while before they get their straight teeth. There are some who might deem themselves too forgetful.
It’s really an individual decision, when it comes down to it. Both cost around the same. People have to decide what kind of a track that they want to take to get straight teeth, and then determine if they can stick to it, either with the braces or Invisalign.
Esthetix Dental Spa can work with orthodontics or with Invisalign – and we’ll make sure that you get either of them in a comfortable environment.
