How long does Invisalign take?

Invisalign offers a great alternative for people with crooked or improperly aligned teeth who don’t want to wear braces or deal with headgear and other uncomfortable, unattractive old-fashioned treatment techniques. More and more people of all ages are choosing Invisalign and other clear plastic orthodontic aligners. Invisalign promises to correct the alignment of your teeth without uncomfortable metal pieces, and it also offers an aesthetic solution since the plastic aligners can barely be seen on the teeth. More than half of American adults have improperly aligned teeth. Some of these adults had braces as a child, but their teeth shifted because of incorrect aftercare. Others have never had any corrective treatment on their teeth. No matter the reason, Invisalign can help correct your smile in a relatively brief amount of time, and with minimal discomfort or negative aesthetic impact. Many patients report visible results within only a few weeks, and treatment can often be completed in about 12 months. Wearing a retainer following Invisalign treatment will help maintain your newly corrected dental alignment. Because each person’s orthodontic needs are different, there’s no way to determine an exact duration for treatment. If you only need minor realignment, your Invisalign treatment may be complete in as little as 6 months. In more complicated cases, treatment may take as long as 18 months.

If you have a smaller jaw, or larger teeth, your teeth may be crowded into your mouth; this crowding may lead to misaligned teeth. While minor crowding may be resolved in as few as six months, more moderate cases may take closer to a year. The more crowded your teeth are, the longer treatment will take. If your teeth are very severely crowded, your dentist may recommend additional cosmetic procedures, so be sure to work closely with the dentist to determine your specific needs. If you have gaps in your teeth, also known as diastema, these can also be treated with Invisalign. Minor gaps may be corrected in as few as 6 months, while more severe gaps may take up to a year. If you have a combination of crowding and gaps, your treatment is likely to take as long as 18 months, though some people’s teeth respond more readily and therefore take less time to properly align. If your jaw is disproportionately larger than your individual teeth, your dentist may recommend additional treatment, like veneers or dental bonding, to build up the individual teeth once they have been properly aligned.

While Invisalign is a good option for both adults and teenagers, teens may find that their teeth move more quickly and with more ease than adults. This is because teenagers’ mouths are still growing and are more malleable. In some cases, however, adults’ teeth may move quickly also, which may lead to faster results for adults. Compliance with your treatment plan will also affect the necessary duration of your treatment. Your dentist will give you a specific treatment plan; rigorously following this treatment plan will lead to an effective and efficient treatment, minimizing the duration of the treatment time. Ideally, you will wear your Invisalign trays for at least 22 hours per day. You may remove your Invisalign trays to eat, brush your teeth, and clean the trays themselves, but you should otherwise wear your Invisalign aligners at all times, even while sleeping. Choosing to go without the Invisalign trays for longer periods may allow the teeth to shift back to their original misalignment, thereby requiring a longer treatment period.

Many teens and adults don’t want to wear traditional metal braces because they don’t like the appearance of these metal brackets on their teeth. Appearance isn’t the only reason that traditional metal braces aren’t the best idea for many people. The metal wires that comprise most metal braces can snap relatively easily when eating certain foods, which is why orthodontists will often restrict certain foods for people with traditional metal braces. These foods typically include popcorn and other crunchy snacks, harder foods, excessively chewy or sticky foods, or foods you have to bite into whole, like apples or corn on the cob. While it’s certainly possible to avoid these foods, for many people, it’s just not preferable or fun. Because Invisalign wearers remove the alignment trays to eat, Invisalign treatment doesn’t come with any dietary restrictions. Invisalign aligning trays, which are made of medical-grade acrylic, are also less likely than metal braces to break or undergo damage from routine wear and tear. The best way to determine whether Invisalign treatment is right for you is to talk to your orthodontist. Your orthodontist can also provide you with answers about how long Invisalign treatment might take for your specific orthodontic needs.

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