Invisalign isn’t appropriate for complex bite problems or different cases of misalignment. Traditional wire and bracket braces are typically used for those complex problems.

Invisalign is commonly used to correct the following dental problems:
- Overly crowded teeth. When there is not enough room in the jaw for all of the teeth to fit comfortably or normally (one to five millimeters).
- Widely spaced teeth. When there is too much space between the teeth due to abnormal growth of the jaw or shifting of the teeth due to missing teeth (one millimeter to five millimeters).
- Overbite/overjet. When the upper teeth bite over the lower teeth.
- Crossbite. When the upper and lower jaws are misaligned, causing one or more upper teeth to bite on the inside of the lower teeth, on either the front and/or sides of the mouth.
- Mild relapse. After traditional braces have been removed, when some relapsing tooth movement has occurred.
- Invisalign may also be a treatment alternative for certain simple malocclusions (bite irregularities)

Invisalign aligners are removable, which allows great freedom for eating, drinking certain beverages, brushing and flossing. You should only drink water with them on, in order to avoid staining the aligners. Even though they come off, they still must be worn for at least 20 hours a day in order to reposition the teeth successfully. So yes that means you will still have to sleep with them in, unless it’s a cat nap. Typically you will use about twenty to thirty aligners for the upper and lower teeth to complete the treatment, which lasts on average about a year. Different alignment problems take different times. Each aligner moves the teeth in increments as small as .25 millimeters to .33 millimeters.

You might wonder, how do they create something so precise? They use computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing processes at the Align Technologies dental lab. These are based off of teeth impressions and are always custom made.

Don’t get too excited, traditional braces will still be used for things such as
- Crowding and spacing greater than five millimeters.
- Skeletal malocclusions.
- Discrepancies involving centric-relation/centric-occlusion (how the upper and lower jaw joints and jaw muscles close together).
- Teeth that are severely rotated.
- Open bites in the front and back of the mouth that need to be closed.
- Teeth that are severely tipped.
- Upper or lower jaws with multiple missing teeth.

1. Stay away from Sports Drinks – The pH levels in many sports drinks can lead to tooth erosion due to their high concentration of acidic components, which could wear away at the tooth’s enamel.
2. Stay away from Sodas – for similar reasons as sports drinks, high sugar and bad pH. Don’t think your getting off easy with a diet soda, they can still be just as harmful.
3. Stay away from Sugar – sugar acts as food for acid-producing bacteria which ends up causing cavities and tooth decay. Replace sugar with Stevia, which is all natural, or at least Splenda.
4. Drink water from the tap – bottled waters has less fluoride than tap water. Fluoride makes the entire tooth more resistant to decay and promotes remineralization which aids in stopping early decay. And the most efficient way to get fluoride is from water. But for the over 60 crowd you should also use fluoride toothpaste or fluoride rinses.
5. Stop Smoking! – besides the cancer it produces, tar from smoke forms a sticky film on teeth which increases bacteria.
6. Floss more – you already know you should be doing it. So start.

If you don’t follow these 6 tips, you might end up with dentures or dental implants.

Dental implants are attached to the jawbone. Unlike dentures that could slip out of place dental implants are stable and eventually fuse to your jaw. Dental implants are the most advanced and effective option for patients that have lost their adult teeth.

If you are interested in finding out more about dental implants contact our experienced Minneapolis Cosmetic Dentist Team at Dr. Tim Clavin, DDS.

Source: http://www.aaoms.org