Invisalign Basics

It is possible for Denver dentists to provide their adult patients with straight teeth.

The Invisalign product acts exactly as traditional braces, only it is undetectable to the eye. A patient will need to wear the small plastic device for twenty hours everyday for about a year.

How does Invisalign work?

Invisalign may not work for everyone, and each Denver dentist or orthodontist will determine that through a consultation before beginning treatment.

The dentist will need to take photographs and impressions of the patient’s teeth and send them to the manufacturing centre of Invisalign, controlled by Align Technologies. The Invisalign laboratory then manufactures anything between twenty and thirty aligning devices for the patient, using state of the art computer software. These aligners shift the teeth gradually .25 to .33 millimeters during every session into their ideal placement and are changed every two weeks for that purpose. The dentist or orthodontist will dispenses the aligners one or two at a time, depending on whether the monitoring visits are scheduled biweekly or monthly. In this system, the dentist monitors the effectiveness and the progress of the procedure over 12 months to obtain the desired result.

Patients undergoing Invisalign treatment must wear this device for not less than twenty hours a day, and not eat or drink anything except water while wearing them.

It is important to work only with a Denver dentist or orthodontist who is certified to treat patients using the Invisalign product, and to be sure that regular check-ups are followed to ensure results are what they should be.

What if Invisalign procedure is not deemed appropriate for a patient?

The traditional orthodontic products are still available for use in treatment, including the metal and wire braces which may be necessary for severe cases of misalignment or dental problems. While these devices are not invisible like the Invisalign aligners, they are much smaller than braces from the past, and can work just as quickly as the aligners.

It is the dentist’s or orthodontist’s job to choose the best course of treatment for every dental problem, and one should seek consultation when trying to determine a course of treatment.