About Invisalign

HOW DOES INVISALIGN WORK?

Invisalign is based around a series of removable, clear aligners that each move the teeth in a specific way. During your consultation appointment your suitability for Invisalign will be checked. If suitable, impressions and photographs will be taken so that we can show you what your teeth might look like during and after treatment using ClinCheck – a virtual 3D treatment plan.

The 3D treatment plan will also show us the series of movements your teeth are projected to go through, what your teeth are expected to look like when the treatment is completed and provide us with a plan detailing exactly how long your orthodontic treatment will take.

WILL INVISALIGN AFFECT MY SPEECH?

There should be no noticeable difference to your speech whilst wearing your aligners.

CAN YOU SEE THE ALIGNERS?

Invisalign aligners are almost impossible to see by the untrained eye.

WILL I HAVE ANY DISCOMFORT?

Generally no, however, when you start wearing a new set of aligners your teeth may ache slightly for a day or so.

WHAT HAPPENS ONCE I DECIDE TO GO AHEAD WITH INVISALIGN?

Once you have decided to go ahead with treatment, your aligners will begin production immediately. It takes between 2-4 weeks for the aligners to be delivered.

HOW OFTEN WILL I NEED TO CHANGE MY ALIGNERS?

Your aligners will need to be changed every 2 weeks. You will normally be given 3 - 4 aligners every time you visit the practice, which means you will only need to come into the practice every 6 – 8 weeks to have your Invisalign progress checked.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I LOSE MY ALIGNERS?

Don’t panic! We can order you a replacement aligner; and you don’t even need to attend the practice for this to be done.

For more information visit our Emergencies page here.

HOW MUCH DOES INVISALIGN COST?

There are four different categories of Invisalign, depending on your orthodontic needs. The cost of Invisalign is from £2400.

You can find out more about our treatments fee here.

WEARING YOUR ALIGNERS

Invisalign recommend that you wear your aligners for a minimum of 22 hours a day. We have found that the best approach to wearing them is to fully commit to the treatment and accept that to be able to get the smile that you want; you need to wear them for the recommended time frame. The more you leave them out – the longer your treatment is going to take.

There will be times when you find that wearing Invisalign is not practical – for example: if you are going out to dinner, or to a wedding. Don’t worry too much about this; just make sure you put your aligners back in as soon as reasonably possible.

Your aligners will be changed every two weeks– we have provided you with your three aligners. You will need to return to the practice every six weeks for us to review your progress and provide you will more aligners.

ROUGH ALIGNERS

You may notice that some of your aligners may have a rough area on them that if left, can cause a sore spot in your mouth. We have provided you with some clear dental wax in your take home box. If you have a rough patch, put a little bit of wax over it for a day or so.

After that time your mouth will have healed and the rough patch should have smoothed over. If you find that the aligners are consistently sore, pop into the practice and we can smooth them over for you.

ORAL HEALTH CARE

We would recommend that you pay extra attention to your oral health routine whilst wearing the aligners. If you eat or drink anything, we would advise that you clean your teeth before putting your aligners back in. Sometimes this is not always practical, so at the very least; chew some sugar free chewing gum before putting them back in.

It would be very easy for decay to form under your aligners if you are eating/drinking and then putting your aligners straight back in as you will be trapping the food/drink against your teeth and therefore increasing your chance of decay. To avoid this – brush or eat chewing gum every time!

You may also notice that in the process of your teeth moving, some areas in between your teeth will become harder to clean. It is important that you floss regularly to ensure that if you have difficult areas these are identified and kept clean; otherwise it can cause problems with your gum health.

EATING AND DRINKING

You will need to remove your aligners every time you eat and drink, except for drinking water.

The aligners stain very easily so do not be tempted to keep them in when drinking tea/coffee/squash as you will find that within a few days they will stain and you will have to wear the stained aligners until your next change.