Is Invisalign a Good Option For Busy Professionals?
By Rex Hoang | Published on June 16, 2010 | 0 Comments
Invisalign has become a very popular option for young professionals who want straighter teeth without having all the wires and brackets that go along with traditional braces, says Dr. Rex Hoang. Hoang is the owner of DC Dental Spa, which offers Invisalign for patients in the Washington, DC area.
Although Invisalign is popular with children, teens, and adults as well, the treatment is especially gaining traction among the young professional crowd. “People like Invisalign because you can take the tray out if you have a big meeting, an important presentation, or a big date,” says Hoang. “Anytime you don’t feel comfortable wearing the Invisalign tray for a matter of minutes or hours, you can just take it out.” Obviously, this is not an option for people who go with regular orthodontic braces instead.
Still, Hoang encourages people to keep in mind that the Invisalign tray must be worn for at least 20 hours each day in order for it to be effective and really work. “You can make up the time, though,” he says. “For example, if you took your Invisalign tray out for two hours during a meeting on Monday, then I would just tell you to make sure and keep it in longer on Tuesday in order to catch up on the time.”
Like traditional braces, Invisalign is a way of moving teeth for patients who want straighter smiles. The main difference, however, is that Invisalign does not rely on brackets or wires to get the job done. The Invisalign system uses different types of trays to adjust the teeth in whichever direction is needed. “We can put pressure on the teeth with the tray,” Hoang says. “So let’s say your dentist wants to narrow your arch because your teeth stick out too far. With Invisalign, we would make you a set of trays that gradually put pressure on the front of the teeth to push them back in place.” Hoang says the trays will get progressively smaller or bigger over time, depending on which direction the teeth need to move.
The amount of time that an Invisalign tray is kept in the mouth is important because the trays are designed based on the ideal movement of the teeth. If people don’t spend enough time wearing their Invisalign retainers, then their teeth will not be able to progress in the right direction.
Another reason young professionals favor Invisalign is because they don’t need to take as much time off of work to come in for follow-up appointments as they would with regular braces. “The frequency with which a patient needs to come into the office with Invisalign all depends on the case,” Hoang says. “But most patients only need to see us once every three months.” Patients who have teeth that are too wide may need to come into Hoang’s office in Washington, DC to have their Invisalign trays checked out a bit more often, he says, but even in that case, the frequency of visits would still only be once every two months or so.
Hoang cautions that the exact way Invisalign works is fairly complex, and varies from patient to patient. “If your teeth are too wide and we have to slowly narrow them to make room for the other teeth to come in, then you have to see us a little more frequently—maybe once every month or every two months,” he says.
Another problem that people have with regular braces is how common it is for a wire to break at an inopportune time. “Not only can the wire break and stick into your lips or cheeks, which can hurt, but if the wire breaks at a time when you can’t get out of the office and into a dentist’s office, then you are in trouble,” he says. “If a wire breaks at night, you aren’t going to have anyone to fix it for you until the morning.” With Invisalign, however, that is not an issue. “None of the emergencies that you have to deal with in regular braces come up with Invisalign,” he says.
Finally, Invisalign has become popular because many professionals appreciate not having to go through treatment as long as they would with regular braces. At Hoang’s practice in Washington, DC, Invisalign patients average nine to 11 months of treatment time. Regular braces, by contrast, require an average treatment of 24 months or two years. For this reason, young professionals who don’t have the time to spend going to frequent appointments, or the desire to look younger than they already are in business settings, are increasingly coming into DC Dental Spa to find out if Invisalign is a viable option to straighten out their smiles.
*Disclaimer: The information on this website is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.