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Schedule Your Appointment
Schedule Your Appointment Get Started Teen smiling after Invisalign treatment at Pearl Dental Group. Invisalign Dentist in Metairie, LA
If you or your teenager wants aligned teeth, it might be time to explore Invisalign. At Pearl Dental Group in Metairie, LA we frequently treat adolescents with Invisalign Teen® as a substitute for traditional orthodontics for teenagers. This treatment is gaining popularity as increasing numbers of teens are enhancing their smiles without using conspicuous and cumbersome orthodontic appliances. If you reside in the Greater New Orleans region, we urge you to call and arrange a complimentary smile evaluation. We can determine whether Invisalign® is the appropriate solution for your child and explain how to begin.
Invisalign® aligns teeth through a sequence of transparent, plastic aligners. For teeth to shift from their present misaligned state to their proper position, force must be exerted. With orthodontics, this occurs using metal attachments with wires connecting them. With Invisalign®, we exert force using a sequence of transparent aligners that place precise amounts of pressure on particular teeth. When used consecutively, they apply the appropriate amount of force on the teeth to guide them to the proper position.
Step 1) Teens love Invisalign®
If your teen enjoys their orthodontics treatment, they will be more committed to following through with it. Orthodontics is not a procedure that people can complete in one visit. It is up to your teen to remember to wear their aligners, keep up with appointments and care for his or her teeth. While the same level of commitment is necessary for wearing braces, Invisalign® can lead to better satisfaction in the teen during the process and months of wearing the product. Teens wear Invisalign® aligners for at least 21 hours per day. However, teens can remove the aligners to eat, brush their teeth, play sports or for taking a picture.
Step 2) Easier To Use
One of the greatest advantages of Invisalign Teen® as a substitute for traditional orthodontics for teens is that the transparent aligners are remarkably simple to manage. The transparent aligners work like a removable retainer. Your teen inserts the aligners and removes them when needed since we don’t need to permanently secure anything. As long as a teen cleans their teeth following each meal, they can consume any preferred foods without dietary modifications. All the teen must do is remove the aligners and store them in a protective case while eating. The same applies when cleaning their teeth. This differs greatly from orthodontics, where the cleaning and flossing routine requires specialized tools and can consume up to twenty minutes each time.
Step 3) Teeth Stay Cleaner
Since teeth are simpler to maintain clean when using Invisalign®, there’s reduced risk of developing discoloration or cavities. Consider this: when someone wears orthodontics, food can lodge throughout the attachments and beneath the wires. These locations can become breeding grounds for bacteria and plaque that can damage teeth and cause decay. To prevent this, specialized brushes must be used daily so the attachments themselves can stay relatively clean. Proper oral hygiene can be challenging for adults, much less children or teens. This is one reason Invisalign Teen® is an excellent treatment choice. By removing the aligners while eating, there’s nothing extra for food to lodge on or plaque to accumulate on. Since they’re removed for brushing and flossing, the oral hygiene process remains as convenient as always. Invisalign Teen® creates a beneficial situation for both oral hygiene and smile aesthetics.
Step 4) Better For Self-Esteem
Although orthodontics are smaller than previously, many people still associate stigma with wearing them. When teens learn they’ll need orthodontics, many may feel uncomfortable about appearing different, worry about standing out, and dislike the concept of attending school with metal in their mouth. At Pearl Dental Group in Metairie, LA we understand. Regardless of how effectively orthodontics can work, some teens may prefer an alternative due to insecurity or self-consciousness. As a parent, we suggest not pressuring the issue since orthodontics are a long-term commitment, and if they’re unhappy initially, they’ll likely remain unhappy months into the treatment. Instead, we recommend using Invisalign Teen®. Our Metairie dental practice can offer a virtually invisible solution for teens that others will struggle to detect. The subtle function while using Invisalign Teen® enables them to smile daily without concealing their teeth. As the teen’s smile enhances during treatment, they’ll stay positive and observe the improvements.
Step 5) Treatment Time
We can inform you about treatment length when you visit our dental practice. Generally, most teens need to wear their aligners for approximately 12 months. The total treatment time with Invisalign Teen® can differ based on how much movement is required and how consistently the teen wears the aligners. While a teen may only need to wear aligners for 20 to 22 hours daily, if they remove the aligners too frequently and for extended periods, they risk prolonging treatment time. Using Invisalign Teen® requires dedication and attention, but can offer a positive experience compared to other orthodontic approaches.
Step 6) Invisalign Teen® is more comfortable
At Pearl Dental Group in Metairie, LA we hear many patients comment about their comfort during treatment. Whenever teeth shift, some degree of tenderness is inevitable. Whether your teen uses metal orthodontics or aligners, there will be some tenderness after an adjustment or switching to a new aligner. Minor tenderness during adjustments is completely normal. The comfort difference becomes more apparent when considering how everything feels regularly. Since traditional orthodontics involve metal attachments and wires, that metal can rub against the cheeks and mouth interior, causing irritation. It’s common for people to develop sores or cuts in their mouth consequently. Naturally, this is inconvenient and completely preventable when using Invisalign Teen®. Since the aligners are transparent plastic, they’re smooth and unlikely to injure your teen’s mouth during treatment.
With Invisalign® treatment, the patient receives a sequence of aligner trays and exchanges each one for the subsequent one in the series every two weeks to progressively align the teeth.
ClinCheck® software allows professionals to map out the straightening process the patient’s teeth will go through with Invisalign® in great detail.
Incisal ridges are the portion of the crown of the tooth that makes up the incisal portion and can be a direct cause of overbite if they are extended too far.
Malocclusion is the condition in which the upper and lower teeth do not meet properly when the bite is closed. Conditions of malocclusion can include overbite, underbite, crossbite and open bite; all of which are treatable with Invisalign®.
Smart Track® Material
Smart Track® material is in Invisalign® aligners to increase comfort, improve control of movement, increases the speed of treatment and applies a gentle force to the teeth over time.
Vivera® retainers are a type of retainer that consists of clear plastic material and helps to maintain orthodontic corrections after a treatment.
The blue compliance indicator is a small blue dot on the aligners that will fade from blue to clear in order to indicate if the patient is wearing the aligner for the proper amount of time and where the patient is in the Invisalign® process.
The gum line is the line in the mouth where the teeth and gums meet. If a patient struggles with gum recession, then the gum tissue around the teeth may begin to wear away.
An iTero Element® scanner allows professionals to create a 3D image of the patient’s teeth in minutes and predict what it will take to move the teeth into proper alignment.
An overbite is a type of malocclusion that occurs when the upper teeth jut out over the lower teeth, covering them and causing other issues.
SmartForce attachments are small attachments that professionals place on the patient’s teeth before placing aligners to help move the teeth.
Smile-Scan analyzes the way a patient smiles by measuring the position of the mouth and eyes before giving a score.
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