What to Expect When Getting Started with Invisalign®

It doesn’t matter if you’re a tween, teen, or an adult — if you have bite alignment problems, you need some orthodontia to move your teeth into their proper positions.

It used to be that orthodontia meant a mouth full of metal — visible brackets and wires that could be painful when tightened, required special care when eating and brushing, and earned the wearer the unflattering nickname: metal mouth.

Then along came Invisalign® in 1998. It’s a series of clear plastic aligners that treat mild-to-moderate alignment issues and are visually discrete. The trays are simple to use, often take less time to work than metal, and no one can tell you’re having work done.

According to Align Technology, as of December 2023, over 17 million people had used Invisalign clear aligners to improve their smiles.

At the dental office of Shara Miller DDS, our expert team of dental providers is proud to offer Invisalign to our patients in South Beach, Miami, Florida, and Midtown, New York City, New York. If you want to improve your bite and smile, here’s what you can expect from the Invisalign experience.

What can I expect from Invisalign?

Invisalign comes as sequential sets of clear aligners, which consist of a patented thermoplastic material called SmartTrack®, developed exclusively for making aligners.

The lab creates your aligners according to your dentist’s specifications and with your comfort in mind. SmarTrack material ensures a great fit, but since everybody’s gum line is different, each aligner you wear gets trimmed, preventing chafing. The dentist can refine the trim if you feel discomfort when you put it on.

What is treatment like?

Your Invisalign experience starts with a consultation with your dentist at Shara Miller DDS. The dentist evaluates your smile and bite and then uses an intraoral scanner to capture digital images of your teeth and bone structure. These data allow the Invisalign software to create your customized treatment plan that showcases how your smile will change, step-by-step, during treatment.

Once your first few sets of aligners return from the lab, you come into our office to learn how to use them appropriately, including placing and removing them.

For success, you must wear your aligners 20-22 hours a day, removing them only when eating and brushing your teeth (and cleaning the aligners). By taking them out while eating, you check  a couple of big boxes: You don’t have to worry about what you eat for fear of breaking wires or brackets, and you’re not likely to stain the plastic.

You change to a new set of aligners every 1-2 weeks per the dentist’s instructions. Each new set is a little tighter and pushes the teeth more so your teeth move in the right direction.

Most doctors recommend that when you complete orthodontic treatment with metal or Invisalign, you use a retainer to prevent the teeth from slowly shifting back toward their original positions. Ask the dentist if you’re going to need one.

If you need a retainer, we recommend the Vivera™ retainers since they use the same state-of-the-art technology found in the Invisalign aligners. Invisalign’s manufacturer, Align Technology, claims the thermoplastic material is at least 30% stronger and lasts twice as long as other leading retainer materials.

If you’re looking for orthodontia but don’t want the whole world to know it, and your alignment issues are mild-to-moderate, Invisalign may be just the thing for you. To schedule a consultation, contact us at either of our offices or book on the website today.