Invisalign – Fort Worth, TX
The Clearer Way to a Straighter Smile
Straightening your teeth can be a more enjoyable experience thanks to Invisalign clear aligners. Using this unique alternative to traditional braces, our team at Care 32 Dental of Fort Worth can realign your teeth and improve your bite without the shiny metal. And with our advanced dental scanner that creates digital impressions, you’ll experience greater comfort the moment you start treatment. Call us to learn more about Invisalign in Fort Worth and if it is right for you.
Why Choose Care 32 Dental of Fort Worth for Invisalign?
- Personalized Treatment Plans for Each Patient
- We Accept Your Dental Insurance
- 3D iTero Scanner for Accurate Dental Impressions
How Invisalign Works
Shifting teeth without the discomfort of metal brackets and wires are why so many patients choose Invisalign. Consisting of clear plastic trays that are customized to fit your smile, they apply gentle pressure to your teeth so that they will move in the right direction. Every week or two, you’ll be required to swap out your trays for the next set so that your teeth will continue to shift. When worn 20-22 hours a day, you’ll discover a dramatic difference in just 12-18 months (on average), allowing you to enjoy a straighter, more perfectly aligned grin.
Invisalign TEEN
Adults are not the only ones who can enjoy the benefits of clear aligners. Younger patients can take advantage of Invisalign TEEN. While they look just like regular aligners, they contain a blue indicator dot that changes colors when it’s time to swap out the trays. This not only helps to keep your teenager’s treatment on track, but they’ll appreciate the more subtle approach to orthodontic care. Not to mention, with Invisalign TEEN, they can enjoy FREE replacement aligners should they accidentally lose or damage one.
Invisalign & Teeth Grinding
If you notice that you grind your teeth, it may be that your bite is misaligned and could benefit from Invisalign. By wearing these clear aligners, your teeth will move into alignment so that everything works correctly, and you no longer suffer from the pain associated with bruxism. Instead, you can enjoy a pain-free smile that looks and feels better than before.
3D iTero Scan
If you’re considering Invisalign to straighten your teeth, you can more confidently move forward with treatment once you undergo a 3D iTero Scan. This unique device allows our team to not only capture higher-resolution images of your mouth without the use of cold dental putty but also makes it possible for you to view what your smile will look like once you are finished with Invisalign. This pre-treatment sneak peek is designed to provide motivation and assurance so that you are more comfortable with the Invisalign process.
Benefits of Invisalign
When you find out that more than 12 million patients have chosen to straighten their teeth with Invisalign, you might be wondering, “Why?” What advantages do clear aligners offer over traditional braces? Turns out, quite a few! Here are some examples.
Smooth, Low-Profile Trays
Traditional braces use brackets and wires to apply pressure to your teeth, which leaves much to be desired when it comes to look and comfort. In fact, it’s very common for patients to experience soft tissue irritation throughout their orthodontic treatment. Fortunately, that’s not the case with Invisalign. That’s because the trays are crafted from smooth, low-profile plastic, which won’t irritate your tongue, lips, or gums.
Metal-Free Braces
As we mentioned above, traditional braces leave a bit to be desired when it comes to appearance. As a result, many patients get in the habit of hiding their brackets and wires, whether that means covering their mouths when they laugh or keeping their lips closed when they smile. This won’t happen with Invisalign because the aligners are metal-free! In fact, they are completely see-through, making them virtually undetectable when worn.
Hassle-Free Oral Care
If you’ve had traditional braces in the past, then you know that brushing and flossing with brackets and wires can be a bit challenging at times. The good news is that Invisalign uses removable aligners, so you don’t have to alter your oral hygiene regimen! Plus, cleaning your trays only takes a minute or two each day. Simply put, everything from brushing your teeth to cleaning your aligners is easy with Invisalign.
Shorter Average Treatment Timelines
Although treatment timelines can vary greatly, there are general averages for each orthodontic treatment. Traditional braces, for example, usually take 2-3 years. Invisalign, on the other hand, has an average treatment timeline of only 12-18 months. So, there’s a good chance that you’ll see results much sooner with clear aligners!
No Dietary Restrictions
In short, Invisalign doesn’t come with any dietary restrictions. That means that you won’t have to completely eliminate crunchy, hard, and sticky foods like whole apples, raw celery, and cashews from your diet during your teeth-straightening journey. You will, of course, need to continue to keep your consumption of foods and drinks with added sugar to a minimum to help keep your teeth and gums healthy.
Fewer Check-In Visits
Finally, Invisalign check-in visits are every 6-8 weeks instead of every four. This alone frees up your schedule considerably, but it’s also important that we mention here that the appointments themselves are usually only 15 minutes or so too. Simply put, you’ll spend less time in the treatment chair with Invisalign.
Living with Invisalign Aligners
Even if you’ve learned the basics about Invisalign, you may not know what using its trays is like. It’d be good to grasp those details before treatment - they’ll make your aligner journey much smoother. Fortunately, Care 32 Dental is here with great advice on living with Invisalign. Following it should simplify your time with our trays until your smile straightens. Simply keep reading to get the exact facts, or call us for further help.
Wearing Your Trays
As mentioned earlier, you should wear your aligners for 20-22 hours daily. You’ll also use each set for a week or two before switching to a new one. If you don’t adhere to these rules, your treatment progress could be delayed.
Given these facts, you should only ever remove your trays briefly. The sole times when it’s okay to take them out are when you eat, drink something besides water, or clean your smile.
Cleaning Your Aligners
While aligners use clear materials, you need to clean them frequently. They often pick up plaque, leftover food, and other debris as they sit over your teeth. However, that cleaning should take a specific form.
A few good methods exist for cleaning Invisalign trays. One idea is to rinse them daily with room-temperature water, as hot water would warp their material. Another approach is to soak the trays in Invisalign cleaning crystals for 15-30 minutes once a day. Lastly, you could just brush the aligners with a toothbrush and some clear hand soap.
Eating & Drinking
Invisalign trays shouldn’t be worn when you’re having a meal. Chewing would damage the aligners, and drinking a colored beverage could stain them.
Due to this design, store your trays in a protective case before eating or drinking. Doing so keeps them safe from accidents and stops food from getting caught in them. Furthermore, having less debris caught in the trays reduces your risk of cavities.
Losing or Damaging a Tray
Though reliable, Invisalign trays can be easily lost or damaged. You should act quickly if you lose or harm your own; your treatment timeline will be delayed otherwise.
In particular, talk to your local dentist if your trays are lost or damaged. They can order new ones or advance you to the next aligners in your treatment. As for their final choice, that’ll depend on their discretion and how close you already were to switching trays.
Routine Check-Ins
For the final point, note that the Invisalign process involves regular check-ins. These visits should occur every 4-8 weeks, depending on your treatment plan.
Most Invisalign check-ins are simple and only last 15 minutes. In that time, the dentist will provide your next aligner set and ensure your treatment is on track. You’ll then be ready to continue the Invisalign process.
Understanding the Cost of Invisalign
When patients come in for their consultation, they often have all sorts of questions for our Fort Worth dental team. Hands down, one of the most asked ones is, “How much does Invisalign cost?” Once we have an in-depth understanding of your unique dental needs, we’ll be able to provide you with an estimate and review the financial solutions available to you. In the meantime, you can read on to learn more!
Factors That Affect the Cost of Invisalign
When you come in for your consultation, we will take X-rays, conduct a thorough visual exam, and take impressions of your teeth. Only then will we be able to determine:
- The complexity of your case
- How many aligners you need
- If you need rubber bands (or any other orthodontic accessories)
- If single-arch treatment is possible
Important note: It is possible for there to be additional costs down the line. For example, if you consistently don’t wear your aligners as directed, an entirely new treatment plan may need to be made.
Invisalign vs. Mail-Order Aligners: Which Costs More?
Mail-order aligner companies have TV commercials and social media ads centered around one thing: how cheap they are. Although this might initially be enticing, it’s important to remember that a lot of corners are cut to make this possible. One example is the impressions used to create your treatment plan. While Invisalign uses cutting-edge dental technology and is conducted by a dental professional, mail-order alternatives rely on DIY impressions that are often inaccurate. Of course, this is just one of many reasons you shouldn’t go the cheaper route to save a few bucks. If you want to learn more about the benefits of investing in Invisalign, don’t hesitate to ask us during your consultation!
Does Dental Insurance Cover Invisalign?
There are some dental insurance plans that include a once-in-a-lifetime orthodontic benefit. So, there’s certainly no harm in double-checking the fine print on your plan. Our Fort Worth dental team can even help! We’re happy to welcome a wide range of providers, including Cigna, Metlife, United Health Care, Aetna, and Guardian. In short, if you’re currently insured, don’t hesitate to ask us for assistance understanding and utilizing your available benefits.
Options for Making Invisalign Affordable
Good news: we offer financial solutions outside of dental insurance! So, if you are currently uninsured, we can still help you get the smile of your dreams at a price you can afford. We offer periodic special offers (like Invisalign for as low as $209 a month), flexible financing with Sunbit, and our very own in-house dental discount plan. We’ll review each of these during your consultation so you can confidently decide which (if any) are ideal for you.
Invisalign FAQs
What Does Invisalign Look Like?
To the outside observer, Invisalign aligners don’t look like much of anything at all. They’re made of a thin plastic that makes them remarkably discreet, allowing them to blend in perfectly with the smile. As a result, people who don’t know you won’t be able to tell that you have anything on your teeth unless you tell them.
However, if you don’t take good care of your aligners, they could start to become discolored. This will make them more noticeable. For that reason, it’s important to clean your aligners often and to avoid eating while wearing them.
Can You Eat with Invisalign In?
Speaking of, we would strongly recommend against eating anything while wearing your aligners. One of the nicest things about Invisalign trays is that they’re removable—once you take them off, you can eat just about anything that you would like. However, dining while wearing them can cause damage to your trays, warp them, or cause them to become discolored over time.
Invisalign provides you with a lot more freedom in diet than traditional braces do, so long as you remember to take them off before dinner.
What Are Invisalign Attachments?
In their inception, Invisalign aligners were much more limited in what they could achieve than traditional braces. While they worked well for minor misalignment, they couldn’t be used for more substantially crooked teeth or for bite issues.
Invisalign attachments change that. These are typically adhered directly to the teeth and provide Invisalign aligners with much more versatility. Buttons, for example, add texture to problem teeth that allow the trays to put more pressure on them. There are also attachments that function a bit like the hooks on braces, drawing the teeth together to correct bite issues.
These attachments do not do any harm to the teeth, and are still much more low-profile than wires and brackets.
What Happens After Invisalign?
Invisalign treatment begins with us designing a treatment plan for you, plotting out all the aligners we expect you to need. Once you’ve reached the end of these trays, you’ll come back to our office and we’ll check whether you need any other trays to bring your smile into alignment.
Once you’re finished, you’ll be given your retainer. Just like with braces, your retainer is necessary to keep your teeth in place while they’re still mobile. This retainer will look a lot like your Invisalign trays did, which should make it easy to adapt to. We’ll be able to tell you more about how long you’ll need to wear this retainer, and how often, once we reach that point in your treatment.