Many people think that once a person gets beyond, say, about 20 years old, it’s too late to get their teeth straightened, and their teeth are now permanently locked into place in their jaw. But at Harley Street Dental Clinic, we know the truth: your teeth can be repositioned in the jaw no matter how old you are.
In fact, the reason why, until recently, almost all adults would not even consider wearing braces, was because of the embarrassment factor associated with ‘a mouth full of metal’.
Now, however, you no longer have to choose between feeling self-conscious about your crooked, misaligned or crowded teeth and feeling self-conscious about heavy metal braces to correct them. This is because the technology of teeth straightening is always moving forward, and now you can have clear braces in Harley Street, or braces that are positioned in the mouth so as to be almost unnoticeable.
Invisalign
Clear braces in Harley Street come to you courtesy of Invisalign. Invisalign technology doesn’t even use braces, but custom-made transparent trays that fit over your teeth and gradually and gently shift them into their new position. The trays are made from smooth, comfortable BPA-free plastic that will not irritate your gums and cheeks. Your dentist will take pin-point accurate measurements of your teeth using a handheld scanner. Then they will create a computer-generated movie of your teeth moving into alignment. From these measurements and plans, your aligners are made. Each tray in the series uses gentle forces to take your teeth one step along the road to straightening out. You wear each tray for between 20 and 22 hours a day, taking it out to eat and clean your teeth. The average treatment time is one year.
Lingual braces
Lingual braces fit on the inside of the teeth, next to the tongue, rather than on the outer surface, where everyone can see them. We use a system from Incognito, which many consider to be the ultimate in lingual braces. Not only are they individually designed for each patient, but the braces are made from gold alloy so that people with nickel allergies can use them.