A lot of people are put off getting their teeth straightened because they can’t face the idea of having braces on their teeth and all the resultant trauma of stares and personal questions every time they go out in public. Understandable really, especially if you’re working with the public, or at a particularly self-conscious stage in life (which is every stage in life after childhood when it comes to teeth!).
However, at Harley Street Dental Clinic, we have a way for you to get your teeth straightened without the trauma of being stared at on the Tube or at work. It’s called Invisalign. In Harley Street, we use it mainly to treat mild to moderate cases of misalignment, but it can work on more complex issues if you’re willing to be disciplined about your treatment.
Why the need for discipline
In Harley Street, Invisalign requires more self-responsibility than fixed bracket and wire braces because the clear aligners are removed for eating and drinking. This means you have to take them out to consume anything other than plain water. Then you must brush your teeth before putting your aligners back in. Sound easy enough, but you also have to be diligent about wearing your aligners for at least 20 hours a day, otherwise there won’t be enough sustained pressure to get your teeth to move, and you will have to start the movement process over and over again.
Along with this discipline is also the discipline to remember to change your aligners. Traditional braces work by wires pulling the teeth into alignment. You go back to the dentist pretty frequently to get the wires tightened up. With Invisalign in Harley Street, which uses pressure points inside the aligners to nudge your teeth into alignment, the pressure is kept up by changing to the next aligner in the series. If you forget to change your aligners when you should, the momentum is lost and the movement process has to start all over again.
That said, if you can be disciplined, Invisalign in Harley Street allows for a lot more freedom in terms of eating and discretion.