Harley Street Dental Clinic

You might be reluctant to straighten your teeth because you don’t want to spend a long time wearing highly visible braces in Harley Street. Clear braces solve this problem by using transparent materials and user-friendly design. At Harley Street Dental Clinic, we have a wealth of experience in providing this innovative treatment to patients who want a low-hassle way to improve their dental positioning.

Enhancing areas

Having clear braces in Harley Street will improve your oral health and enhance your aesthetic appeal. Most people agree that straighter teeth are better to look at, but you might not know that they’re also easier to keep clean. By removing the awkward spaces in your mouth, in which food particles and bacteria can hide, Harley Street clear braces can reduce your risk of gum disease and tooth decay.

Steps to improvement

When you come to our friendly practice for your consultation, we’ll talk to you about your oral health, and you can describe how you’d like your teeth to look. We’ll take some 3D images of your teeth, and create a series of transparent plastic aligners.

You’ll then wear a set of these aligners for 7-10 days, before moving on to the next set in the series. Each set is a slightly different shape, so your teeth will be gently pressured into better positions over the treatment’s duration.

Convenient construction

When it’s time to eat a meal, the aligners can be easily removed from your mouth. Likewise, you can take them out when it’s time to brush your teeth. While you’re wearing them at work, or at social events, their transparent material helps them to stay hidden.

Typical treatment times can be 12-18 months or longer. Clear braces in Harley Street do need time to produce their results. When it’s time to stop wearing them, you’ll probably need to wear a retainer at night, to help the teeth get used to their new orientations.

Once it’s all over, you can enjoy the cosmetic and oral health benefits for many years to come. Having clear braces in Harley Street can significantly enhance your overall quality of life.

Twenty-one years ago, even for mild cosmetic adjustments of your teeth, you were looking at being fitted with some kind of bracket and wire braces. While this type of braces is very effective, sometimes it’s using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It’s no wonder most people didn’t bother with cosmetic teeth straightening work.

The reason teenagers have to wear unsightly metal train tracks on their teeth for up to two years is that bracket and wires braces pull the jaw as well as the teeth into alignment. This kind of work is best done while the jaw is still growing in the adolescent years.

At Harley Street Dental Clinic, most of our adult patients don’t need the jaw adjusting. If you grew up in the UK with a misaligned jaw, it’s likely your dentist will have recommended you for treatment on the NHS. If as an adult you experience misalignment still, it could be that it wasn’t serious enough to qualify for NHS treatment, or that it’s just your teeth that need readjusting.

If this is the case, these days there are much quicker, easier and more discreet ways to straighten your smile.

In Harley Street, Invisalign clear aligners do the job of straightening mild to moderate misalignments of the teeth very well. Invisalign first became available to dentists in 1997 and has now been used by more than 4 million patients worldwide.

The aligners are thin, thermoplastic resin trays that snap over the teeth and gums. Rather than pulling the teeth into position, they nudge them forward using pressure points inside the trays.

Treatment times are quicker – 9-18 months depending on the severity of your case –  and because the aligners are transparent, there’s no conspicuous signs of teeth straightening at work, meaning you can go about your daily life as usual. Treatment is also more affordable because it’s shorter and you don’t need as many check-ups with your dentist during the procedure.

This makes cosmetic teeth straightening much more available to a wider range of patients. Talk to our dentist today about Invisalign in Harley Street, and find out if you can join the smile revolution.

It’s not an immediately obvious connection – wearing braces and losing weight. But a knock-on benefit of having your teeth straightened can be losing inches off your waist line.

This can be the case if you are fitted with clear braces in Harley Street anyway. The reason is that clear braces are not really braces at all – not as we know and love them. Instead of using a system of brackets and wires to pull your teeth into alignment, clear braces or aligners, which look like thin, thermoplastic mouth guards, gently nudge your teeth into their correct position, using pressure points inside the aligners. In Harley Street, clear braces used by our dentists are called Invisalign.

Being aware of food choices

A major benefit of these aligners is that they are transparent, and so are almost invisible once you snap them on over your teeth. To keep them that way, you need to take them out for eating or drinking anything but plain water, otherwise the plastic becomes stained and they are no longer so discreet. Plus, it’s not great for your teeth to be in such close contact with food residue for the 20-22 hours a day you need to wear the aligners.

Invisalign patients report that this makes them much more aware of their eating habits and cuts down or cuts out unconscious snacking – the kind that is particularly prevalent in offices where there is always some cake on the go. It’s known as the Invisalign diet – straighter teeth and a slimmer waist.

Other benefits of clear braces in Harley Street

Invisalign clear braces in Harley Street aren’t just good for your waist line and your smile – they also help improve your oral health.

Straighter teeth are easier to clean – the bristles of your toothbrush and your dental floss can more easily get between your teeth into the gaps where bacteria build-up. Wonky teeth can make it very difficult to get into these gaps with your standard tooth cleaning equipment.

Once your teeth have straightened up, there will also be fewer gaps for bacteria to hide in, reducing your risk of gum disease and tooth decay.

If you are looking for a discreet way to straighten you teeth and improve your smile, you may wish to consider invisible braces fixed on the inside of your teeth. Also known as lingual braces, these braces are very discreet and suitable for teenagers and adults alike.

At Harley Street Dental Clinic, we appreciate that most adult patients do not like the idea of metal brackets and wires fixed to their teeth. Luckily, with invisible braces in Harley Street, no one will know that you are undergoing teeth straightening treatment.

What are lingual braces?

Lingual braces have been available for many years and are as effective as regular metal braces. Lingual braces work just like metal braces, but they are placed behind the teeth. They can fix a number of dental problems including (but not limited to) overcrowded, misaligned, gapped, rotated as well as twisted teeth.

Lingual braces require a high level of experience and sophistication and can only be administered by dentists who have been sufficiently trained in fixing dental brackets, wires, and elastics to straighten a patient’s teeth from behind.

Benefits of invisible braces in Harley Street

Lingual braces have many benefits compared to traditional braces. They are an effective way for adults to straighten their teeth without the braces being noticed by others. Lingual braces are also more effective than any other type of discreet teeth straightening treatment, because the dentist has control over the tooth movement. Last but not least, lingual braces are fixed and cannot be removed or lost once they are attached to the teeth.

Who is a good candidate for lingual braces?

Although most patients who can have regular metal braces can also have lingual braces, lingual brackets can cause problems with a patient’s bite. An experienced dentist will be able to determine if you may experience bite problems with lingual braces. In most cases, lingual braces can fix problems that other discreet teeth straightening options such as Invisalign cannot.

Get in touch

To learn more about invisible braces in Harley Street, give us a call and we will book a consultation appointment for you.

There are several reasons why patients of a certain age did not get the braces they needed when they were younger. For one, the cost was often one that could not be accommodated. In recent years, an increasing number of people reach a point in their lives where they want the confidence of a healthy and restored smile – especially when it can be achieved affordably. However, most adult patients do not enjoy the idea of wearing metal brackets and wires.

Luckily, dentistry has evolved over the years and now patients are presented with more discreet teeth straightening options than ever. Invisalign in Harley Street is the modern approach to achieving a beautiful smile. Our experienced dentists at Harley Street Dental Clinic will examine your teeth thoroughly and help you decide whether this is the right treatment for you.

How does Invisalign work?

Invisalign is a teeth straightening system that works much like braces, but without brackets and wires. This discreet method is made of plastic, transparent, customised aligners that are made for you to provide a realignment of your teeth over a specific period of time.

During your first appointment, we will take 3D impressions of your teeth, which we will use to create your customised aligners. You will wear each set of aligners for about 7-10 days before changing to the next set in the series. Treatment time is different for each patient. However, most patients have their teeth straightened with Invisalign in Harley Street in 12 months or less.

Benefits of Invisalign

Invisalign has many advantages over traditional braces. With traditional braces, you have to avoid eating sticky and chewy foods because they can easily become stuck next to your teeth. With Invisalign, you can eat whatever you want without restrictions. Moreover, you can remove the aligners in order to enjoy your meals without compromising your treatment. More importantly, metal braces make it difficult to brush and floss properly and you may end up causing one oral health problem while you are trying to fix another. Since Invisalign aligners can be removed for limited periods of time within the day, you can continue to brush and floss your teeth as you normally would.

Historically, metal braces have been associated with teenagers.  However, in recent years, an increasing number of adults are choosing to wear braces to straighten their teeth and correct bad bites. In fact, it is now estimated that almost one third of all current teeth straightening patients in Britain are adults.

For many adults, the thought of having metal braces is enough to discourage them from receiving treatment. However, modern braces are comfortable, aesthetic, and customised to meet your needs. Clear braces in Harley Street are specifically designed for adults and our friendly dentists at Harley Street Dental Clinic will help you decide which one is best for you.

Invisalign

Invisalign aligners are favoured by many adults because they are removable and invisible to onlookers. Invisalign clear braces in Harley Street are made of plastic and should be worn for at least 22 hours per day for the quickest results. Invisalign aligners are made of smooth, high-quality plastic and are more comfortable and less conspicuous than traditional braces; however, they are not ideal for every patient. Unlike metal braces, Invisalign aligners cannot treat seriously misaligned teeth.

Lingual braces

Lingual braces consist of nickel-titanium brackets and wires, which are fixed on the tongue side of the teeth, therefore cannot be seen when a patient smiles.  Lingual braces work just like metal braces. They are customised to fit each patient’s teeth and can treat even severely misaligned teeth.

Ceramic braces

Ceramic braces have clear or tooth-coloured brackets that blend in with your natural teeth. The brackets are the same size and shape as traditional metal braces. Both metal and tooth-coloured wires can be used with ceramic braces. These braces are ideal for patients who are unwilling to undergo treatment with metal braces. Ceramic braces help overcome objections over appearance, because they are less noticeable than metal ones.

Get in touch

To learn more about the benefits of clear braces in Harley Street, please contact our practice to schedule an appointment. We understand that you have a busy schedule, and we will work with you to make sure each visit is as convenient as possible.

Straightening your smile as an adult can be problematic since you do not have time for braces or the metal appearance that comes with them. Luckily, dentistry has evolved in recent years and you may have heard of Invisalign, which is a great way to get a straight smile without wearing metal brackets and wires.

At Harley Street Dental Clinic, we provide Invisalign in Harley Street to teenagers and adults who wish to straighten their teeth discreetly. There are a lot of obvious reasons why Invisalign is great, as well as not-so-obvious ones.

Comfort and convenience

Patients with metal braces not only have to live with metal fixed on their teeth, but also have to deal with the diet restrictions, cleaning hassles, and discomfort that comes with it. With Invisalign, you do not have to deal with any of these issues. You wear your clear aligners 22 hours per day, and you can take them out to eat or clean your teeth. The ability to take out your Invisalign aligners whenever you want is a benefit that cannot be achieved with any other conventional teeth straightening method.

The ‘Invisalign diet’

There is a surprising benefit to Invisalign that patients and dentists have only recently started to notice – patients wearing Invisalign are more likely to lose weight throughout their treatment. Because Invisalign aligners need to be worn at least 22 hours per day, patients switch from constant snacking to careful meal planning almost automatically, reducing their daily calorie intake. With treatment lasting about a year on average, you will have plenty of time to start losing weight.

Not just straight teeth

While most patients undergo treatment with Invisalign in Harley Street in order to improve their appearance, this does not make it only a cosmetic treatment. Our dentists will take the time examine the function of your jaw and your bite, so we know if we need to correct that too. With Invisalign, you will be able to clean your teeth more easily and you will find yourself relieved of jaw pain, discomfort, uneven tooth wear, and other conditions caused by a bad bite and misaligned teeth.

Time was, if you wanted to realign your teeth to create a better-looking smile, you had to endure months, perhaps years, of embarrassing metal braces that everyone would comment on.

Remember the Jaws years? Everyone who needed to have their teeth realigned or bite corrected was saddled with the name of a metal-toothed bad guy from James Bond?

Jaws not only stopped people going in the water, but also put many adults off even seeking braces, let alone wearing them. Unable to bear the braces, people instead suffered silently, laughing and smiling with their hands over their mouths.

But thanks to major advances in braces research, more and more adults are seeking out invisible braces in Harley Street, glad to finally be able to go through the process of having their teeth realigned.

At Harley Street Dental Clinic, in Harley Street, invisible braces can transform your smile more quickly and less painfully than ever before. Our invisible braces come courtesy of a system called Invisalign.

How does Invisalign work?

Invisalign uses a system of clear plastic trays, rather than brackets fixed to the teeth with wire strung between them. These trays are custom-made for you, after an initial consultation with us, during which we will fully examine your mouth and then plot the progress your teeth will need to turn them into your dream smile. You can see how this will happen with our computer simulation of your teeth moving into alignment.

You wear each tray for a week to 10 days. During that time the tray applies gentle forces to guide your teeth into a new position. Once the teeth have reached that position, you start using the next tray in the series of invisible braces.

As these invisible braces are transparent and fit so snugly over your teeth, no one will be able to see them unless they look very closely.

And, unlike traditional metal braces, these invisible braces are removable, so you can eat and brush your teeth without your aligners getting in the way. Plus, if you want utter discretion, such as for an interview or party, you can remove the trays for a few hours.

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.

Whether you missed getting braces as a teenager or went through a treatment but forgot to wear your retainer, you may feel that your teeth are not quite in the state you would like them to be. Luckily, today, there are many teeth straightening treatments available that will help you achieve a beautiful smile without sacrificing your appearance.

At Harley Street Dental Clinic, we offer a wide variety of invisible braces in Harley Street, including lingual braces. Lingual braces look just like fixed braces but they are ingeniously placed behind your teeth for discreetness. Just like regular braces, lingual braces are capable of treating the vast majority of misaligned teeth.

What are lingual braces?

Lingual braces are fixed behind the teeth, opposite the tongue. A great solution for closing gaps, correcting crooked teeth, and even solving more complex issues such as jaw problems, lingual braces can help you carrying on smiling while you are having treatment.

How do they work?

Lingual brackets are usually made of stainless steel or gold alloy. Depending on the type you choose, your brackets might be standard sized or custom-made to fit your teeth. Your dentist will fix your brackets in place using a special dental cement. This should keep them in place for the duration of your treatment, allowing your dentist to remove them easily once your treatment is over.

Just like regular braces, invisible braces in Harley Street apply light but constant pressure to your teeth in order to move them into their correct position. The treatment can take anywhere from 18—36 months, depending on the severity of your dental problems.

Benefits of lingual braces

Lingual braces offer many benefits, yet the most important of them is invisibility. They are much more discreet than other types of braces. For this reason, they are ideal for image-conscious adults and teenagers as well as athletes and musicians. Lingual braces are easy to maintain and since they are fixed onto your teeth, you do not need to remember to wear them each day. Last but not least, they are very effective when it comes to treating complicated dental issues such as heavily misaligned, rotated or gapped teeth.