Since it first came on the market in 1997, Invisalign has had more than four million happy users; people whose smiles are now beautiful and straight and in use all day, every day.

At Orpington Dental, we love seeing how happy our patients are when they find out there is a way to get their teeth straightened that doesn’t involve having to give up their favourite foods or walk round looking like a railway station for a couple of years.

They also love the whole digital age process, from the scanning to produce pinpoint accurate pictures of their teeth on the screen to how they can actually watch how their teeth will move to reach alignment. There’s nothing like seeing the end-point before you begin to inspire you to make this commitment to yourself.

More than looking lovely

Committing to straightening your teeth is about a whole lot more than looking fabulous. Straight teeth are also much easier to keep clean. There are fewer nooks and crannies for plaque to hide away and build up, causing decay and gum disease. When you have straight teeth, you have a much higher chance of being able to hang on to them for your whole life and avoid the hassles and expense of replacement teeth in later life.

How Invisalign in Orpington works

Invisalign uses mouth guard-like aligners that are 3D printed from clear, rigid plastic. You snap them into place over your top or bottom teeth, or both. Precisely placed pressure bumps inside the aligners gently press on your teeth, persuading them to shift out of the way to relieve the pressure. You wear each set of aligners for 7-10 days, by which time the pressure will have worn off. When it has, you put the next set of aligners in. These nudge your teeth a bit further along the path to alignment, and so on, until your teeth are straight. This takes, on average, a year.

You take your aligners out to eat and to clean your teeth, and as you must wear them for 20-22 hours a day, you’ll probably find you cut out a lot of snacking and may even lose weight. A double bonus.