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Invisalign: What’s in it for you?

We make a big deal of our Invisalign invisible braces system here at CK Dental in Bristol, but it may not be obvious to you, the patient, why Invisalign is preferable to traditional braces for teeth straightening.

With that in mind, we wanted to outline exactly how Invisalign compares to metal braces, weighing up the pros and cons of each system.

Cost

Many people believe that Invisalign is significantly more expensive than traditional teeth straightening devices, but that is not necessarily the case. In fact, depending on the severity of the problem to be treated, in some cases Invisalign can actually be cheaper than braces.

Duration of treatment

Generally, Invisalign patients find that their problem has been resolved within 18 months, although this does of course vary depending on patient needs. Patients wearing metal braces wear them on average for about two years.

Frequency of dentist visits

With traditional brace systems, patients need to return to their dentist to have the braces tightened around once a month. Because this “tightening” is performed at home for Invisalign, we generally advise that patients return to our Bristol dental practice every four to six weeks for a check-up, changing aligner trays at home every two weeks.

Discomfort/inconvenience

Both Invisalign and metal braces will cause patients a small amount of discomfort at some point. With Invisalign this discomfort is mostly associated with the movement of the teeth, whereas with metal braces there may also be some pain from the wires or brackets rubbing against the gums and inner cheeks.

The level of inconvenience perceived to be associated with each teeth straightening system will vary from patient to patient – some people find it an annoyance to have to remove their invisible brace before eating, others find this an advantage as there is no need to limit their diet, as there may be with traditional metal braces.

Overall, the team here at Bristol dentist practice CK Dental has found Invisalign to be an extremely effective system for teeth straightening, with many advantages over traditional devices.