Invisalign in Alexandria

Invisalign is a tool that the Alexandria team at Dental Studio at Mark Center uses to straighten your teeth without needing to put any metal in your mouth. Instead of the traditional metal brackets guided along a heavy-duty wire, Invisalign uses sets of clear, plastic trays called aligners.

Your Invisalign treatments start with a digital scan of your smile or impression of both jaws. This is used to create your first set of aligners. They fit over your teeth and gently guide them toward better alignment as you wear them. After one or two weeks, you change out your aligners for the next set in your treatment plan. Over time, each successive aligner shifts your teeth closer and closer to their perfect position. By the time you finish your Invisalign treatment, usually within 18 months or less, you have a perfectly straight smile.

Your aligners are designed to seamlessly integrate into your daily life. You only need to wear them for 20-22 hours a day. This leaves you plenty of time to take them out when you’re eating, playing sports, or doing an activity during which you’d prefer not to wear them, like giving an important presentation or going on a date.

You can’t eat with your aligners in, but they easily pop in and out for your convenience. After you eat, just brush your teeth and put them back in place to make more progress toward your ideal smile.

Every six to eight weeks, you’ll come back to Dental Studio at Mark Center to ensure that your teeth are progressing the way they should. These appointments are quick, easy, and painless — a notable difference from adjustment appointment for traditional braces, which are more frequent and can cause significant discomfort.

Invisalign offers a cleaning system designed for your aligners to make maintaining them a breeze. But if you’d prefer, you can also keep them clean by simply gently brushing them with toothpaste and lukewarm water. Don’t use hot water on your aligners or they could warp.

If you’re interested in getting a straighter smile the invisible way, call Dental Studio at Mark Center in Alexandria to discuss Invisalign. Alternately, you can schedule your Invisalign consultation line.

The primary benefit of Invisalign is that your aligners will be completely clear and transparent. Unlike braces, which are obvious when worn, Invisalign is subtle. Nobody will be able to tell that you’re straightening your teeth, and Invisalign will not affect your speech at all.

Not only that, but Invisalign tends to be a lot more comfortable compared to braces. Rather than using metal components that can poke, scratch, and irritate your mouth and oral tissue, Invisalign uses smooth, comfortable plastic trays to shift your teeth, which lets you feel more comfortable.

In addition to these benefits, Invisalign is also very convenient. You can remove your aligners to brush and floss, which makes it a lot easier to clean your mouth compared to braces. There also are no dietary restrictions with Invisalign. Unlike with braces, there’s no need to avoid certain foods like gummy candies or popcorn, which means you can continue to eat your normal diet.

For all of these reasons and quite a few more, Invisalign has been growing in popularity as an alternative to braces. Find out if you’re a good candidate by contacting Dental Studio at Mark Center and scheduling a consultation with our Alexandria dentists. 

First, make sure you brush them when you wake up in the morning. You can brush them with water and a soft-bristled brush after you brush your teeth. You can use a clear, unscented, clean-rinsing antibacterial soap if you want, but avoid toothpaste. Toothpaste can scratch your aligners.

Then, whenever you eat throughout the day, make sure to brush your teeth and rinse off your aligners. This helps prevent the buildup of food particles, acid, and bacteria that can cause bad breath, tooth decay, and other issues.

You should also soak your aligners once per day in Invisalign crystals or denture cleaner. Most patients do this at night before bed. This helps disinfect and clean your aligners before you put them back into your mouth and go to sleep.

Yes, but this is natural, and the pain will go away quickly. Your teeth don’t want to shift. They want to stay where they are. So when you switch to a new set of Invisalign aligners, you’ll usually experience some pain and discomfort.

This is because your teeth will be moving and getting used to their new position. Typically, this discomfort lasts only for a day or two whenever you switch to a new set of aligners. Once your teeth have moved and begin to adjust, you will no longer feel any discomfort.

There are a few different things you can do to help with this pain. Many Alexandria patients put in new sets of aligners at night, so that their teeth shift while they sleep. You can also take over-the-counter pain medication like ibuprofen or naproxen. 

Avoiding tough and crunchy foods is also a good idea until your teeth begin to feel normal. Eating soft foods like pasta, yogurt, and other such foods will help with your pain and discomfort as your teeth adjust to their new positions.