No Need for Metal Brackets or Wires
A misaligned smile can be both an oral health issue and a cosmetic problem. Crooked teeth are known to make it harder to maintain optimal oral hygiene or eat certain kinds of foods, and they can cause you to feel embarrassed about your appearance as well. If you haven’t done anything to straighten your grin because you’re worried about needing to wear braces, you’ll be happy to know that there’s a more aesthetically friendly choice. Call our office today to set up an appointment with Dr. Russo to see how Invisalign could help you achieve the straighter smile you want.
WHY CHOOSE JOHN E. RUSSO, DMD FOR INVISALIGN?
State-of-the-Art Virtual Smile Design
Fully Personalized Treatment Plans
“No goo” digital impressions using iTero
How Invisalign Works
Using the iTero system, “no goo” digital impressions are taken of your current smile, eliminating the need for messy molds. A series of multiple clear plastic aligners will then be made. Your initial aligners should be worn for approximately two weeks, and it is recommended to keep them in your mouth for 20 to 22 hours per day. These aligners will gently exert pressure on your teeth, gradually nudging them toward their desired positions. As you complete each set, you will transition to the next one, continuing this cycle until your desired smile transformation is achieved.
Indications for Invisalign
What kinds of problems can Invisalign help correct? The treatment can be used to address several, including the following.
Crowded Teeth
Teeth that are too close together tend to wear down faster than normal, are more difficult to clean, and make it harder to chew. Invisalign can be used to reposition the teeth so that they are correctly aligned.
Gaps Between Teeth
Gaps in your smile affect more than just your appearance. These spaces can easily end up trapping bits of food, which can eventually result in tooth decay (and may also leave you with bad breath). With Invisalign, we can move the teeth closer together, improving the health and appearance of your smile.
Bite Alignment
Any type of bite misalignment – whether it’s an overbite, an underbite, or something else – can lead to issues such as TMJ disorder or bruxism. Invisalign can be a viable option for correcting mild or moderate bite issues.
The Benefits of Invisalign
- Comfortable aligners made just for your smile.
- Clear plastic materials, that allow for a very discreet treatment.
- No diet restrictions thanks to the aligners being removable.
- Treatments are typically completed within 3 to 12 months for simpler cases.
Understanding the Cost of Invisalign
The last thing you want is to begin the Invisalign process only to be caught off-guard with the costs involved later. We can give you an estimate of how much you can expect to pay for your Invisalign treatment, but only after we have examined your smile and determined the changes that need to be made. Additionally, we can review your insurance plan with you to see if Invisalign is covered, and we can help you apply for financing from CareCredit or Proceed Finance.
Factors That Affect the Cost of Invisalign
The cost of Invisalign varies from patient to patient thanks to the following variables:
- The Number of Arches Involved: You’ll usually receive aligners for both arches, but some cases only involve straightening one arch. Naturally, a single-arch treatment will have a lower cost because you won’t need to get as many aligners.
- How Severe Your Misalignment Is: Complexity and cost are closely related when it comes to Invisalign. Treatments for more advanced cases of misalignment tend to carry a higher price tag.
- How Long the Treatment Takes: The longer your Invisalign treatment lasts, the more aligners you’ll need to pay for.
Invisalign vs. Smile Direct Club™: Which Costs More?
The Smile Direct Club™ is a do-it-yourself alternative to Invisalign. It does typically cost less, but at the same time, the lack of in-office oversight means that if something goes wrong during the process, it might not be caught before it leads to major issues with your smile. With Invisalign, you have the benefit of visiting your dentist roughly every six weeks so that they can make sure that your treatment goes smoothly.
Does Dental Insurance Cover Invisalign?
We can reach out to your dental insurance company to confirm whether they will help pay for Invisalign. The treatment is often included under orthodontic coverage, but the specifics of every plan are different, so it’s always worth taking the time to double-check. Feel free to talk to our team if you need any help figuring out the best way to use your benefits; we’re more than happy to review your coverage with you, and we can file claims for you as needed.
Options for Making Invisalign Affordable
Maybe you don’t have sufficient coverage for Invisalign, or perhaps you don’t have dental insurance, to begin with. Is there any other way to fit Invisalign into your budget? For many patients, third-party financing is worth considering. This lets you sign up for a payment plan that essentially breaks up the cost of your care, making it more manageable.
At our practice, you can apply for financing via CareCredit as well as Proceed Finance. If you would like more details about how financing works, don’t hesitate to give our office a call.
Invisalign FAQs
A straighter, healthier smile can be yours thanks to Invisalign! For those who are curious about the treatment and are interested in learning more, we invite you to read the following FAQs. These are just a few of the topics that our patients regularly ask about at our office in Orlando. If you have any other questions, we would love to help answer those too! Call us to speak with our team or to schedule a consultation.
What Happens After Invisalign?
After you have worn the final set of aligners for the required period of time, you’ll come to our office so that we can confirm that your teeth are where they need to be. Then, to make sure that the results last, we will give you a personalized retainer. The point of a retainer is to prevent your teeth from drifting back to their original positions; if you don’t wear it, then you could end up losing the results that you worked so hard to achieve.
Our team will give you instructions for wearing your retainer. When you first get it, you’ll need to keep it in your mouth most of the time. After a while, you’ll reach the point where it only needs to be worn when you go to bed.
What Happens If My Invisalign Breaks?
We’ll give you advice for taking care of your aligners, but we also understand that accidents happen sometimes. Contact our team immediately if an aligner is damaged. Sometimes the problem can be solved simply by switching to the next set of aligners up to three days early. In other cases, you might have to wear the previous set again until replacements can be created.
It’s possible to keep wearing an aligner that just has a hairline crack. The most important thing is to avoid further damage. Exercise caution when handling the aligner; when placing it on your teeth, be careful not to put too much pressure on any one spot.
Does Invisalign Give You a Lisp?
It might at first. Your aligners can affect the way your tongue moves in your mouth, which could result in a lisp when trying to make certain sounds. Generally, the lisp will go away after a few weeks; you can often help it fade sooner if you give yourself plenty of practice talking.
Can You Eat with Invisalign?
Invisalign doesn’t restrict your diet the way braces do, but there is one rule you need to follow: with the exception of water, you should never consume anything without first taking your aligners out. Trying to bite and chew with the aligners will only lead to cracked plastic and unattractive stains. It also puts extra pressure on your teeth, which can contribute to dental issues over the long term.
Carry a case for your Invisalign aligners so that you can store them whenever it’s time to eat. Make sure that the case is somewhere safe; you don’t want to throw it away by accident when you’re done with your meal.
