Can I Get Straight Teeth Without Braces?

A lot of people dream of straighter teeth and a beautiful smile but since few adults are keen to wear metal braces, their dream often stays a dream.

Fortunately, a lot of things have happened in the teeth straightening industry and there are quite a few ways to improve your smile without uncomfortable metal brackets. Invisalign is an easy way to get straight teeth without traditional braces. Invisalign is a type of clear aligner made from smooth multilayer SmartTrack® material.

The Invisalign treatment involves using a series of custom-made forms or aligners. Each aligner in the series moves your teeth in a personalised sequence determined by your doctor and slightly shifts your teeth horizontally, vertically and even rotationally as needed.

Types of Teeth Straightening

Traditional Braces

Metal braces feature two main components: metal brackets and a bendable wire. An orthodontist or trained dentist will fix traditional braces onto a patient’s teeth by applying the metal brackets to the surface of the teeth then feeding the wire through the brackets. Tightening the wire applies pressure to the teeth and this pressure ultimately pulls the teeth towards the desired position.

Kids and teenagers often use metal braces as they are by the NHS and are therefore considerably less expensive than it’s invisible counterparts.

While wearing traditional braces may be inexpensive and effective, they aren’t particularly subtle and cover a large portion of your teeth. The brackets and wires also make it hard to brush and floss away bacteria and food particles, which can increase the risk of tooth decay and gum disease.

Wearing traditional braces also means you have to avoid certain foods, such as popcorn, sticky and hard sweets, pretzels, carrots, apples and much more.

Brackets and wires can also be uncomfortable and inconvenient. The metal components can irritate your cheeks, tongue and other parts of your mouth. Plus, you’ll need to arrange frequent trips to the orthodontist to tighten the wires.

Increasingly, people prefer to straighten their teeth in less obvious and more comfortable ways. This is especially true for people who need or want braces that are not particularly noticeable.

Others will opt for ceramic braces. Made from tooth-coloured ceramic instead of metal, these braces are less noticeable than metal devices but still employ traditional brackets and wires. This means these braces present the same drawbacks as their metal counterparts.

Straight Teeth without Braces: Invisalign

There are a few ways of getting straight teeth without having to wear uncomfortable and unattractive metal braces.

Retainers, which are metal wires and acrylic formed to fit your mouth, are one way. These retainers may be permanent or removable.

Devices and appliances, such as headgear worn at night, can move the teeth without the use of braces too.

Invisalign aligners is one of the most popular ways to get straight teeth without the use of braces.

Invisalign Aligners – The Best Way to Get Straight Teeth without Braces

One of the biggest benefits of wearing Invisalign aligners is that they are nearly invisible. In other words, most people will not even notice that you are wearing the invisible braces during your day-to-day interactions.

Unlike metal braces, you can remove Invisalign aligners. This means you can eat and drink what you want during the teeth straightening process. Simply remove your Invisalign aligner before you eat and replace it afterwards.

Because it is removable, Invisalign aligners also allow you to keep a healthy oral hygiene as you can brush and floss like you used to.

Invisalign forms are smooth so there are no jagged edges to irritate your mouth. This makes the clear braces infinitely more comfortable than metal braces. Invisalign is also more convenient in that, without the need to tighten the wires of metal braces, you will spend less time at your dental practice for adjustments and check ups.

Invisalign can give you straight teeth in nine to 15 months, depending on how much your teeth need to move. Wearing the aligners as regularly as is recommended improves the outcome and will increase the speed at which your teeth move to the desired position.

Most Invisalign providers suggest you take out the aligners only to eat, drink, and brush and floss your teeth.

With Invisalign, you can get straight teeth without braces and without all the cosmetic drawbacks and annoyances that come with the traditional metallic braces.

At Buttercup we always start with a good chat about whether Invisalign is for you, and what you can expect in terms of outcome, price, our service and whatever else you’d like to know. Get in touch today to book your free initial appointment.