Invisalign® Clear Aligners – Bergenfield, NJ

Better Comfort

Although any treatment that exerts enough force on your teeth to shift them can cause aches, Invisalign is generally considered more comfortable than standard braces.

This is because the smooth plastic material is less likely to poke, cut, or rub raw the tender tissues inside your mouth, as the sharp edges of metallic brackets and wires often do.

‘Invisible’ Trays

Many patients with gapped or crooked teeth or who have a misaligned bite already feel self-conscious about their appearance, and traditional orthodontics aren’t known for boosting self-confidence.

Meanwhile, these completely transparent trays are custom-fit over your arches like a glove and allow your natural enamel to shine through. That means they’re highly unlikely to be noticed by anyone else, especially from a distance, which can help ease your anxiety about being judged for your look throughout your treatment.

Improved Oral Hygiene

It’s notoriously challenging to thoroughly brush and floss with braces in place, and often requires special accessories, like interproximal brushes or an oral irrigator. Thankfully, your clear aligners are completely removable, making it much easier to maintain your twice-daily dental hygiene routine to prevent common problems, like cavities or gum disease.

Be sure to take a few moments to also brush your trays to remove plaque and bacteria that can stain or harm them, or contribute to plaque formation on your teeth or gums when you reinsert them.

Less Treatment Time

A typical Invisalign case takes about a year from start to finish. You'll see your doctor every month or two to see how you're progressing. Every few visits, you'll be given additional aligners to continue your treatment.

Commonly, the number of aligners worn during treatment is between 18 and 30, but treatment time and the number of aligners will vary from case to case.

Boosted Confidence

Unlike dark or shiny metal brackets and wires, these clear trays are unlikely to draw unwanted attention. Instead, they allow your natural enamel to show through, so that you look and feel more like yourself.

Furthermore, as your teeth start to shift within just a few weeks, you’ll be showing off an increasingly straighter smile as you progress through your treatment plan, which can improve your self-esteem.

Non-Invasive Treatment

Standard orthodontics are attached to your enamel for the duration of your service, which can interfere with daily routines, such as your dental hygiene regimen, dietary decisions, and other activities, like playing a musical instrument.

But the removable Invisalign trays can be taken out of your mouth as needed, making this a much less invasive treatment option.

Crowded Teeth

You know how crowded teeth are pushed tightly together? That arrangement can cause a shift in bite alignment, as well as a tooth or two erupting through the gums into too-small spaces. Such issues also increase your risk of severe oral conditions like tooth decay, gum disease, etc. Needless to say, all of these problems would worsen the insult of your misaligned grin’s ugly look.

The good news is that Invisalign can treat crowded teeth. After all, its aligners are able to shift each tooth to lie flush beside the adjacent ones.

Gaps Between Teeth

Gaps between teeth don’t just look bad; they harm your smile’s health. Even as they make your smile seem “off,” they serve as breeding grounds for harmful oral bacteria. Failing to address them will thus make cavities and gum disease more likely to occur.

Thankfully, Invisalign has the power to fix toothy gaps. Once the treatment puts enough pressure on your teeth, it’ll fill your grin’s empty spaces and deprive bacteria of breeding sites.

Overbite

When an overbite occurs, it makes your top teeth “jut out” too much and causes worn enamel, jaw pain, etc. The condition also exposes your upper arch, so much that it elevates the risk of an oral injury.

Even so, we can say yes to the question “Does Invisalign fix overbites?” Clear trays are perfectly able to move your top teeth, ensuring your smile’s upper arch doesn’t jut out.

Underbite

An underbite can be just as bad as an overbite, seeing as it makes your bottom teeth go past your top ones. Left unchecked, this problem may trigger mouth breathing, sleep apnea, and difficulties with chewing and speaking.

You can trust Invisalign to fix your underbite, though. As its aligners exert pressure on your bottom teeth, they’ll correct your lower arch so that it doesn’t reach past the upper one.

Crossbite

When your upper jaw sits inside the lower one, you have a crossbite that can cause severe complications. Such a misaligned bite will often lead to gum disease, tooth decay, jaw pain, and headaches.

As luck would have it, crossbites can’t stand up to Invisalign; they’re quite correctable with treatment. However, you’ll need to note whether your own stems from bad jaw development. That point affects whether your aligner trays will also require elastics.

Open Bite

When you close your mouth, do your top and bottom teeth fail to overlap or touch? If so, you have an open bite that will eventually cause enamel loss, pronunciation trouble, and more.

You needn’t worry much, though; Invisalign can treat open bites. Just rely on the clear trays to bring your top and bottom teeth together!

Factors that Affect the Cost of Invisalign

Your Invisalign dentist in Bergenfield will need to see you for an initial consultation to better determine who much you can expect your treatment to cost. No two cases are alike, so various factors are used to establish the estimated price tag of your new smile.

When meeting with your dentist, they will consider the following:

• The number of clear aligners you will need to achieve results (upper arch, bottom arch, or both?)
• The severity of your dental problem, no matter if it is overcrowding, gapped or crooked teeth, or bite misalignment
• The duration of your treatment, as fixing a slight gap will take less time than a serious overbite

Invisalign vs. Smile Direct Club™: Which Costs More?

Smile Direct Club and other similar do-it-yourself (DIY) solutions might look appealing, especially when you consider their $2,000 price tag. But there may be some aspects you’re not thinking about when deciding between a DIY approach or seeing a trusted dentist for Invisalign. Some things to consider include:

• Although Invisalign is more expensive ($3,000-$,8000), you’re working with a reputable brand that dentists and orthodontists trust.
• Smile Direct Club requires that you take your own impressions. This can be problematic if you are unsure how to properly capture them. It can result in ill-fitting aligners that harm your tooth alignment.
• You will only meet with a professional online, and you’ll be responsible for providing an update on your progress, but no formal examination will occur.
• Should a problem arise during treatment, you will have no orthodontist to go to. Instead, you’ll need to find a local professional who can help.
• You may not be eligible for clear aligners but without a consultation with a dentist, you are unlikely to know whether you are a candidate for this type of treatment.

DIY clear aligner systems are appealing, but they can do much more harm to your smile than good. Choosing Invisalign may be a costlier investment, but your results will last a lifetime, and you won’t receive any surprises along the way.

Does Dental Insurance Cover Invisalign?

Every dental insurance plan is different. While some offer orthodontic coverage, others require that you purchase a separate plan to ensure you are covered. Before agreeing to start Invisalign treatment, you’ll need to review your plan (or have a member of our team assist you) to determine if there are any exclusions or exceptions (i.e., only dependents under the age of 19 are covered, only traditional braces are covered, etc.). If you are unsure how to get the information you need or which questions to ask to maximize your benefits, allow a staff member to work on your behalf.

Options for Making Invisalign Affordable

At Washington Dental Associates, we want to make your treatment as affordable as possible. This is why we are pleased to offer several options to help ease the financial burden you might face when preparing to undergo orthodontic care with Invisalign. These include: