Does invisalign really work?

Question

better than braces?

Answer 1

If your case is SUITABLE for Invisalign, it works wonderfully well - as long as you do your part and wear them (almost) 24/7. Any dentist doing Invisalign has to be certified to use them and should be capable of making the diagnosis of whether or not to use them. If Invisalign was suggested to you, then it should work for your case.

Check this out: http://www.invisalign.com/generalapp/us/

After you have your impressions taken, they are scanned into a computer. A virtual model of your teeth is created in the computer. Very small movements are done on this virtual model. From this computer image, a real model of your teeth is made. Some more very small movements are made on the virtual model, and so on. This keeps up until a whole series of thin plastic appliances is created to guide your teeth to the desired end position. The plastic is thin, but pretty strong. When it first goes in, it feels tight, because it is pressing on the places on your teeth where they have to move. After a few days, the tighness goes away and you know your teeth have moved. You change appliances every two weeks until your case is done.

I would not say that Invisalign is better or worse than braces, because it depends on the case. There is no set answer. After a few minutes of wearing them, your speech will sound just fine. They are very thin and pretty much exactly the same shape as your teeth. They do tend to increase the amount of saliva in your mouth at first, but you soon get used to that and the salivary flow seems to slow back to normal after a while, also.