Dental treatment with Invisalign mouthguards

Everyone can have healthy beautiful teeth these days. For an inconspicuous and comfortable alignment of the dentition, removable plastic linings (another name: aligners) are excellent - effective and transparent Invisalign trays.

Indications

A modern removable design to eliminate a bite defect is offered in the following cases:

• crowding of teeth, when they are pathologically close to each other;
• wide crevices (diastema and three) between the teeth, which contribute to injury and gum disease;
• malocclusion of various types (cross, distal, mesial, open).

An overbite is characterized by the crossing of the upper and lower teeth. It causes injury to the oral mucosa, increases the abrasion of the enamel layer.

Distal occlusion is recognized by a noticeably protruding upper jaw, leading to cracks in the enamel. The opposite defect is the mesial bite, in which the lower teeth are located in front of the upper ones. From this it is difficult to chew, periodontal disease (a disease of the periodontal tissue) develops, facial features are ugly distorted.

With an open bite, part of the teeth of the upper and lower rows do not close.

Using treatment with Invisalign mouthguards, you can get rid of the listed defects and possible complications.

Contraindications

Invisalign cannot be used if:

• mental illness;
• changing teeth in childhood, as their formation will interfere with treatment;
• impacted (not fully erupted, but formed under the bone or gum) teeth;
• skeletal deep bite, when the pathology manifests itself not only in the jaw, but also in the facial region of the head.

Operating principle

When put on the teeth, the aligner is somewhat deformed and tends to return to its original shape. Under the influence of mechanical force, the design distributes the teeth in an even row. The movement of the teeth under gentle and comfortable pressure is pre-calculated by a computer program at the factory.

After a period of time indicated by a specialist (2-3 weeks, depending on the results), the mouthguard must be replaced with another one, reduced by 0.2 mm. That is, to move a tooth by 1 mm, a successive change of 5 different aligners is required.

Manufacturing

The Invisalign system consists of a series of aligners and is custom made for each client based on x-rays, photographs, dental impressions and additional information. Specialists of the dental manufacturing company Invisalign Technology, which is located in the USA (California), scan the images to run them into a digital program. After processing the received data, the computer displays all possible options for virtual models in a 3D image to correct the load on the dentition, indicating the exact cost.

Next, the patient and the doctor choose one of the proposed treatment options, on the basis of which the company manufactures a set of aligners using a laser installation by spraying a set of aligners from the strongest transparent and thin allergy-resistant plastic, and sends it to the customer with detailed recommendations. The manufacturing process takes less than 2 months. The number of mouthguards is proportional to the complexity of the task and can reach 20-50 pieces.

Usage

In order for wearing mouth guards to bring the desired effect as a result, you need to follow a number of rules:

1. Remove only for eating and brushing your teeth. Otherwise, the duration of treatment can be significantly increased;
2. in no case should the order of changing the mouthguards be violated, otherwise the teeth will not be able to line up in a beautiful row;
3. after eating, the teeth must be thoroughly cleaned and dental floss used;
4. after dental hygiene, brush the aligners on both sides with a brush without paste, then rinse (not in hot water!);
5. to remove germs, mouth guards should be regularly treated with a disinfectant solution (for example, chlorhexidine);
6. while eating and caring for the oral cavity, the mouth guard must be kept in a special case;
7. visit the orthodontist regularly (about once a month and a half).

Treatment algorithm

The direct process of treatment must necessarily be preceded by a detailed diagnosis, which is an essential information for the development of a modeling program. To identify contraindications, the doctor is obliged to listen to the patient's complaints, get acquainted with his anamnesis and examine the oral cavity.

If necessary, caries is treated, enamel is cleaned. Next, casts are taken from the dentition using the materials of the latest achievements of modern technologies - vinyl polysiloxanes (A-silicones), which have confirmed in orthodontic practice the most accurate repetition of the anatomy of the teeth and their location.

Then the patient is examined on a tomograph (CT) and radiographic equipment, after which (after 2 months, allotted for the manufacture of the structure), the mouthguards are installed. After making sure that the mouthguards fit comfortably and securely, the doctor hands the patient a set of the system with instructions and gives the necessary advice on how to use it.

In the process of wearing aligners, it is imperative to visit a specialist who will observe not only a change in the location of the teeth, but also additional nuances to prevent complications, for example, the need to grind the tooth or apply a composite substance to its part.

Advantages

The system has many advantages, the main ones are the following:

• the guaranteed result can be clearly seen before the start of treatment;
• thanks to volumetric modeling, maximum accuracy has been perfected, and the list of indications for use has grown;
• the invisibility of mouthguards on the teeth, which is very important for aesthetics and self-confidence;
• pressure on the teeth during the treatment is almost not felt;
• Mouth guards can be easily removed while eating and performing dental hygiene;
• removable design allows you not to limit yourself in the choice of products;
• when replacing aligners, the degree of discomfort is minimized, and the procedure itself is carried out quite quickly;
• diction remains unchanged;
• high-quality polymer from which the aligners are made does not injure the enamel, gums, mucous membranes, does not cause allergies;
• complete absence of complications;
• teeth quickly (in just a few hours of wearing) get used to a dense elastic structure, which is not felt at all;
• small bite deviations can be corrected fairly quickly.

Peculiarities

Due to the fact that the work requires a high level of orthodontist training, the specialist must have the appropriate qualifications and undergo special training to obtain a certificate.

The lead time for an individual set of mouthguards is not so short (about two months), but this rather indicates the thoroughness of the manufacturer's approach to the production process.

Transparent Invisalign mouthguards can be ordered only in the USA, so their cost can reach 200-250 thousand rubles (taking into account the region, the prices of the domestic clinic, the necessary procedures, the degree of pathology).

Currently, the Invisalign technique is not only modern, but also an effective, comfortable and guaranteed construction that will simply and imperceptibly relieve anyone from an ugly and problematic bite.