Orthodontic Clear Aligning Trays… How Long is this Going to Take?

Aligners work in a range, not a fixed amount of time. It depends on the strength of your bone in many cases and your expectations of what treatment YOU want.

Good afternoon Celina, good afternoon Prosper. 

We’re doing another video in our series about clear aligner therapy

You’ve probably heard of something like Invisalign, or DIY straighten your teeth at home. We are trying to convince you and make you believers, that you need a dental professional

Orthodontic Aligners

We see ourselves as a team of professionals here to walk alongside our patients to get their teeth straightened, and hopefully prevent you from having to have other costly dental work crowns, bridges, implants, that kind of stuff down the road from breaking teeth.

So clear aligners are great at aligning your bite and that’s why we call our system the boss orthodontic aligners. It’s aligning your bite so you don’t have to continue to have things done. 

I have a lot of patients that tell me stories of friends who have taken them years, multiple rounds of braces, traditional braces, and they think that’s the same thing that’s going to happen.

Orthodontics previously used the idea of “Round-tripping”. This is where all the teeth are pushed out, then brought back in together in alignment as a group. With the advent of newer devices and techniques, we can focus on specific teeth and leave teeth that are in relatively good position alone. 

The average amount of time which we’re putting on clear orthodontic aligning trays is anywhere between 9 to 18 months. It depends on the number of aligners and amount of time that it takes for you to “track” properly. Trays are typically worn 7-14 days for each tray.

Losing your aligners or taking a break during treatment, will prevent you from finishing on time and that is why we encourage virtual check-ins. We want to stay in touch with you the entire time is to make sure that your teeth are moving the way that we predicted.

If you are wearing your trays 22 hours a day for the duration and using your seating appliance (Chewies), you should be able to finish on time.

If we’re going through all the rules and instructions, and the great part is; I’m going to do another video on exactly what those rules are.

So if you just follow those instructions most the time everybody tracks perfectly, and you only see me 3 times: the day treatment begins, the appointment where all attachements or buttons are placed, and the day you finish.

If you are needing rotations of the lower front teeth, due to collection of calculus or plaque during your cleaning, do not go under the assumption your treatment will take less time.

It is common to have to expand your top arch of teeth in order to get more room for your crowded teeth to straighten out. Sometimes “slenderizing” or IPR (Interproximal Reduction) of the teeth may be an alternative in slight to moderate crowding cases.

I’m sure there are a lot of people watching the video, who have been told during their cleanings, routine cleanings, that they’re collecting a lot of calculus, or their lower front teeth, or their gums are inflamed. It’s that pretty common place where there’s just a lot of crowding. 

An added benefit of straightening your teeth is to improve the amount of space for your tongue to settle. If you have ever seen a “clam-shell” appearance to the border of your tongue, chances are your tongue is too large for your arch form of your teeth.

This is a little bit more like the series of pictures that we would take, when you come into our office. This doesn’t include all of them, but we tend to take pictures like this so that we can see how your top teeth and your bottom teeth are are coming together. 

You have probably heard of a “snaggle tooth”. If this is an upper canine, it is the perfect example of a case that is typically not completed in 9 months, no matter who you are. Room must be made for it and it must be pulled into place.

So our patients to think about themselves like they’re like 95 years old, and that you’re going to appreciate that you took the time to make sure you move your teeth a little bit slower, and not like your age right now where you’re like give me the smile that I want as fast as possible.

You must move the teeth slow enough that you do not risk recession of your gums. You’ve got gums that also look great. It’s great if your teeth are in line, but we also want you to not be losing, you’re gums in the process. This happens when you move your teeth too quickly.

Give us a call 972-885-9670 We would love to have your questions, concerns, anything you can think of about how to get your teeth in the proper alignment as fast as possible, and make sure that we find something that makes you happy and also is doing the best for you.

Contact us at openlatedentistry.com or if you want to, you can always send us a Facebook message and we will get back to you as soon as possible. 

We offer free orthodontic consultations, as well,m as are running a 2020 special of $1000 off our BOSS Clear Aligner Therapy.

Have a great day! It’s a beautiful day in Celina and Prosper so head up here and also, you know, check us out as well. We are right on Preston, next to Keller Williams and also next to a delicious Taco Bell’s. So anyways, take care and have a good one. 

Here’s the video!

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