While it’s completely normal for teens to be the ones wearing braces, it’s becoming more normal for older ages to opt for orthodontic treatment in their life. Fortunately, today, there are dozens of orthodontic treatments to choose from! The top two most popular, however, are traditional metal braces and Invisalign. At A Healthy Smile Dentistry, we offer Invisalign treatment and for a good reason. When you compare Invisalign to braces, there is no comparison. Invisalign offers better benefits. If you’re in the market for an orthodontic treatment, take a look at our comparison of Invisalign vs. braces to see if either is right for you. Our Invisalign dentist is happy to meet with you to see if you are a good candidate for Invisalign treatment.
Invisalign vs. Braces: Comfort
One of the first major comparisons between Invisalign and metal braces is a comfort. How much do you care about comfort? If you like the feeling of not having anything scrape against your cheeks, tongue or lips, our guess is you care about comfort. Unfortunately, metal braces are not the most comfortable things in the world. When you first get your brackets and wires put on, your cheeks, tongue, and lips have to adjust to the feeling. The first few weeks can feel like torture with all of the small cuts in your mouth. You can put dental wax over the brackets, but it falls off. All you can really do is wait until your body builds up some callous in your mouth to prevent pain.
Invisalign, on the other hand, is extremely comfortable to wear. The aligners you wear are made of a thin translucent plastic that is smooth to touch. You won’t feel any discomfort against your cheeks, tongue or lips. The only discomfort you will feel is when you change your aligners every 2 weeks for a new pair. Your teeth will feel a little bit sore for a day while they adjust to the new aligners. Metal braces are tightened every 6 weeks in larger increments, leaving your mouth sore for longer than with Invisalign.
Invisalign vs. Braces: Convenience
Another major comparison between Invisalign and braces is the convenience of both. Metal braces are definitely less convenient than Invisalign. To start, metal braces make eating a chore. You have a list of foods you cannot eat and then afterward you need to brush out your teeth and hope that there isn’t any food stuck in your brackets.
Invisalign however, allows you to eat whatever you want during your treatment. You simply remove your aligners, eat your food, brush your teeth, rinse your aligners and then pop them back in your mouth. You can enjoy all of your favorite foods throughout your treatment.
On the subject of convenience, brushing your teeth might come to mind, but when it comes to brushing your teeth with braces, it can be a bit of a pain. Metal braces are on the outsides of your teeth which make it easy for foods to become trapped. Brushing your teeth will not always reach all of the areas. It’s actually quite easy to miss areas and find yourself with cavities during treatment. To floss, you must use a threader to get under your wires. This can make flossing a pain as well. A lot of patients stop flossing altogether during their braces treatment because of how inconvenient it is. This can lead to cavities and gum disease down the line.
Invisalign, on the other hand, makes dental hygiene easy. Simply remove your aligners, brush, and floss, and then pop them back in. You can also visit the dentist and have your teeth cleaned during your treatment without having a wire removed first.
Invisalign vs. Braces: Time
If time is important to you, you will want to opt for Invisalign treatment instead of metal braces. This is because Invisalign works faster than metal braces. How does this work? Our Florham Park Invisalign dentist will instruct you to change your Invisalign aligners every 2 weeks. This means that your teeth are moving more often than they are with metal braces. As a result, your teeth straighten faster.
With metal braces, you will usually visit your dentist every 4 to 6 weeks to have your braces tightened. Since you have to visit the dentist so often, you might have to push appointments to every 7 weeks if nothing works with your schedule.
Invisalign vs. Braces: Appearance
Appearance is one of the top concerns of our patients who want to straighten their smile. If you want metal braces, you have to wear a metal-mouthed smile for anywhere from one to two years. With Invisalign, your aligners are nearly invisible, which means nobody will even know that you are going through orthodontic treatment. If you are older than your teen years or feel self-conscious easily, Invisalign is the perfect way to maintain your confidence throughout your treatment. In addition, if you need to remove your aligners for any special occasion, this is no problem as long as it’s only every once in a while throughout your treatment. We do recommend that you wear your aligners at least 22 hours per day, only to remove them for eating, drinking and dental hygiene.
Invisalign vs. Braces: Price
Now the question everyone asks us. How much does Invisalign cost? While every patient is different, we can tell you that the cost of Invisalign is actually similar to that of metal braces. If you have dental insurance, there’s a good chance that they will help pay for your orthodontic treatment. You will need to visit our Florham Park dental office to find out your exact price for Invisalign treatment or metal braces.
Visit Your Florham Park Invisalign Dentist For Invisalign Treatment
If Invisalign treatment sounds like the right orthodontic treatment for you, schedule an appointment with our Invisalign dentist in Florham Park to get your treatment started. Fill out our contact form or give us a call to schedule an appointment today.