If you are an adult who feels embarrassed by your smile, you might want to make an appointment with an orthodontist. In such cases, you can find out more about how clear aligners can straighten your teeth and reduce the appearance of gaps or poor spacing. Plus, these aligners don’t look like traditional braces, making it easier to hide your dental treatment while improving your appearance. To learn more about our orthodontic services, contact Lovett Dental Sugar Land today at 281-759-5900.

What Are Clear Aligners?an example of clear aligner trays

Clear aligners are a unique method of teeth straightening, which serves as an alternative to traditional fixed dental braces. Fixed braces stay in your teeth all the time until the orthodontist removes them. Therefore, you will have your smile affected by the appearance of wires or brackets on your teeth. Additionally, you will need to use special care to keep your teeth healthy while wearing the braces. Clear aligners are different.

The most significant way that clear aligners differ from fixed braces is your freedom to remove the trays when you need to brush and floss or eat and drink. For the best results, you should leave the aligners in place as much as you can outside these unique situations.

The clear aligners work with a series of trays. To ensure that you have the correct fitting, you will have an x-ray and exam followed by measurements and digital images taken of your teeth. The orthodontist sends these images to a lab to create your clear aligner trays. Each tray fits your teeth snugly and lasts for a few weeks. At the end of the prescribed time with each tray, you return for new trays until you complete treatment. Subsequent trays have slightly different fittings to slowly and comfortably shift your teeth into the desired positions.

Benefits of Clear Aligners

Many adults prefer to use clear aligner trays over traditional braces because the trays do not change how the smile looks while they’re wearing them. In fact, they have a design that allows you to wear them all day and all night without impacting your speech or appearance.

Clear aligner trays provide similar teeth straightening as traditional braces. However, these trays have several advantages:

  • Less discomfort without metal pieces to scratch your mouth’s tissues
  • No one knows you have the trays in place
  • Keeping your teeth cleaned is easier because you can take out the trays
  • You don’t have dietary restrictions

Of course, you should always discuss with an orthodontist about the best options for teeth straightening for your mouth. During your initial orthodontist appointment, you can learn more about how clear aligners can specifically benefit you and if you are a good candidate for them.

To keep the results that you get from the clear aligners, follow all recommendations for post-care. Therefore, don’t skip wearing your retainer if your orthodontist instructs you to do so. Following all the guidelines given to you for post-care will keep your smile straight after you complete treatment.

Why You Should See an Orthodontist for Clear Aligners

The best way to get clear aligners that fit properly and comfortably shift your teeth into place is through the oversight of an orthodontist. These experts in dental care can monitor your alignment progression to ensure that the trays are working well. Plus, they can help you with any problems that you may have during the process. You likely cannot find clear aligners that fit better than those that you have made by your orthodontist.

Start Your Journey with Lovett Dental Sugar Land

You’re never too old to get a great-looking smile. Set up your appointment with us at Lovett Dental Sugar Land to the southwest of Houston, Texas. You can also call us for an appointment at 281-759-5900, or contact us online or if you have questions about us. We can get you started on clear aligners. Decide to treat yourself to a smile that you will want to show to everyone.