Invisalign In Margate

At Lifestyle Dental Care in Margate, Dr. Jean will call you in for a consultation so we can evaluate your teeth. We will need to rule out oral health problems or get these problems treated before you can begin Invisalign treatment. 

X-rays of your teeth will show us if your teeth are healthy enough to withstand orthodontic treatment and whether or not you’re a good candidate for Invisalign. Impressions are taken of your teeth and sent to the Invisalign lab along with scans and photos of your teeth so they can fabricate custom aligners for you to wear. 

Your treatment plan is formulated by uploading these scans to a digital mapping software that allows the lab technician to digitally plan your tooth movements to determine how many aligners you will need, how the teeth will move, and how long it will take. 

We have access to this software in our office so we can make adjustments to this treatment plan and show you the digital model of your teeth. Once your aligners are ready, you will pick them up and begin wearing them. 

Every 6 weeks, you’ll have a regular checkup so we can give you more aligners and check on your progress. Aligners need to be changed every 2 weeks and these progressively shift your teeth.

Invisalign treatment is generally faster than treatment with traditional braces, with the average treatment length being 12 to 18 months. However, each person’s individual case will be different and the length of treatment is dependent on the severity of orthodontic alignment and compliance with treatment.

It can take as little as 6 months to correct minor cosmetic issues like small gaps, but if you have more severe malocclusions, you may need to wear your aligners for much longer. We can give you a very accurate estimate of how long treatment will take during your consultation. 

The length of treatment also is heavily dependent on wearing your aligners every single day for at least 22 hours. Taking your aligners out too frequently can prevent your teeth from fully shifting and your next set of aligners will not fit. You’ll then have to backtrack to an old set of aligners which will prolong your treatment.