Clear Braces And Aligners: Benefits of Clear Braces
With braces, everyone can have the perfect smile they always wished for. Although in theory, it sounds great, in reality, it’s a much more difficult process than it seems, especially for adults. Having the perfect smile already involves a long process full of physical pain and annoyance. Why should you have to wear a huge distractor on your face every day? Thanks to clear braces that’s not much of a problem anymore. Both children and adults can now have their perfect teeth without feeling self-conscious about it.
What Do You Mean by Clear Braces and Their Benefits?
Nowadays we have many more options to correct our bite and smile rather than just the classic metal braces. There are many different treatments that allow us to get a great smile while having barely noticeable appliances. Not only do they help us achieve the same goal with a less dramatic appearance change, but sometimes they have some benefits over regular braces.
Invisalign Clear Aligners
Invisalign Aligners ditch completely the metal wires and brackets from traditional braces, instead, they use clear molded plastic aligners to straighten your teeth. Besides the benefit of being mostly invisible, clear aligners also have the great benefit of being removable, which means that you don’t have to worry about following a diet. Just take off your Invisalign aligners before a meal and you are good to go.
Invisalign aligners have a treatment period of around 6 – 12 months, in which you will be changing aligners every one to two weeks. The average cost is around $3,000 to $5,000. As always price and time will depend on your case.
Ceramic Braces
Ceramic braces are very similar to your normal metal braces, except for the fact that your orthodontist will apply ceramic brackets instead of metal ones. These ceramic brackets are more fragile as they trade off durability for looks. They make ceramic braces with translucent materials to give off a more natural look. As the ligatures are also clear some foods can stain them. Fortunately, it isn’t really a problem as you will change them on every adjustment, which happens around once a month.
The cost for this treatment can be in-between $4,000 to $8,000 and will last anywhere from one to three years.
Lingual Braces
Lingual braces are simply braces that go on the back of your teeth, the lingual side. Their positioning makes them invisible to anyone who glances at your mouth, even from a close distance. Here at Perkins Orthodontics, we use Inbrace and their Smartwire technology to get you the smile you deserve with the least inconveniences possible.
The particular shape of Inbrace’s Smartwire allows you to brush and even floss as you would normally do. As they are on the back of your teeth you don’t have to worry about staining them as with other types of braces. Their average treatment time is 8 to 18 months and its price can vary from $6,000 to $7,000.
Advantages
Clear braces offer a range of benefits over regular braces, their main advantage is that they are not nearly as noticeable. With the use of these methods, you can maintain your natural smile while making it healthier and better looking. Invisalign Aligners have the added benefit of being removable, so proper cleaning and care are not as difficult, this is especially true when considering that you don’t have to follow a diet with them.
Lingual braces on their part, specifically Inbrace, are not only invisible to everyone and super easy to clean, but they only need 2 or 3 wire changes, which means much fewer visits to your orthodontist.
What Can I Eat With Clear Braces?
It depends on the type of clear braces. As said previously, if you have Invisalign aligners as long as you take out your appliances before every meal and brush after, you are good to go and eat whatever you would like.
Lingual and ceramic braces, on the other hand, are almost the same as regular braces. You will have to avoid any sticky or hard food as they can damage the brackets on either the inside or outside of your tooth. You should also avoid sugary foods and drinks given that they make it very easy for bacteria to grow on the crevices between brackets and teeth. If you want to keep your ceramic braces clean and translucent, dark foods and drinks shouldn’t be a part of your diet.
What Are Some Tips to Maintain Clear Braces?
The best thing you can do to keep your clear braces clean and transparent is to maintain a good oral hygiene routine. Regardless of the type of braces applied, every patient should brush their teeth after every meal. In doing so, one should take their time cleaning their appliance.
For Invisalign aligners, you should rinse them thoroughly with water and remove plaque and bacteria with a soft-bristled toothbrush. Once a week use the Invisalign cleaning products to keep your aligner clean. Lingual and ceramic braces don’t require any special treatment, stick to your diet and the recommendations given by your orthodontist to brush your appliances and you should enjoy a natural smile thought the whole treatment.
If you wish to know which type of clear braces is best for you contact us for an appointment here. We will be more than happy to help with any questions you may have.
