While having a few teeth that are misaligned or crooked is fairly normal and usually nothing to worry about if it is not affecting your dental health, more and more people are deciding to have tooth misalignment fixed by wearing braces or clear aligners. Whether it’s knocking your confidence when you are meeting people for the first time or you’ve found yourself avoiding smiling with your teeth for photos, the good news is that with more options than ever before now available for achieving a straighter smile, you can easily get the look that you have always wanted.
For people who don’t have seriously misaligned teeth and do not need to have teeth extracted before starting treatment, clear aligners can be one of the best ways to consider straightening your teeth. Unlike traditional fixed braces, they are not obvious when you are wearing them, and they aren’t stuck on to your teeth either. Plus, no metal means that there’s a lower risk of them being uncomfortable or causing injury to your mouth. Let’s take a look at some of the main benefits of wearing clear aligners to straighten your teeth.
Do it from Home
If you have a busy life, then straightening your teeth with traditional braces might be inconvenient for you since you will need to visit the orthodontist to have the braces fitted and then to have them tightened every few weeks. On the other hand, clear aligners are much more convenient for those who want to easily fit wearing braces around their lifestyle since you can fit them at home. Once you sign up for your braces, you will be sent an at-home impressions kit to carefully take and send back before your aligners are designed and sent back to you to wear. You’ll be sent a kit every few weeks so that a tighter aligner can be made and worn to keep your teeth moving in the right direction until they are straight.
More Affordable
Another great reason to consider clear aligners today is that they are often an affordable option. Although they are generally more expensive compared to fixed braces, it is worth bearing in mind that they will typically not need to be worn for quite as long, which can lead to them being cheaper. However, even if clear aligners are going to cost you more compared to having a fixed brace fitted, affordable payment plans that make it easy for you to spread the cost of straightening your teeth can be worth considering. Most providers will now offer the option to pay monthly or quarterly. If you’re wondering how much do braces cost UK, you can find more information on the brace cost UK at Straight My Teeth. Here, you can read all about your invisible and clear braces options. Straight My Teeth offer easy, at-home clear aligner options that you can pay for monthly. Generally, the cost of braces will vary based on the type of brace and how long you need to wear them for.
Shorter Treatment Time
Clear aligners are usually the best option for treating some slight misalignment and other non-severe issues with crooked teeth. Because of this, they will usually not take as long to work for straightening your teeth compared to traditional braces. If you have already had traditional braces in the past and your teeth have moved back over time, clear aligners are a good option to consider if you do not want to go through a long period of time wearing fixed braces again. Some clear aligners will work in just six months, depending on how many teeth you need to straighten and how much they need to move.
Appearance
If you are concerned about how you are going to appear while wearing fixed metal braces, clear aligners are an alternative worth considering. Many people decide to get clear aligners because they are much less obvious compared to fixed braces and can be removed at any point. You should ideally wear them as much as you can throughout each day, taking them out for eating and brushing your teeth. However, even when you are wearing them, the aligners are completely transparent and fit comfortably over your teeth, making it difficult to tell that you are wearing anything at all.
Less Pain and Discomfort
Since clear aligners are made from a mould of your teeth and fit comfortably over them in a similar way to a retainer, there is often less discomfort and pain involved compared to wearing a fixed brace. While you are likely to feel some tightness and tenderness as your teeth begin to move, one of the main benefits of opting for clear aligners is that with this option, there are no metal brackets and wires that can cut the inside of your mouth. No matter how careful you are, fixed metal braces can cut into the sensitive skin on the inside of your mouth or break and lead to injury.
Flexibility
Unlike fixed braces that can only be removed by a professional orthodontist, you are in control when it comes to when and where you decide to wear your clear removeable aligners. While wearing them as much as possible is crucial to get the best and the fastest results for straighter teeth, you will always have the option to take them out if you have a big event to go to or are taking photos and don’t want to have your braces on show. Clear aligners are much more discreet, and nobody even needs to know that you are wearing them.
Maintenance and Cleaning
Cleaning your teeth and maintaining good dental health is often easier with clear aligners compared to traditional fixed braces. This is because unlike fixed braces that will stay attached to your teeth while you are brushing them and get in the way of flossing, your clear aligners are simply removed, allowing you to brush your teeth as normal. Since there is nothing attached to your teeth with this option, there is a much lower risk of your teeth becoming stained when the braces are no longer needed, unlike with fixed braces. Along with this, you can easily floss as normal without having to get any special tools that will fit around a fixed brace, keeping your dental health in the best condition while undergoing the treatment.
More Food Choices
With fixed braces, eating hard foods can easily snap the wire and lead to injury or your teeth not moving as quickly as they should. And, while this is an easy fix by an orthodontist, you will usually have to wait for an available appointment to get a new wire fitted. On the other hand, you don’t have to stick to soft foods and be careful of what you are eating when you wear a clear aligner. Since the aligners can simply be removed to eat, there’s no risk of you breaking the brace if you want to bite into an apple or tuck into a fruit and nut mix.
If you are thinking of having your teeth straightened, there are many reasons why clear aligners are a great option to consider compared to traditional fixed braces including more convenient, more discreet, and a lower risk of pain or injury.