Clear Aligners at uSmileUSA
Achieve Your Straight Smile Goals Without Brackets and Wires
If you have crowding, crooked teeth, or a misaligned bite but have hesitated to get orthodontic treatment because you don’t want to spend over a year with a mouth full of metal brackets and wires, uSmileUSA offers clear aligners in Shoreline to give our patients a low-profile alternative to traditional braces.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Clear Aligners?
There’s a reason clear aligners haven’t completely replaced traditional braces; depending on your specific orthodontic situation, they might not be as effective. Aligners are a good option to treat the following issues:
- Gaps between teeth
- Crowding
- Crooked teeth
- Overbite
- Underbite
- Open bite
- Crossbite
Clear aligners can be paired with elastics to correct malocclusions (bad bites), but extreme versions of many of these issues may require traditional braces.
The Clear Aligner Treatment Process
If you are interested in getting clear aligners in Shoreline, the process will follow these steps:
- Your initial consultation: At this first visit, we will use intraoral cameras to take a digital impression of the position of your teeth and jaws, make a treatment plan for you, and give you detailed instructions and a schedule for follow-up appointments.
- Your aligners: Once your aligners have been fabricated from a strong plastic material, you will wear them for at least 22 hours a day to gradually shift the position of your teeth, progressing through a series of aligners in approximately 2-week intervals until your teeth reach their final positions.
- Regular maintenance visits: While clear aligners do not require adjustments by the orthodontist like traditional braces do, we will need to regularly check on your progress to make sure everything is on track.
- Retention: In order to keep your results, it is essential to wear retainers nightly once your treatment ends. It takes the tissues around our teeth time to adjust to a new position; without retainers, they will drift back into misalignment. Retainers may be fixed or removable, and a popular type of removable retainers is very similar to the clear aligners you’re already used to.
Your Responsibility as a Clear Aligner Patient
The biggest drawback of clear aligners compared to traditional braces is that it’s your job as the patient to be diligent in wearing them. In order to achieve your results on time, you must wear them at least 22 hours every day and use any additional components like elastics EXACTLY as directed by Dr. Lewandowski, our orthodontist at uSmileUSA. You should also make sure to clean your aligners as often as you brush your teeth. Scrub them with lukewarm water and unscented soap to prevent them from becoming warped or stained.
Clear Aligner FAQs
Why is it worth it to have straight teeth?
We in the orthodontic field don’t just encourage straight teeth because we like the way they look; they also have numerous advantages. Straight teeth are better at doing everything our teeth are for. It’s easier to speak clearly with straight teeth, straight teeth rest comfortably together and don’t wear each other down unevenly, straight teeth are easier to clean than crowded teeth, and it’s even easier to chew effectively with straight teeth and correctly aligned jaws! Effective chewing means better digestion, which means better health! Of course, they do also look great, and having a smile you can show off with confidence is certainly a benefit worth considering.
Can I do teeth whitening during my clear aligner treatment?
Yes! Unlike with traditional braces, there is no reason to postpone teeth whitening if you are undergoing clear aligner treatment. We urge our braces-wearing patients to avoid even teeth whitening toothpaste until their braces come off, because the last thing they want is discolored patches where the brackets used to be marring the end of their treatment. With clear aligners, whitening won’t interfere with your orthodontic treatment at all.
Can I eat with clear aligners in?
No! You should always remove your aligners when you’re eating or drinking anything except water. However, once the clear aligners are safely set aside for your meal or snack, there are no restrictions to the types of foods you can eat, unlike with braces
Get Started Today!
If you’re interested in getting a straighter smile, whether you’re an adult who missed out on braces in high school or a high school student who doesn’t want to go through school as a “brace-face,” schedule a consultation at uSmileUSA today so that we can help you get started on achieving your goals for your smile. We look forward to seeing your before and after photos!