People from the UK have often been portrayed on American TV as having badly crooked teeth. While much of this is done for comedic effect, it does raise an interesting point. While most people accept the need for most dental treatments, when it comes to straightening of teeth, many back away from this. In most cases, the reason for this is the visibility and potential embarrassment of traditional metal braces.
Many older people will remember playground bullying of children who wore braces, and while younger people today may be more tolerant, the rise of selfies and social media means that they probably won’t want to post pictures during what can be a quite lengthy treatment period. Thankfully, for everyone who has these concerns, orthodontic treatments have moved on and our Edinburgh dentists can now offer ‘invisible braces’ that provide a much more discreet way to straighten teeth.
These are a modern way of straightening teeth that completely abandon the use of the wires and brackets associated with traditional ‘train track’ braces. Instead, we use ‘trays’ made from a transparent medical grade plastic that fit directly over your teeth. These are produced from scans and impressions that are taken of your teeth.
Naturally, they aren’t entirely invisible otherwise you would quickly lose them, but they are very thin and are not easily visible unless you look closely.
The most obvious benefit is that they straighten your teeth in a much more discreet way, thereby avoiding the possible embarrassment sometimes associated with wearing dental braces. This is the main reason for their increasing popularity over the years.
The benefits don’t end there though. While traditional braces are fixed in your mouth, the invisible braces are removable. This should only be done at certain times, mainly when eating and for cleaning your teeth. You could remove them for other situations such as a job interview if it makes you feel more confident but we do strongly recommend that, other than for eating and cleaning the teeth, you remove them as little as possible. The more they are removed, the longer the treatment time will take to complete.
In addition to this, if you use these removable dental braces, you are likely to have healthier teeth than if you had them straightened using wire and bracket braces. One obvious reason for this is that it is much easier to clean your teeth than where wiring is attached to the teeth, but also the wiring and brackets of old style braces provides plenty of opportunities for food to become trapped and eventually lead to tooth decay.
If your teeth appear crooked, perhaps through overcrowding, or you have an underbite or overbite, orthodontic treatment can correct this. Unsightly spaces between the teeth can also be closed using this method.
If you would like to see how we can help you have straighter teeth and therefore a more attractive smile, the first thing to do is to arrange an initial consultation at the 103 Dental and Implant Practice in Edinburgh New Town.
We will examine your teeth and make recommendations to you as well as giving you an estimate of how long you might need to wear them for. We may also need to arrange some prior treatment if issues like tooth decay or gum disease are present. There is little point in having an even set of teeth if they are decaying.
Once an agreement over treatment has been made, we will take scans and impressions that are sent to a laboratory for the trays to be produced and you will be recalled when they are returned to our practice. You will receive not a single set of trays but a series of them. Each set needs to be worn for a short period of time, which we will advise, before being removed and replaced by the next set. Each set works by moving your teeth a little towards the desired position. It is important that this is done slowly and gently to avoid any damage to the teeth and also for the patient’s comfort.
You will need to keep the trays clean as well as your teeth and we will provide you with instructions on how to do this.
While these orthodontics are often used for more significant corrections, we also offer solutions for anyone who wants some small improvements to their visible ‘social six’ teeth that can be seen when you smile. A small amount of crookedness or slight overlapping of a tooth can spoil an otherwise attractive smile and we can help you to resolve this.
If you would like more information on the orthodontic treatments available at the 103 Dental and Implant Practice or would like to arrange a consultation with us, please call us on 0131 608 3219. We look forward to helping you have a straighter and more even smile!
