Olympia Clear Braces Dentist Offers Dandy Aligners
You can’t underestimate how misaligned teeth affect how you smile, speak, and chew foods. Beyond aesthetics, living with misaligned teeth can pose risks to your oral health, making you more susceptible to food trapping between teeth, leading to tooth decay and gum diseases. That’s why orthodontic treatments are necessary, allowing patients to get their teeth straightened while improving their smile and oral health.
At Precision Dentistry of Olympia, we understand patients’ concerns about traditional metal braces, which can lead some to discontinue their treatment before getting the expected results. So, we are dedicated to providing our patients with quality treatments while ensuring patient comfort throughout the process. Our team offers clear aligners from Dandy as a discreet alternative to metal braces, allowing you to achieve proper tooth alignment while feeling confident about your appearance!
What Are Clear Aligners?
Clear aligners (you may be familiar with Invisalign) feature an innovative orthodontic treatment crafted to help patients straighten their teeth while feeling confident about their appearance. As an alternative to metal braces, clear aligners are nearly invisible, removable, and easy-to-wear trays that deliver even adequate force to the misaligned teeth, allowing them to return to their normal position. These plastic trays offer high convenience and patient comfort since they are hardly noticed by anyone.
Are Clear Aligners the Ideal Orthodontic Treatment for Me?
Although clear aligners are the treatment for cases with mild to moderate misalignments, they could be less than ideal for others. At Precision Dentistry of Olympia, we are very transparent with our patients. So, our team recommends an initial consultation to determine your eligibility for this treatment. Dr. Xu advises that you may not get the optimal benefits from clear aligners if you have any of these conditions:
Severely Misaligned Teeth
Suppose you have a severe degree of tooth misalignment or skeletal discrepancies. In that case, you might require serial extractions or more complex orthodontic treatments to achieve the expected outcomes after the treatment.
Poor Oral Hygiene
You should perform regular oral hygiene measures, such as proper brushing and flossing, especially after taking your aligners out following meals. Poor oral hygiene increases your potential risk of tooth decay and gum diseases while undergoing treatment.
Ongoing Developmental Stages
Young children are not ideal candidates for clear aligners because they are still in the active growth phase, and their jawbone and teeth often change in size, shape, and position. It’s recommended that they choose another treatment option that best suits each case.
Not Sticking to Clear Aligner Instructions
To achieve good outcomes with clear aligners, you should strictly adhere to the instructions given throughout the treatment. This means wearing the aligners for the designated period of time, as advised by our team, and only taking them out for eating or brushing.
Benefits of Clear Aligners in Olympia
Precision Dentistry of Olympia is committed to providing our patients with quality clear aligners tailored to their clinical situations, allowing them to align their teeth while improving oral health. Here’s a list of benefits you can expect with aligners:
Faster Treatment Time (Teeth Straightened More Quickly)
Some people take years to achieve optimal results when using metal braces. However, if you have mildly misaligned teeth, you can straighten them with aligners within months. This could be suitable for individuals who don’t prefer prolonged orthodontic treatments.
Improve Your Social Interactions with Aligners
Are you self-conscious when smiling with metal braces? We understand how your appearance during orthodontic treatment impacts your self-esteem. That’s why we recommend clear aligners as the first option for patients who feel uncomfortable with traditional metal braces, as the aligners are often nearly unnoticeable.
More Convenient
Since clear aligners are made of plastic, they are more convenient when placed over teeth and cause fewer injuries to gums and surrounding structures. However, metal braces and wires often induce gum inflammation and bleeding.
Brush Your Teeth More Easily
Clear aligners are removable trays, allowing you to remove them while eating, brushing, or flossing your teeth, improving your oral hygiene. In contrast, traditional braces are fixed, making it hard to maintain proper hygiene measures.
What is the Process of Getting Clear Aligners in Olympia?
At Precision Dentistry of Olympia, we are committed to helping our patients choose the best treatment option while ensuring they receive the results they have always dreamed of!
So, if you’re a good candidate for clear aligners, here’s what you can expect throughout the process:
Detailed Examination
Determining your eligibility for clear aligners requires an expert dentist since it depends on many factors. During your first visit to our office, Dr. Xu will take care of all your concerns, perform a detailed intraoral and extraoral examination, and take all the necessary records to determine if clear aligners suit your case.
Developing a Treatment Plan
If you are eligible for clear aligners, our team will provide you with a step-by-step guide, helping you grasp all the information you need to know at each step throughout the process and the expected outcome after the treatment.
Get Your Custom Aligners Placed
After gathering all the digital records, we send them to our orthodontic lab. Once your first custom tray “aligner” is fabricated, your journey towards “proper teeth alignment” is started!
Replace Your Clear Aligner “Tray” with A New One
You can expect to replace your clear aligners throughout the treatment as your teeth move to the new position. While you progress, you need to replace the current tray with a new one that fits the next stage. Based on your case, we’ll schedule regular appointments, typically every two weeks or as necessary, so our team can assess your progress. This ensures we stay on track to achieve the best results for you!
Retention Period
As soon as your teeth are straightened, you must undergo a retention period that varies depending on each case. Placing retainers after the orthodontic treatment is crucial since your teeth might return to their previous position. These retainers maintain your teeth in their ideal alignment, ensuring your smile stays brilliant and healthy.
Dr. Xu offers a personalized approach to each case. You can be sure he will only recommend what he believes is best for you and your goals. In addition to cosmetic dentistry treatments, Dr. Xu and his team provide restorative treatments such as reinforced composite fillings, dental implants, preventative dentistry, and more.
Are you a good candidate for clear aligners? Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
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