Tag: Blog

When I was 8 years old, I was in a sports accident causing 3 of my teeth to be knocked out of place. 1 of the teeth was able to be saved by doing a simple surgery (which was extremely nerve-racking for both me and my parents) but the other 2 had to be extracted. They were both on the right side of my mouth, so because I was missing 2 teeth there, all my top teeth started shifting to the right side of my mouth. This caused grinding, pain and clenching. My parents knew this had to be fixed so we started to take action. The simple solution was to go to the local orthodontist and put braces on, but because I was only 8 (and still had teeth to lose and teeth to come in) we knew that my teeth probably wouldn’t stay straight. But we didn’t have much of a choice. So knowing my teeth would probably not be straight, we still went ahead and put on braces in hopes of fixing the clenching, grinding and shifting of teeth problem.

Now, because Invisalign was still fairly new at this point, it wasn’t an option for us. So we had to go and get regular conventional braces. I remember getting rainbow colours. 😉 The braces fixed my issue, but sure enough my teeth were crooked again by the time I was 16. 

So, last year (my second year in Dental Hygiene school FYI) I decided to use my student health benefits for straightening of my teeth. It was a little expensive, but after a long time, I realized it would be worth it in the long run. Now, because this is around 10 or so years later, Invisalign was a lot more technically advanced. So given both choices, I went with Invisalign.

Now that I’ve done this big long rant (excuse the rant please :)) I am going to give you my opinion on the age old question: Braces VS Invisalign?

Since I am only 6 weeks away from finishing my treatment with Invisalign, I feel I can give a honest opinion. And since I’ve had both, I can say that I think I think that I know a fair bit about both. And as a dental hygienist in training, I’ve learned a lot about them.

So. Let’s start!

1. What’s more painful? Braces or Invisalign? While moving teeth will be painful no matter what, I would say Invisalign is less painful. Firstly, when you put braces on, it causing extreme pain for a week. Your mouth has this metal on it, and it is really quite painful for the first week or so. While, when first putting on Invisalign, yes, it is painful, but it is nearly as sore. After a few days of wearing your trays, the pain will usually subside. Also, since you slowly move the teeth with Invisalign it hurts less then cranking the wires on your braces all at once.
2. What’s harder to clean? Probably braces! With braces, you have a big metal wire and metal brackets to clean around. And with Invisalign, all you do is take out your trays and clean your teeth like normal. A lot of time you get tons of decay from the metal braces because you have so much to clean around. That’s why staining is so usual for metal brace wearers. Invisalign is definitely a lot easier to clean.  That being said, you can get tools to help you clean your braces. Water  flossers, electric toothbrushes, etc. To help you keep your teeth clean!
3. What’s better for teens / kids? While I always like to recommend Invisalign to everyone, sometimes its not a option depending on their teeth situation. I would say Invisalign, if your child is going to be dedicated to brushing after every meal (because you can’t stick your trays back in if your teeth are dirty, as this will cause decay) wearing their trays, etc. Then Invisalign is a great option for you! However some kids aren’t going to clean their trays or their teeth, and if they don’t wear them, then the money you spent is pointless. Some kids just can’t commit to having Invisalign, and they need to have brackets glued to their teeth. And if you don’t clean your teeth and stick trays back in, you have a really high chance at getting cavity’s!!
4. What do you recommend? Invisalign all the way! It’s a lot nicer looking, has a lot of perks and I think that it is a great option for most people. If your looking into orthodontic treatment, ask your ortho about Invisalign to see if its a option for you!! 

Now, while there is still many more questions that people have about the two orthodontic options, these 4 are the ones I received the most. And because the answers are so in depth, I think I’ll keep the post at here. Remember, it’s your smile, your choice!

If you have any more questions regarding this subject, I encourage you to leave a comment or email me! I would be more then happy to help you, and I promise to respond. 🙂

Till’ next post, Everleigh

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