Invisalign is less conspicuous alternative to metal braces for straightening your teeth. Read on to learn how long you can expect your Invisalign treatment to take.
Invisalign treatment comprises a series of clear plastic aligners. These aligners straighten your teeth in tiny increments over a period of time, just let metal braces, but they are far less obvious when worn.
For adults, the average course of Invisalign for adults is about a year, and in general it will take a little longer for teens. At the end of the day, though, each patient is different, and there are multiple factors that may impact the duration of Invisalign treatment for a given person.
The Severity of Your Misalignment
You may not be surprised to learn that, if your teeth are severely misaligned, it will take longer to straighten them. This would be the case whether your choose braces or Invisalign.
The Number of Aligners in your Series
Invisalign is a series of aligners, and each set in the series is switched out biweekly. If you already know how many aligners there are in your series, you just have to do some math to figure out how long your treatment will take (assuming all goes according to plan):
Let’s assume you have 16 sets of aligners.
You have to switch them out every two weeks, so that’s two sets of aligners each month.
16 divided by 2 is 8, so that means your treatment will take 8 months.
Your Compliance to Treatment
Your choices during treatment play a vital role in its duration. At the outset of the Invisalign process, your dentist will give you an estimate of how long treatment will take. To help make sure treatment goes as planned, be sure to wear you aligners as your dentist has prescribed.
During the Invisalign process, you must wear your aligners full time, every day, to make sure everything stays on track. Full time means 22 hours of aligner wear daily.
Doing this will help ensure that your treatment goes according to plan. So, be sure to only take your aligners out to eat, brush and floss… and remember to put them back in!
Are you Using AccleDent?
Acceledent is a orthodontic device that can help make the orthodontic treatment process go faster. Acceledent uses soft pulse technology and cyclic forces to accelerate the movement of teeth by up to 50%.
Ask your dentist about whether this device is right for you.
How long before I start noticing results?
Most patients begin to notice a difference in their teeth around the 4 - 6 week mark. You may find it helpful to to take a picture of your smile each week, so that you can track how your teeth are moving.