Tag: Accelerated orthodontics

Comfort: the Unspoken Advantage of Invisalign Aligners

Comfort: the Unspoken Advantage of Invisalign Aligners

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By: Adrian Pierce

Invisalign® aligners represent the latest in dental technology for straightening crooked teeth using flexible, transparent plastic aligners instead of metal bands and wires. Invisalign aligners also correct overbites, underbites, narrow dental arches, and unattractive gaps between teeth. Made from a hypoallergenic, polyurethane compound, Invisalign aligners are nearly invisible mouth trays custom-made from dental impressions taken by a dentist specializing in orthodontics.

 

Invisalign can reposition severely crooked teeth under the care of an experienced orthodontist.  The less experienced orthodontist may need to use braces to straighten extreme underbites and overbites. In most cases of severe underbites and overbites, the jaw may need to be shifted to fully correct abnormally positioned teeth. Invisalign can reposition the jaw with the aid of removable elastics.

 

Amazingly Comfortable, Amazingly Effective

Several sets of Invisalign aligners are developed from a patient’s dental impression. Each aligner is slightly different in regards to shape and amount of pressure affecting teeth that need to be moved. Every week, Invisalign patients wear a new aligner. Each new aligner provides different applications of forces generated by modified aligner dimensions. Patients experience gradual repositioning of teeth without the discomfort and inconvenience of metal braces.

 

No Soreness, No Gum Irritation, and No Bleeding

Invisalign aligners promote subtle movement of teeth but without the soreness of your lips and gums associated with braces. Also, the ability to remove Invisalign trays improve the level of oral hygiene practiced by people using these trays as opposed to braces glued to teeth. People wearing metal braces can suffer from embarrassing halitosis as well as staining and pitting of teeth that require further treatment following removal of glued-on brackets due to difficulties with oral hygiene.

 

Invisalign aligners can be easily inserted and removed. You do not ha

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ve to visit your orthodontist every month for adjusting brackets and wires. Metal braces require regular adjustment to make teeth move into straighter positions. Soreness of the mouth following an adjustment is a common complaint of people wearing metal braces.

 

So Comfortable You Forget You are Wearing Invisalign Aligners

AdobeStock_154310138.jpegWorn 22 hours a day, Invisalign aligners move teeth into desired positions within six months to two years.  Also, you can discreetly remove Invisalign trays to eat or brush their teeth when out in public, so nobody will even know you are wearing them. And best of all, Invisalign is made from flexible materials that do not irritate gums or force teeth to reposition too quickly. Simple but powerfully effective, Invisalign trays slide easily over your teeth to give you a beautiful smile with straight teeth that you’ve always wanted.

The iTero Element Laser Scanner

The iTero Element Laser Scanner

New technology at West Paces Ferry Orthodontics

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By: Kenny Hackett

The iTero Element is the newest piece of technology at West Paces Ferry Orthodontics.  It is a digital laser scanner used to provide Invisalign with an accurate model of the mouth.  The machine uses laser light to read the surface of the teeth and then recreates a virtual model of these teeth.

Orthodontic Technician Michele scanning a patient for Invisalign with the iTero Element.
Orthodontic Technician Michele scanning a patient for Invisalign with the iTero Element.

“As of March 2016, iTero scans have been used in more than 2.7 million iTero orthodontic scans, including more than 1 million Invisalign® scans.”According to the iTero website.  The scanner is more accurate than the older model and the scans also take half the time.

For a patient, this means getting in and out faster and having a lower chance of needing a second scan.  West Paces Ferry Orthodontics was so impressed with how much the machines improved the patient experience that we bought two of them!  Visit Westpacesferrryortho.com to request an appointment today and experience the latest technology available to orthodontic patients!

 

The Exciting New World Of Accelerated Orthodontics

The Exciting New World Of Accelerated Orthodontics

The Orthodontic world is rapidly changing. One of the major changes is the introduction of accelerated Orthodontic treatments.  Treatment times have already been cut to half of what they were just  two years ago.  This has been achieved by accelerating our natural cycles that allow teeth to be moved through orthodontics.  Some patients can be treated in as little as six months with Invisalign therapy or traditional braces!

 

The bone that houses the roots of our teeth have a natural recycling process called the osteogenic cycle. This involves two bone cells called osteoblast and osteoclast. Osteoblast synthesize bone, and osteoclast break down bone tissue.  This function is critical in the maintenance, repair, and remodeling of bones in our body.  Essentially, our bones are in a constant state of recycling.  Applying consistent pressure to a tooth causes  the bone around the tooth to adapt and allows the tooth to then move with the pressure provided by either Invisalign trays or traditional braces . osteodiagragm
Accelerated Orthodontics is achieved by increasing the production of these special cells in our body causing the process to double in speed as well.   The early stages of this acceleration were only able to be achieved by surgical means.  Patients would see a specially trained periodontist or oral surgeon who would perforate the bone with a drill and the healing process would cause an increase in cellular production.  The down side to this option is the discomfort associated with surgery as well as the cost due to the large amount of time the surgery takes the specialist.

 

Thankfully this new science has entered into a new phase. By inserting a mouthpiece fitted around traditional braces or Invisalign trays and wearing the activator every day the Orthodontist at West paces Ferry Orthodontics can speed up tooth movement through the use of vibrations.  This increases blood flow in our upper and lower jaw and this in turn increases the production of the osteoblast and  osteoclast, causing the bone to remodel to the tooth’s new position much faster. This also decreases the inflammation caused by orthodontics lowering the level of discomfort as well as speeding the process up.