In recent years we are experiencing a revolution in orthodontics due to the appearance of dental aligners.
What are dental aligners?
The aligners are custom made flexible plastic covers which are made to measure and adapt exactly to the shape of the teeth after taking some molds of your mouth. Through a series of sequential aligners planned by your orthodontist, teeth are moved in a controlled way, until the ideal treatment goal initially planned is achieved.
What are their advantages?
Among its advantages are:
- Greater aesthetics compared to conventional brackets.
- Greater comfort in the mouth.
- Ability to be removed by the patient in a comfortable and easy way.
- 3D treatment planning that allows the patient to be taught approximately how the case will end before starting it.
These advantages have led to an increase in the demand of aligners, but it is important to know that for the aligners to work correctly, the patient must use them about 20 hours a day in order to achieve the planned objectives, which entails a great commitment from the patients.
In all orthodontic treatments, cooperation is one of the most important factors, but with aligners it is crucial and if the aligners are not used on the scheduled days and hours, the treatment goals will not be achieved.
Are there different types of aligners?
Currently there is a wide variety of companies that through the orthodontist produce aligners such as Invisalign, Spark, Suresmile, Clear Correct… and many more.
The company that makes the aligners is important, but the most important thing is to make a correct diagnosis carried out by your orthodontist and advise you of the different treatment options with the advantages and disadvantages of each of them in order to choose the best for you.
