Braces or Aligners

Metal Braces Vs. Clear Aligners, What Option is Best for Me?

When your teeth are crooked, it can impact more than just your smile. Crooked teeth also impact your oral health and your quality of life. Biting and chewing become difficult and your digestion suffers.

Your teeth are harder to keep clean, increasing your risk for oral health issues like tooth decay and gum disease. Crooked teeth can even lead to pain in your jaw, temporomandibular joints, your neck, and your back. At Dr. Tim Dumore & Team, we can help with metal braces as well as Clear Aligners.

Crooked teeth have long been treated using metal braces. Metal braces use brackets and wires to realign your teeth, improving the health of your mouth and the quality of your smile. They can also be used to help realign your jaw.

At the beginning of treatment, metal brackets are bonded to the front surfaces of each of your teeth. A metal wire spans the entire arch of teeth, connected to each bracket. The wires are responsible for the movement of your teeth. The wires put pressure on your teeth, which then put pressure on your periodontal ligaments. This pressure widens the ligaments, loosening your teeth so that they can be realigned.

Once your teeth have reached their proper positions, the braces work to hold your teeth in place while the supporting structures heal around them, stabilizing them in place.

Traditional And Self-Litigating Metal Braces

Traditionally, wires have been affixed to brackets with the use of elastic O-rings, or ligatures.

Today, braces can also be self-litigating, like the braces provided by In-Ovation. With self-litigating braces, the wires are attached to each bracket using a metal door. Sliding mechanisms allow the braces to tighten themselves as your teeth move.

This can often mean shorter, more comfortable treatments.

Clear Aligners is a way of aligning your teeth with clear plastic aligners. These aligners, which are made from impressions of your mouth, are much more discreet than metal braces. Most people will not even be able to tell that you are wearing them. In addition to being clear, they are also removable. However, they should only be removed to eat and to brush your teeth. For the best results, it is recommended that the aligners stay in your mouth for 20 to 22 hours each day. There are many benefits of Clear Aligners, including reduced wear time and almost unnoticeable.

With Clear Aligners, you use several sets of aligners. Each set of aligners is made to be worn for two weeks at a time. Every set is a little different than the one before it, aiding in the gradual movement of your teeth. Typically, depending upon the length of your treatment, you may go through anywhere from 18 to 30 different sets.