Local Orthodontic Santa Cruz, CA Dental Care for Apple Orthodontics

Invisalign Braces Treatment, Find an Orthodontist or Orthodontic Dentist

Getting started couldn't be easier. In fact, your crooked teeth could be straighter teeth, and your smile, more beautiful, within weeks of receiving Invisalign invisible braces from your orthodontist.

Step 1: Visit Your Orthodontist

During this first step you will need to make an appointment with an Invisalign Certified Orthodontist. During the initial visit, your orthodontics professional will help you decide on your course of teeth straightening treatment. He will take bite impressions of your teeth and send them, along with a set of precise instructions, to Invisalign.

Step 2: Invisalign Makes Your Aligners

Invisalign uses advanced 3-D computer imaging technology to transform your bite impressions into a custom-made series of clear and removable invisible braces. There may be as many as 48 in the series or as few as 12, depending on your individual Invisalign clear braces treatment plan.

Step 3: You Receive Your Invisalign Aligners in a Few Weeks

During your next visit to your orthodontist, you will receive your first set of Invisalign aligners. Your orthodontist will most likely give you a few additional sets for you to wear before you return for your next visit.

Step 4: You Wear Your Invisalign Aligners

You'll wear each set of clear Invisalign braces day and night for about 2 weeks, removing them only to eat, drink, brush and floss. Total treatment time averages 9-15 months, but will vary from case to case. You'll visit your orthodontist only about every 6 weeks to ensure that your Invisalign treatment is progressing as planned.

Step 5: You've Finished The Invisalign Treatment

Congratulations! When you're finished wearing each aligner in the series, your Invisalign teeth straightening treatment will be complete and you will have the beautiful smile you've always wanted.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

New Orthodontic Appliance Can Correct Overbite

Eleven-year-old Janet had a severe overbite and she was serious about improving her smile. "Her overbite was so obvious, I just knew something was wrong. I was afraid she would have problems with her mouth when she got older," recalled Janet's mother.

Most people think an overbite is caused when the upper teeth stick out. Actually, most overbite problems result from a short lower jaw. With modern techniques and a willing child, an orthodontist can help the short lower jaw grow in to line with the upper teeth. In the past the only solution to Janet's problem was headgear that would pull the upper teeth back to match the lower jaw. But Janet's new smile was shaped in just nine months without traditional braces or headgear.

She was one of a growing number of patients able to benefit from a device designed in Europe called a Bionator. Unlike traditional braces, the plastic and wire device is removable, but only for cleaning and eating. Patients must learn to wear it for more than 20 hours a day.

Orthodontic attention while a child is young can often straighten out crooked teeth before they have a chance to get worse. By redirecting the growth of the jaw, orthodontics can often enhance features in the middle and lower parts of the face. Results can be quite striking. In Janet's case, she became more enthusiastic and outgoing as her smile and self-image improved.

Other types of braces that are available today are invisible braces, clear braces, ceramic braces, and a procedure known as Invisalign® .

When children become aware of themselves and those around them, one of the first things they notice is the face. And nicknames like "Fang and "Buck Beaver" can leave a permanent mark on childhood memories. Unfortunately, children can be brutally cruel to each other because they are brutally honest. Correcting an overbite by controlling the source of the problem, jaw growth, orthodontics can help children face growing up with zeal and self confidence.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.