Learn About California Orthodontic Specialist Near You

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.

Getting Braces: When's the Best Time?

One of the questions orthodontists are most frequently asked is, "When should my child first be examined for braces?" There is not one right answer to this question. The best starting time for orthodontic appliances depends on the type of problem and its severity. Many orthodontists recommend that every child have an orthodontic evaluation at the time their permanent teeth are starting to erupt.

The timing of orthodontics treatment is important. Early examination allows an orthodontist to identify problems and determine when to treat them, for the best results with the least time and expense. For many patients, early treatment achieves results that may be impossible to attain once the face and jaws have completed their growth. In addition, early intervention makes the completion of treatment at a later age easier.

If no treatment is indicated at the initial examination, your orthodontist may simply want to check your child periodically while the permanent teeth erupt and the face and jaws continue to grow. At the initial exam the following will be evaluated: your child's facial growth (amount and direction), excess spacing between teeth, crowding, crooked teeth, extra or missing teeth, and habits that may affect growth and dental development such as tongue thrusting and thumb-sucking. These problems affect not only tooth alignment but facial appearance.

Finally, the importance of an attractive smile should not be underestimated no matter what your age. A pleasing appearance is a vital asset to one's self-confidence. A person's self-esteem often improves as treatment brings teeth, lips, and face into harmony, in this way, teeth straightening can be beneficial to social and career success and improve one's general attitude toward life.

+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.