It’s fair to say that for most people dental braces have a certain stigma attached to them. Whether it was because they had to endure wearing them as a child, or whether they knew someone that was continually called names like ‘brace face‘ or ‘metal mouth‘, the thought of having to go through orthodontic treatment as an adult is enough to put many people off. For this reason, a whole host of invisible braces and clear fixed braces were invented to ensure that adults could get the treatment they need. With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at some of them.
Lingual braces
If you saw pictures of a mouth with both lingual braces before and after pictures it’s fair to say that you would definitely notice the difference. Yet we’d also wager that during the treatment you wouldn’t even notice that the person in question was wearing them. Why? Because they’re incredibly discreet. Whereas conventional braces are designed to fix to the front of your teeth by means of brackets and wiring, lingual braces attach at the back of the teeth. This means that patients can smile, speak, and eat without people ever knowing that they’re wearing them. What’s more, their orthodontic treatment can continue in complete discretion.
Clear fixed braces
In essence, clear fixed braces are similar to conventional metal-style braces in that brackets are attached to the front of the teeth and wires threaded through; except this time, rather than being metal, the brackets are a white ceramic colour and the wiring is both thinner and tooth coloured for a more discreet feel. Similarly to conventional braces, clear fixed braces can fix a number of tooth problems including tooth overcrowding, irregular tooth spacing, and tooth alignment issues.
Invisalign Aligners
Invisalign aligners are about as far removed from traditional braces as you can get. Otherwise known as invisible braces, these aligner style appliances have many differences. Unlike conventional brace systems, they’re designed to be fully removable. In addition, rather than one appliance lasting for the duration of the treatment, Invisalign treatment consists of a number of aligners which are worn sequentially and changed every two weeks. Perhaps the best thing about Invisalign is that they do away with brackets and wiring altogether in favour of clear acrylic trays which are worn over the teeth like a gum shield. Because of their transparency Invisalign braces really are virtually invisible to anyone else but you.
If you’d like to find out more about lingual braces before and after, invisible braces, or clear fixed braces then come and talk to the orthodontics team at Church Road Dental and Cosmetics. To book an appointment contact us directly on 0161 660 1218 and start the ball rolling towards restoring that perfect smile.
