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What Invisalign Can Do For Your Smile

Orthodontic care can be a big decision for anyone.
If you are a parent, you want the best for your child. You want a treatment that will work and, if possible, not be too uncomfortable.
If you are a teen, you want your treatment to be simple and to be over as soon as possible.
And if you are one of the millions of adults who are considering orthodontic care for yourself, then you may prefer something a lot less noticeable than braces.
If you live in or near Salem, OR, then you are close to a dentist office that can help. We offer Invisalign® for our patients at Oregon Smile Care Center.
 
Treatable Cases
Unlike braces, Invisalign does not use brackets and wires to move your teeth. Instead, you wear clear plastic aligners that are practically invisible when they are placed over your teeth.
The smooth plastic isn’t going to scratch the soft tissue of your mouth like bracket and wires might. Plus you can remove the aligners during meals (so you can eat what you want) and when you clean your teeth (so you can brush and floss your teeth the same as you do now).
Those things are nice benefits that come with Invisalign, but the bottom line is you need to know that it will work.
The truth is that Invisalign may not work for every patient, specifically for patients with severe alignment issues. With that same, most patients have mild or moderate alignment issues, and Invisalign can work on each of the follow problems:
▷ Overbites
Overbites occur when your upper row of teeth overlaps the bottom row.
This is considered a bite issue because it affects how your teeth fit together when your mouth is closed.
This may seem like a purely aesthetic issue at first, but it can affect oral health. If you teeth overlap one another, it can contribute to wear on parts of your teeth. This can damage the protective enamel or leave those teeth more vulnerable to tooth decay.
▷ Underbites
An underbite is the opposite of an overbite. This is when your bottom row or teeth overlap your top row.
This, too, can contribute to uneven wear and tear on your teeth, and it may cause excess wear on your enamel.
▷ Open bites
An open bite is a different issue than an overbite or underbite. A person with an open bite has teeth that do not touch one another when he or she closes his mouth.
Open bites may be a result of genetics (which influence how teeth develop), but they can be caused by behaviors as well. Long-term thumb sucking and tongue thrusting (pushing on your teeth with your tongue) can affect how teeth develop as well.
▷ Crossbites
Think of this as a combination of an overbite and an underbite. In some places, the top teeth overlap the bottom ones. In other places, you bottom teeth overlap your top row.
Crossbites also can contribute to issues like uneven wear on your teeth and increased risk for tooth decay in the long term.
▷ Gaps Between Teeth
The technical term for this condition is diastema. In many cases, this may not have any health effects. In other cases, this can be a symptom of a lip or tongue tie.
Regardless, some people feel self-conscious about this space, and closing it may help to improve their comfort in social and professional situations.
▷ Crooked Teeth
Crooked teeth are a common issue. It’s rare for people to have teeth that are naturally perfectly straight.
Your teeth may be crooked for a variety of reason, starting with genetics. When you lose your primary teeth can have an effect as well, and as we mentioned earlier, certain behaviors and habits can affect how your teeth erupt.
 
Getting Started
Before you agree to any orthodontic treatment, you deserve to know if it will work for you. After all, you will be committing time and money to this process.
We encourage you to schedule a consultation with Dr. Hanson at Oregon Smile Care Center first. Our dentist can examine your teeth and your jaw at our dentist office in Salem, OR, and he can give you a much better idea if Invisalign will give you the results that you want to see.
We have used Invisalign to help several patients already. We know what it can do, and we will know if and how it can help you or someone you care about.
To request your appointment, either call (503) 809-4784 or fill out our online form.

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