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Laser Dentistry Benefits and Applications

Learn in detail about laser dentistry benefits and its many applications from expert dentists in Westmont

Dental visits are one of the least favorite things a person has to do. Dental anxiety is a real thing and we all suffer from it. The ominous sound of a whirring dental drill stays with us for a long time. Most people associate dental appointments with pain and discomfort.

Laser dentistry is a panacea for these problems. More and more dentists are opting for it to make the dental procedures less painful and hassle-free.

Laser dentistry has a wide range of applications; it can be used to treat periodontal ailments, remove canker sores, and even help in teeth whitening. While laser dentistry is quite costly, the cost is a practical tradeoff for the lack of invasiveness and quick post-procedure recovery that laser dentistry offers.

It has been reported that the usage of laser equipment results in less blood loss and less tissue trauma. Additionally, the transmission of infections and diseases is minimal since no object besides the laser beam comes in contact with the surgical site.

Here are some laser dentistry benefits you should know about.

What should I Expect During My Dental Treatment?

  • Before starting the process, your dentist will sanitize the area and “freeze” the site of surgery with a numbing cream. In most cases of laser surgery, numbing creams suffice, and patients rarely experience any pain or sensation during the procedure. The dentist points the diode on the affected area which is usually a diseased tissue or calculus.

The laser beam selectively removes diseased tissues and germs, leaving the healthy tissues unharmed. This protocol also stimulates the regeneration of fibers, eventually replacing the removed tissues and healing the area.

Presently, laser surgery for dental treatment falls in either of the two categories.

  • Hard Tissue Laser: Suppose the task at hand requires cutting through enamel or some hard substance such as a buildup, which causes periodontal diseases and bad breath. In that case, your dentist might use a hard tissue laser.
  • Soft tissue laser: On the other hand, the soft tissue laser is designed for more supple regions – an excellent choice for extending gums, lengthening crowns, or frenectomy.

How is laser dentistry better than conventional methods?

Laser dentistry benefits are abundant, but perhaps the most significant advantage posed by laser dentistry is that it has fewer adverse effects than standard electrical methods. For instance, in most cases, the patient is less likely to experience pain during a laser procedure, so the anesthesia dosage administered during the surgery is also less.

  • Dental drill damages the surrounding tissues. As a result, the gums go into a state of trauma, post-surgery. Since laser dentistry is very precise, the surrounding tissues do not suffer much. This means that a patient can recover speedily without stitches or surgical sutures.

Laser dentistry is a noiseless process. Patients feel more at ease during laser procedures compared to being treated with whizzing dental drills.

Am I the right candidate for dental laser surgery?

  • That is for your dentist to decide. Nevertheless, dental procedures that involve laser tools are very safe and reliable. Dentists recommend them as minimal anesthesia, and follow-up is required for laser surgery. Even patients with pacemakers are recommended a laser procedure since electrical surgery might mess with their heart rate.

Laser dentistry has wide applications. It can be used for cosmetic purposes such as brightening your smile before your wedding day or for sawing teeth to fit crowns and bridges. It is also used for retaining tooth and gum health such as plaque removal, tartar removal, and tooth filling.

Now that you know the many laser dentistry benefits, whatever the need be, you can always drop by at Celebrity Smiles and General Dentistry for consultation. They are located in Westmont, IL.

A Beginner’s Guide to Dental Crowns

A quick guide to dental crowns to help you learn the basics about this procedure.

Our teeth are an important part of our buccal cavity. They perform the important functions of grinding and chewing the food to make it more digestible.

Over time, teeth get damaged due to wear and tear or certain bacterial infections cause dental cavities and decay. Damaged teeth can’t perform their regular functions efficiently unless they are repaired.

Dental crowns are one such way of restoring a tooth to its original strength and shape. This guide to dental crowns will look at what are dental crowns, their types, and their benefits.

What are Dental Crowns?

Dental crowns are synthetic caps that resemble a tooth. They are placed over the broken or damaged tooth after it has been treated. Dental crowns improve the appearance of the tooth and restore the damaged tooth to its previous strength.

Who Needs A Dental Crown?

Patients who suffer from the following conditions require dental crowns:

  • Weakened tooth due to dental decay or cracked tooth due to accident.
  • To cover the remaining part of the tooth has been chipped away.
  • To provide support to a tooth with which has undergone root canal surgery and there isn’t much tooth material left.
  • To provide support to a dental bridge.
  • As a covering for misaligned and discolored teeth.
  • To provide a cover for dental implants.

What are Some Common Materials for Dental Crowns?

Dental crowns are made of various materials. Let’s take a look at the most common dental crown materials:

Metal

  • Dental crowns made of metal are strong and can withstand force and pressure. They are not prone to damage like other materials and rarely break or chip away. One positive point of metal crowns is that they only require a small quantity of tooth to be removed for their placement.

Chromium, gold, nickel, and palladium are some of the most common metals used for metal crowns. The downside of metal crowns is that they don’t resemble the natural tooth due to their metallic color. Hence, they are not a good choice for frontal teeth.

All-ceramic or All-Porcelain

  • These crowns are made of either ceramic or porcelain. Porcelain is a natural-looking translucent ceramic material. Crowns made from porcelain blend in well with remaining teeth. They are a good choice for frontal teeth.

On the downside, they aren’t as strong as metal or porcelain fused to metal crowns.

All Resin Crowns

  • Resin is a highly viscous material that is either obtained from plants or is synthetically manufactured. Dental crowns made from resin substances won’t cost much but on the downside, they are not as sturdy as metal crowns.

Resin crowns deteriorate faster than all other types of crowns.

Benefits of Dental Crowns

Dental crowns offer the following benefits:

  • Dental crowns offer the best protection and strength to a compromised tooth. Without a dental crown, the compromised tooth will be exposed to more damage from the usual chewing and grinding actions.
  • Provide aesthetically pleasing appearance. Dental crowns restore the original shape of a fractured tooth. In this regard, ceramic crowns are best because they are natural-looking and blend in well with the remaining teeth.
  • Dental crowns are highly durable. If taken good care of, they last for fifteen years or more. They are the most long-lasting of all dental restoration treatments.
  • Dental crowns have many purposes. They are used as caps for damaged teeth and as protection for root canal treated teeth.

A trained dentist knows how to fix a dental crown as per your needs. If you are residing in Westmont IL, visit Celebrity Smiles and General Dentistry. They offer excellent services for crown placement.

How is Halloween Candy Bad for Your Teeth?

How is Halloween candy bad for your teeth? Here’s what dentists have to say.

The time-honored tradition of trick-or-treating on Halloween is less than a century old. In the 1930s, American children started ringing doorbells to ask for candy. In return, they were given all kinds of sweets: homemade cakes, fruits, and nuts etc.

By the 1970s, commercial candy became an inseparable part of Halloween. On average, candy worth $2 billion is brought in America every year on the occasion of Halloween.

Candy is delicious to eat but it is bad for your health and your teeth. Greek Philosopher Aristotle was the first one to point out the connection between sweet foods and dental decay. He made the observation that figs can cause tooth decay. Advanced medical science has confirmed his clever observation.

In reality, sugar is not the real culprit rather it is a trigger for dental decay to occur. Let us see how is Halloween candy bad for your teeth and how it is responsible for causing dental decay and cavities.

What Triggers the Development of Cavities?

  • Our mouths are full of bacteria; some of which are friendly. They maintain and regulate the healthy functions of the mouth. Other bacteria are harmful. The harmful bacteria cause much damage to the tooth whenever they come in contact with sugars. They feed on sugars, digest it, and produce acids as a byproduct.

The acids are corrosive to teeth. They dissolve the tooth’s enamel which is the outermost shiny and protective layer that surrounds the tooth. Once the enamel is worn out, harmful bacteria start attacking the tooth structure. They cause bacterial infections that slowly start to dissolve the teeth structure leading to the formation of holes i.e. the cavities.

  • If cavities are left untreated, they penetrate deep inside the teeth’s structure and can rot away the entire teeth. This leads to the loss of tooth accompanied by extreme pain. In some cases, it can cause gingivitis as well.

We have now understood how sugar and candy harm your teeth. With Halloween around the corner, you cannot exclude candy completely out of your life. However, you can practice good oral hygiene to keep the cavities at bay.

To avoid cavities, you can be smart about your selection of candy. Some sweets are more damaging than others. Let us take a look at which sweets are most damaging and should be avoided and which can be consumed in moderation.

Bad Candies

Chewy and Gummy Sweets

  • Is Halloween candy bad for your teeth? As a rule of thumb, the longer a candy stays in your mouth, the more harmful it is. In this regard, chewy and gummy candies are absolutely the worst as they tend to stick to crevices and gaps inside your mouth. The residue of chewy and gummy sweets are difficult to remove through brushing and flossing.

Cavity-causing bacteria attack the sugars and produce enamel-eroding acid. Hence, chewy and gummy sweets should be avoided as much as you can.

Hard Candy

Hard candy such as a lollipop, jawbreakers or jolly ranchers, etc are bad for your teeth for the following two reasons:

  • Most people consume lollipops by sucking on them for a few minutes. The sugar gets dissolved into your saliva which then coats your teeth and invites bacteria to invade.
  • Hard candy like jawbreakers requires mechanical action to pulverize. Forceful biting can weaken the tooth.

Hence it is safer to steer clear of hard candy.

On the upside, you can have chocolate candy, dark chocolate, and sugar-free candy or gum. They are considered to be the healthiest types of candies. To learn more about how is Halloween candy bad for your teeth, you need to learn about preventive dentistry. Visit Celebrity Smiles and General Dentistry. They are located in Westmont, IL.

4 Remarkable Preventative Dentistry Tips to Avoid Halloween Woes

Here’s how you can use preventative dentistry tips to avoid Halloween woes – Especially with kids.

The beginning of fall is an announcement for Halloween season. Halloween is a popular holiday in America and is anticipated by adults and kids alike. Kids get unlimited access to candy and sweet treats during Halloween. While this is a very exciting prospect for children, the Halloween season is usually followed by frequent trips to dentists. Excessive consumption of candy and ignoring dental hygiene gives rise to multiple dental issues.

We believe that Halloween should be enjoyed with full festivity. At the same time, we recommend you to take some measures to protect your teeth from the onslaught of bacterial activity which is accompanied by candy consumption. Read and practice these preventative dental health tips to steer clear of Halloween woes.

Use Halloween as an Opportunity to Teach

  • You cannot place a blanket ban on consuming candy. If you unnecessarily deprive your child from having candy during the Halloween season he will most likely rebel and use other means to obtain it. Turn Halloween as an opportunity to educate your child about the detrimental effects of candy for teeth.

Teach them about the need to limit and regulate their cravings for sweet stuff. If they have experienced any dental issues before, remind them that going overboard with candy will lead to the resurfacing of those same issues. You can lure them to exchange a handful of candies for few dollars which will be used on something they desire.

This is essential to regulate the sweet cravings of your child during the Halloween season.

Pick and Choose the Candy Smartly

  • As much as we want to, we cannot completely eliminate candies from our children’s lives, especially around the Halloween season. All candies are bad but some are worse. A common rule of thumb is that any candy which takes longer to dissolve and stays in your child’s mouth for more time is especially bad. Chewy and sticky candies stick to the upper molars and require a lot of effort to be removed.

Bacteria feed off the sugary stuff present inside a person’s mouth. When they attack the sugars, an acid is produced as a result of the interaction. This acid starts wearing off the enamel of the teeth and leads to the formation of cavities.

Remain on the watch out for the following types of candies as they are most detrimental to dental health:

  • Sugary gum
  • Saltwater and other types of taffies
  • Gummies
  • Lollipops and other hard candies

Turn Brushing and Flossing Into Fun Activities

Brush and flossing are mundane activities that are no fun. This is why kids when it comes to dental hygiene. Brushing and flossing become even more important during Halloween season when children are loading up on everything sweet. To encourage them to brush and floss, make these activities fun. Ask your child to pick his/her favorite toothbrush and toothpaste.

  • These days toothbrushes come with an attached superhero or Disney character. Your child will look forward to brushing his teeth if it is his/her favorite superhero instructing to do so. Likewise, get your child a flavored dental floss so he would be keener to floss.

Replace Sugary Drinks with Water

Sugary beverages are very popular among kids but they are just as harmful as candies. With Halloween season upon us, children already have ample opportunities to load up on sugars. You don’t need to throw in sugary beverages on top of candies as well.

  • Replace these sweet beverages with fluoride-rich water. Regular drinking of water dilutes and washes away the sugary residuals in the mouth decreasing the probability of tooth decay.

To learn more about dentistry, visit Celebrity Smiles and General Dentistry. They are located in Westmont, IL.

4 Profound Do’s and Don’ts of Teeth Whitening

Dentists reveal surprising do’s and don’ts of teeth whitening.

Teeth whitening is a painless and easy way to brighten your teeth and remove any stains to achieve the perfect smile. Even though it is easy to do, in order to get the best results, you have to follow certain protocols.

There is a lot of free advice on the internet regarding whitening your teeth. Your local supermarket will be filled with teeth whitening products. Excess of information can be dangerous. To get the best results, you need to follow certain rules of thumb for the treatment.

Important do’s and don’ts of teeth whitening.

  • DO practice good oral hygiene. In order for the procedure to do its magic, you should provide a clean slate to work on. Commit to strict oral hygiene before beginning the procedure. Make sure that your teeth are free from any buildup. If buildup is persistent and cannot be removed from brushing, consult a dentist. He will remove it and prepare your teeth for the procedure.

A dentist will also gauge the health of your teeth and recommend if the procedure is suitable or not. The presence of cavities and early signs of tooth decay can be impediments to the optimal working of the procedure. Good oral hygiene will ensure that your teeth whitening treatment will last much longer.

  • DON’T think of teeth whitening as a DIY project. There are a lot of drugstore whitening products available in the market. Remember that they are not the real deal and can harm your teeth. Only a professional dentist can help you with the right treatment. Nowadays, activated charcoal is being touted as the magical drug to achieving pearl white teeth. It can do more harm than good.

Likewise, using baking soda and lemon juice is also a popular recipe for removing teeth stains. The truth is that the acidity of lemon juice and the abrasiveness of baking soda are both harmful for teeth’s enamel. Hence don’t make teeth whitening a DIY project and always seek professional help.

  • DO abstain from consuming dark and acidic foods. Dark foods have strong pigments that can stain your teeth. When opting for teeth whitening procedure, avoid consuming dark foods such as chocolate, coffee, and tea, etc. They have a high potential to stain one’s teeth.

Likewise, foods with high acidic content are also bad for freshly whitened teeth. The acid strips off the whitening treatment and leaves marks. Acid attacks the tooth’s enamel causing the teeth to become brittle and porous. Vulnerable and exposed teeth are more prone to absorbing food colors and getting stained. To minimize the probability of staining after consuming dark and acidic food, brush your teeth right away.

  • DON’T go overboard with teeth whitening treatment. A pearl white smile is highly desirable and these treatments can be addictive. Resist the urge to whiten your teeth frequently. Take gaps in between the whitening treatments.

How Several Whitening Treatments can be Harmful

Frequent whitening treatments can be harmful to teeth. They can make them weak and cause sensitivity issues. The aesthetic pleasure of white teeth should not outweigh the potential damage caused by undergoing recurrent teeth whitening treatments. A professional dentist will provide you with an optimal timeline which will determine the frequency of your teeth whitening procedures.

Teeth Whitening Services

Getting an expert dentist onboard for a teeth whitening procedure is important. If you are residing in Westmont IL we recommend you book an appointment with Celebrity Smiles and General Dentistry. They provide top-notch professional teeth whitening services.

Crown Lengthening – An Overview

Fix Your Teeth and Boost Your Confidence with Crown Lengthening.

What catches our eyes the most when communicating with a person? Their teeth! If the teeth have stains or are broken and cracked, they present an unpleasant sight. A person having unattractive teeth might suffer from low self-esteem. He will try to smile less and will frequently attempt to hide his teeth whenever he can.

However, advancements in modern technology can help fix these dental issues.

These days, dentists use multiple corrective methods to fix dental flaws. One of them is called ‘crowning’. A crown is a cap that fits over a natural tooth and beautifies its appearance. For the success of this procedure, the crown must have a proper fit over the natural tooth. Due to natural or medical reasons, a surgeon may recommend an additional procedure known as crown lengthening.

What is Crown Lengthening?

  • If the natural tooth doesn’t have enough space to hold the crown, a surgeon is going to recommend crown lengthening. This procedure exposes the tooth from beneath the gum. Sometimes crown lengthening is also used for other dental procedures such as root canals, dental implants, and bridges.

Crown lengthening is a common outpatient process. It takes less than an hour to complete and almost all patients recover within 3 months of their surgery.

How is a Crown Lengthening procedure performed?

  • To begin this procedure, the dental surgeon is going to fix a temporary crown on your tooth. It has two benefits: protects the natural tooth against any unwanted damage and assists in the fitting of the new crown.

After that, your x-rays will be examined and your medical history will be taken. This is the best time to talk about any special illnesses, medications you take, and your allergy history. The surgeon is going to assess if you are medically fit to undergo such a procedure.crown lengthening

  • Generally, this procedure takes less than an hour to complete but it depends on a variety of factors such as the number of teeth that require crown lengthening, and the amount of soft tissue and bone that needs to be removed.

To start, you will be given a local anaesthetic. The surgeon will then begin to remove your gum and soft tissue. After the removal process is completed, the surgeon will wash it with salted water before stitching the gums back together. To complete the process and to prevent possible infection, the affected area will be bandaged.

  • As this is an outpatient procedure, you will be allowed to go home once it is completed.

Risks and Recovery

  • Since this procedure involves removing soft tissue, there is going to be some bleeding. There is also the risk of infection if proper precautions and sterilization measures are not adopted. You may feel additional tooth sensitivity, but this feeling will subside after a few days. The surgeon will recommend special cleaning tips and medications for faster healing and pain management.

As the gums heal, you will be able to resume normal tooth function. However, it is advisable to avoid picking and poking the area. You will be asked to brush regularly and wear your denture.

As the world is progressing, dental procedures are becoming less painful and more efficient. With dental procedures, it is important to have a qualified and experienced dental center on board. If you are residing in Westmont, IL, Celebrity Smiles is the one for. They have a team of qualified surgeons with years of experience and hundreds of positive testimonies.

4 Types of Modern Cosmetic Dental Procedures

Fast, Efficient, and Simple 4 Types of Modern Cosmetic Dental Procedures.

A dazzling smile adds aesthetic value to one’s personality. Not all of us are blessed with the perfect 1000-volt smile. Some people have discolored teeth. Others have misaligned, crooked or crowded teeth. All of these impairments are impediments to having the perfect smile.

In order to fix these impairments, many people go through some corrective procedures. The branch of dentistry that deals with these corrective procedures is called cosmetic dentistry. It provides a smile makeover to people and improves the appearance of their smiles. People feel more confident and comfortable when they can easily flash a beautiful smile.

Cosmetic dental procedures involve some easy, fast, and efficient procedures to fix the dental impairments. Listed below are the four most commonly applied types of cosmetic dental procedures and their benefits:

Teeth Whitening

  • Teeth whitening is an easy way to brighten up your smile by a few notches and fix any discoloration problems. It is one of he most common types of cosmetic dental procedures. This process can be performed at the dentist’s office or at home as well. Teeth that may have gone black due to smoking, plaque, or tartar can be restored to its natural color through the application of teeth whitening gel.

People who have naturally yellow teeth can lighten their teeth a few shades through teeth whitening procedures. Teeth whitening does not require a long-term commitment or frequent dental visits. It is a simple procedure that does not require much time and gives instantaneous results.

Cosmetic Tooth Bonding

  • This procedure is used to repair a tooth that has been broken, chipped off, decayed, or damaged due to cavities or accidental breakage. Dental bonding involves the use of a plastic-like sticky resin. It is applied over the holes left by cavities or gap between teeth etc. The resin is sculpted to resemble the right shape. The material from which the resin is made of resembles the color of the tooth’s enamel.

After the resin is fixed onto the tooth, high-intensity laser light is applied over it. It hardens the resin and fixes it to the existing tooth material. Tooth bonding not only improves the appearance of the decayed teeth it also helps in the smooth functioning of teeth. It is a better substitute for silver fillings. The process takes 30-60 minutes. On average it costs between $100 – $400 per tooth.

Inlays and Onlays

  • These are indirect fillings that are made of composite resin material, gold, or porcelain. They are prepared in the laboratory according to the size of the tooth. Inlays and Onlays act as a filling material for damaged and decayed teeth. They are bonded into the holes and gaps.

The difference between these two types of cosmetic dental procedures lies in their intended use. The filling material is termed an inlay when it is bonded in the center of the tooth and is placed directly onto the tooth’s surface. Inlays cover only small gaps of the tooth.

  • An onlay is used when more than half of the tooth has been damaged. An onlay is placed over the entire surface of the tooth. An onlay covers the biting surface of the tooth as well if it has been damaged.

Inlays and Onlays can cost $650 to $1200 per tooth.

Enamel Abrasion

  • This process involves the use of a pumice stone to remove discoloration and stains from the teeth. The pumice is fit in a micro-abrasion machine for it to work. The grinding action removes stains left by tobacco products, soda, coffee, or wine. This process works best for similar external stains.

In order to opt for any of the procedures listed above, you need to consult an experienced dentist. Celebrity Smiles and General Dentistry is a renowned dental clinic located in Westmont, IL. It offers affordable and top-notch services for cosmetic dentistry.

Learn The Different Types of Dentures From Dental Experts

Learn The Different Types of Dentures From Dental Experts.

Dentures are false teeth or prosthetics designed to replace natural teeth which may have been lost. People can lose teeth due to a number of reasons such as accidents involving facial injuries or tooth decay etc. Dentures substitute missing teeth. They also help in improving facial appearance, by filling in the gaps left by lost teeth.

The absence of teeth can cause facial muscles to sag over time. Dentures prevent that from happening.

There are different types of dentures that are designed for various requirements of patients. Patients who have lost most of their teeth require complete dentures, while others may require partial dentures. Let us look at different types of dentures and their functionality:

Complete Dentures

  • These dentures are replacements for the entire set of teeth. They are customized according to each person’s requirements to provide maximum comfort. Complete dentures are removable and are not anchored to the bone inside the mouth.

Complete dentures help in carrying out and regulating the normal functions of the mouth. They regulate mastication which allows the person to grind and chew efficiently. Complete dentures are mostly required by senior citizens who have lost all of their teeth.

Complete dentures can be categorized into the following types:

  • Conventional dentures: They are prepared after the natural teeth have been removed through extraction. They are placed inside the mouth, eight to twelve weeks after the surgery. During this time, the gum tissues heal from the surgeries.
  • Immediate dentures: they are prepared in advance before the surgery is carried out. They are placed inside the mouth soon after the surgery. One downside of immediate dentures is that they can require more adjustments to fit inside the mouth. This is due to the fact that after teeth are removed, bones and gums shrink. Hence, immediate dentures may not necessarily fit in sometime after the surgery.

Partial Dentures

  • The second of the different types of dentures is partial dentures. They are used for patients who have some existing teeth and need support in place of missing teeth. The partial dentures comprise of replacement teeth attached to a base that resembles the color and texture of human gum. The base is connected to a metal framework and clasps. The clasps are used for adhering the dentures to the mouth.

Some partial dentures are removable. They are attached to your teeth with removable devices called precision attachments. Precision attachments are more natural-looking than metal clasps.

 

  • Partial dentures fill in the gaps left by missing teeth. They also prevent the neighboring natural teeth from changing positions.

Implant Secured Dentures

  • Implant secured dentures have the characteristics of both dentures and dental implants. They are also called overdentures and are the least common among the different types of dentures. They are placed over a couple of implants that provide support to the overdentures. The implant-secured dentures clasp onto the dental implants. Hence implant-secured dentures can be removed and put on as per the need.

These dentures are the preferred choice for the lower jaw because conventional partial dentures have a difficult time remaining fixed in this area. As with all types of dentures, implant secured dentures require care and caution.

We hope that reading about the different types of dentures has helped you understand your own requirement for the denture. We recommend you to consult Celebrity Smiles and General Dentistry if you are looking for denture treatment in Westmont, IL.

Their experienced dentists will fix you with the best dentures according to your need and requirement.  Call us today and schedule an appointment with our friendly staff (630) 626-8989.

Invisalign Aligners Vs Metal Braces – A Comparison

Are Invisalign aligners better or worse than metal braces?

Some of us are blessed with perfectly positioned teeth and a dazzling smile. Others have to pay in sweat, blood, and money to get that gorgeous symmetrical smile. If you have crooked, crowded, or misshapen teeth, then a dental procedure will help you get them in shape.

Two of the most common methods opted by orthodontists for correction of misaligned teeth are the use of metal braces and Invisalign aligners. Both techniques help in repositioning your teeth. However, they differ in their way of working.

First, let us look at the basics of both techniques.

 Braces and Invisalign – The Basics

  • Braces are made of metal brackets. They are fixed on top of the enamel of each tooth. Brackets are connected by metal wires. They exert pressure over the teeth to mold and realign them.
  • Invisalign is a comparatively newer technique for teeth remolding. It makes use of BPA-free aligner trays which patients wear over their teeth. These trays gradually reposition and realign your teeth.

Now that we have a basic understanding of both metal and Invisalign braces, let us see which technique fares better in terms of ease, appearance, cost, comfort, and duration.

Comfort and Convenience

  • In the case of metal braces, the wires and brackets are known to cause discomfort, swollen gums and mild pain. Patients have reported the formation of sores inside their mouths. This can occur when metal scrapes with gums and other parts of the mouth.

Metal braces are irremovable. Patients have to wear them 24/7 till the end of treatment. Braces also limit the intake of chewy and hard food like pretzels and candy. Chewy food can get stuck in the brackets, which can cause infections and cavities.

  • Compared to braces, Invisalign offers more comfort and convenience. They can be easily removed at any time. Patients take the trays off before eating and drinking. Since they are tailormade for each patient, they are known to cause no discomfort. Plastic is a much softer and smoother material compared to metal.

Verdict: You will have to remove the aligners every time you eat and drink and brush teeth before putting them back on. If this seems reasonable to you, then Invisalign is a better option because of the ease and comfort it provides.

Appearance

  • Metal braces are easily discernible. While a lot of people are comfortable with how they look with braces on, some people are more self-conscious. Particularly for adults, braces are not a viable option because of their prominent appearance.

On the other hand, Invisalign aligners are made of transparent plastic. The aligners blend in with the teeth. The common onlooker will not be able to distinguish them. They will appear as a part of the natural teeth.

  • Verdict: if the prominent appearance of braces bothers you, then Invisalign trays are the more suitable option for you.

Duration of Time

  • The duration of treatment largely depends upon the patient’s needs and how complex his situation is. On average, Invisalign aligners have to be worn for 22-24 hours a day to see the desired results. With Invisalign aligners, the treatment goes on for 6 to 18 months.

The duration of treatment with metal braces is usually two years. Unlike Invisalign, metal braces cannot be removed so they have to be worn 24/7.

  • Verdict: Both methods have almost similar durations for treatment.

Cost of Treatment

  • Cost can be a decisive factor for many patients. On average, treatment with braces costs around $1800 to $5,500. The cost is determined by the complexity of the patient and his needs.

For Invisalign, the treatment costs around $5000.

  • Verdict: Invisalign can be the costlier of the two procedures.

From the above points, we can conclude than Invisalign is a more convenient and hassle-free treatment for rectifying overcrowded teeth. Nevertheless, the choice of treatment is largely determined by the requirement of the patient.

If you are looking for dental services in Westmont IL, contact Celebrity Smiles and General Dentistry. They offer premium quality services for fixing Invisalign braces.