My mom wants me to get braces. I want to get Invisalign. She says I’d have to give her a good reason to pay the extra for Invisalign. My friend Sydney got braces and when they came off her teeth were spotted white were the braces were and have stayed that way. Is that caused by the braces?
Kaleigh
Dear Kaleigh,
While those spots wouldn’t have appeared like that without her braces, the braces weren’t the actual cause of the spots. The spots are caused by food being trapped in the braces and not adequately cleaned. After a time the bacteria will start eating away at the enamel on your teeth. When the braces are removed, those spots look whiter or sometimes brown. Often, there is decay underneath the spots which seriously needs to be dealt with.
Benefits for Using Invisalign Orthodontics
Here is what you can tell your mother. Invisalign is superior to braces in the following ways:
- Invisalign makes it much easier to clean your teeth. You simply remove the aligners, brush, and floss, then put the aligners back in. There is a lot less risk of the problem listed above, which will cost your mother additional money in digging out the decay, then finding a skilled cosmetic dentist to do the cosmetic bonding on top of the spots.
- She can cook whatever she wants because there are no limitations on what you can eat. Nothing gets stuck in the aligners because you remove them to eat.
- They’re much more comfortable than braces because there are no metal wires and brackets.
- They tend to work faster than braces.
- Students have more confidence wearing them because they truly are like having invisible braces.
What You Need to be Aware of
There are three things you need to be aware of going into this so you’re prepared. First, not everyone is a candidate for Invisalign. It’s always possible your mom could agree to get you Invisalign but when you go to see a dentist or orthodontist, it turns out your case is too advanced for Invisalign and you have to do traditional braces.
Second, it will cost your mother additional money if you misplace your aligners, which has been a problem with teenagers using the procedure.
Third, you must wear the aligners the prescribed time or it won’t work. This is a great treatment, but it’s a treatment which requires patient compliance requiring maturity. Be honest with yourself about your abilities to take this seriously.
Best of luck convincing your mother!
This blog is brought to you by Tulsa dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.
