Page 43 - Amazing Smiles

Cosmetic Dental Procedures

figure 45 you should use custom bleaching trays every few
figure 46 months at home to restore faded brightness.

If a patient has healthy and beautiful teeth,
but they just need them straightened, the best way
to achieve this cosmetically is with Invisalign
aligners. Invisalign® is an orthodontic treatment
method using invisible or clear trays that fit snuggly
over your teeth, called aligners. The technique is
simple and very accurate. To correct mal aligned
teeth, an impression is taken of the teeth and sent
to the Invisalign® laboratory. At the lab, the stone
model replica of the teeth made from the impres-
sion is scanned into a computer. On the computer,
the software program calculates how to straighten
the teeth, how long it will take and how to design
the aligners (figure 45).

Once the aligners are fabricated they are
returned to the dentist. The dentist will give the
patient the aligners to wear in groups of three sets
containg six individual aligners., Each aligner to
be worn for two weeks (figure 46).

The aligners are worn by the patient about
20 hours per day. The patient has to return to
the dentist to check the tooth movement every six
weeks.

Aligners do not interfere with speech and
are very comfortable to wear.

35