Dr. Ellie
Thank you for your informative website and helping us learn to care for our precious teeth properly at home.Since I value your opinion, I am curious what you think of the invisalign braces for slightly crooked teeth in adults? Also is there any special precautions with using your system and invisalign braces?
JF
Hi JF,
Thank you so much for your kind message and your confidence in my answers! I think that invisalign braces for slightly crooked adult teeth can be a great solution. I have seen some good results and people who have been very happy with the outcome.
Just be aware, as with many orthodontic treatments, once the teeth are straight you will need to KEEP them in that position. This will involve some kind of retaining device called a retainer.
Years ago when we moved teeth we worked to get them into a position that stayed put the teeth were fixed by the way that they bit together. Nowadays the goal is straight teeth and then use retainers to keep them there!
I appreciate your question because anyone who wears a retainer (a plastic appliance like a sports mouth guard or wires glued on the back of teeth) – needs to make sure that they do not get plaque build up on their teeth. The way to do this completely is with the system that I recommend.
Xylitol will get rid of damaging plaque and the rinses will clean the teeth and gums. I believe that anyone with braces of any kind – invisalign or regular metal braces MUST be on my system! Ideally, I would suggest using xylitol and my system a year before treatment, keep using it during treatment, and also during the time you wear a retainer.
If you have any more questions or concerns, please do not be concerned to ask. Good luck and I wish you dental health and happiness with your straightened teeth!
Ellie
Categories: Uncategorized
I’m nearly 60. I (finally*) had my teeth straightened in my early fifties, to correct a massive overbite that was wearing off the fronts of my lower teeth, and pushing my front-lower gums… as well as some leaning molars due to ancient extractions. So, after more than two years of braces, several implants, and dentistry to fix the ravages of the braces, put plastic fronts and backs on some teeth, I have a reasonably straight mix of real-ish and artificial teeth, held in place by lingual wires and a nightly retainer.
(*There’s nothing “final” about something that’s never settled… but I digress…)
OK, the upper lingual got knocked off several times in just a few months, so the orthodontist elected to leave it off and tells me to just wear the appliance every night for the rest of my life. One of my many questions is why the teeth “want” to move back to demonstrably wrong positions. The only _external_ forces urging them to move counter to the retainer would be my upper lip, yet if I forget for one night, at least one tooth will have moved noticeably by the next mid-day – enough that I find myself unintentionally biting my lower lip. Is it the bone socket doing that? Or the gum? I don’t FEEL any particular pressure from the inside of my lip, though I’ve learned how tiny a force will move teeth (or toes…) as long as it’s relentless.
Also, since my lower gums got pushed way down by my former overbite (now corrected), can they ever recover, if my mouth becomes really healthy from now on? I had some pockets that disappeared, so I know SOME repair is possible. Or is recession of gums a one-way trip?