A guide to Invisalign from Clear Braces Direct

Do you want a straighter smile without the hassle of braces and dental appointments?

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At Clear Braces Direct London, we can help you get that straighter smile you want from the comfort of your own home with the help of dental professionals.

Here, our team at Clear Braces Direct London offers you a brief guide about Invisalign aligners, so read on and enjoy!

Who is suitable for Invisalign?

When this aligner was first created, more people were suited for it than weren’t. And today, that hasn’t changed!

When you come to Clear Braces Direct London, we will assess your suitability for Invisalign with a free scan; this will enable us to see the inside of your mouth more clearly than we would be able to with a dental mould.

But before we do this, we will need you to send us a selfie of your smile via our website. By looking at this, our team will be able to make a judgement as to whether or not you will be suited for Invisalign; if we deem you to be suited, we will invite you into one of our centres for a scan. If not, we will recommend that you wear a different type of brace to begin your dental realignment.

In short, if you have a mild to moderate misalignment with your front teeth, and you don’t need to have any of your molars moved, then it is likely you will be suitable for Invisalign.

Daily wear

OK, so once you have your Invisalign kit, you will need to wear the aligners in a set succession for them to be effective.

With each aligner (assuming there is no damage or loss), you will need to wear it for roughly 2 weeks. When it starts to feel loose, then it is time to move on to the next aligner in the set.

By this point, you will probably know that Invisalign is removable and so, you may be curious as to how long each day you need to leave it in for. Our team will usually advise that you keep the aligner in your mouth for 22 hours per day. Failure to adhere to this may result in delays in the realignment process.

Cleaning

Now, on to the cleaning!

As Invisalign is not fixed to your teeth, it is easier to clean than a standard brace and does not require you to invest in interdental brushes and other bits.

To clean your Invisalign aligners, you have to first rinse them under a tap to remove any debris or food; make sure that the water coming out of this tap is cool, as hot water can cause them to warp.

Simply use a soft-bristled toothbrush to remove stubborn debris and, if necessary, you may want to invest in some Invisalign cleaning crystals to keep them clean and clear.

Check-ups

With this aligner, the need for check-ups is reduced and you can send our team selfies via the Invisalign app so we can keep tabs on your progress.

If we feel that the aligner is not working correctly, we will invite you into one of our centres for a check-up and assessment.

Retainers

So, you’ve worn the aligner and now your smile is straightened. Congratulations!

Now is the time where we will send you a retainer, to help keep your teeth in place and to prevent reversion. Please wear it!

FAQs about Invisalign answered by Clear Braces Direct

Are you curious if Invisalign can help correct those irritating gaps in your smile? Do you want the ability to use this aligner in your own home without having to constantly attend dental check-ups?

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At Clear Braces Direct London, we can help! We are a leading provider of Invisalign and can see you through the entire process. From scans to retainers, we allow you to use this aligner in your own home, helping you to get on with your life while straightening your teeth.

Here, our team at Clear Braces Direct London answers 5 FAQs that we regularly receive about Invisalign for your information.

Am I suitable for Invisalign?

You are more likely to be suitable for Invisalign than unsuitable.

Our team at Clear Braces Direct London have helped over 6,000 people to get the straighter smile they wanted using this aligner and provided that you have a mild to moderate misalignment, but have good overall oral health, you will probably be able to begin treatment.

If I am suited, what happens next?

If we deem you to be suitable for Invisalign, we will invite you into one of our clinics for a free 3D scan of your teeth.

Once we have done this, we will send these images to a dental laboratory, which will then print your aligners using a 3D printer. After about 4-6 weeks, we will have the aligners sent straight to your door, so you can use them at home right away!

We will advise you to download our app to your smartphone too. That way, you can regularly send us selfies of your smile and we can assess how the aligners are working, without you having to come into the surgery.

How long will the treatment take?

This will depend on the severity of the misalignment being treated.

In most cases that warrant the use of Invisalign, the treatment will take between 3-6 months. However, we have had a few cases that have gone to 9 months and beyond. In order for our patients to get the most out of their aligners, we advise them to keep them in their mouths for 22 hours per day. If you fail to do this, then the procedure will likely suffer, there will probably be delays and your teeth may even revert back into their former positions.

To avoid this, keep them in and if you have any concerns, contact our team.

Do the aligners hurt?

Even though a nearly invisible aligner has been created, we are not yet able to make them completely comfortable when they move your teeth. Sorry!

Remember, that with Invisalign, each aligner is custom-fitted to your teeth, and thus it simply slots over them at each stage. Unlike regular braces which use a pulling force to move teeth, Invisalign gently pushes your teeth into the desired location. So, less force equates to less discomfort overall!

Will I be able to afford them?

Very possibly!

We know that money doesn’t grow on trees and as a result, we are able to offer our suitable patients a 0% interest-free finance option for 36 months. This will allow you to spread the cost of your new smile, helping you get and retain the straighter smile you have always wanted.

Our process for straighter smiles at Clear Braces Direct

In recent years, you may have heard of an interesting development in the area of adult orthodontics or braces. Steadily growing in popularity, more and more people who may have busy work schedules are once again turning to the internet to solve their orthodontic woes, which is where our team based in London can help.

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Providing customised aligners via the post, we have been able to help many people get the straighter smile they want, without the inconvenience of attending dental appointments, allowing our patients to take things at their own pace.

At Clear Braces Direct London, we believe that orthodontics should be available for everyone and it is our mission to make as many people feel as good about their smiles as possible. Providing Invisalign aligners via the post, we can help a wider demographic of people, all the while monitoring them using apps and selfies.

So, when you come to Clear Braces Direct London, what should you expect from our expert team? What is the overall process that we use to straighten teeth? Read on to find out!

Consultation

OK, so like many things linked to Invisalign, it all begins with a photo!

At Clear Braces Direct London, we use the initial selfie of your smile to assess if you would be suitable for treatment with these aligners or not. Then, if we think you are suitable, you will be invited to our clinic for a free Invisalign scan. This will involve our team using an intraoral scanner to map the positions of your teeth at the start of the treatment, so we can then assess how best to move them using the aligners. 

The aligners

It is worth noting here that even though we offer a free Invisalign 3D scan, you are under no obligation to undertake the treatment with us. You can go where you wish to if you are in any way unhappy with our services!

But, should you wish to continue your journey with us, post-scan, we will send off the images to a laboratory that will then create the aligners.

Made from firm but also malleable plastic, these aligners usually come in packs of 14 (depending on the severity of the misalignment) and you will need to wear them in the precise order, each one for around 2 weeks.

Our team differs as, rather than receiving the aligners to our surgery and asking you to come in, they are sent straight to you, allowing your Invisalign journey to begin sooner. So, immediately they arrive, pop them in and your journey can begin!

Monitoring

As mentioned earlier, our surgery has a monitoring app for these aligners, which will save you time and money from needing to attend check-ups.

All we ask is that once a week (or more if we request) you take a photo of your teeth and send it to our team with our app. Our team will be able to review the images and make suggestions if needed or call you in for an appointment. Simple! To begin using Invisalign at home, call our team today!

Why should you try Clear Braces Direct?

We started Clear Braces Direct to make straightening teeth more accessible and convenient for patients. We have found that many adult patients tend to put off their smile goals because their current schedules (work or social) won’t allow for too many dental appointments to fit in. These patients may go their entire lives unhappy with their crooked smiles, and there’s very little that can deflate confidence like an unsatisfactory smile does.

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Why let an unattractive smile get in the way of you living your best life when you have access to Clear Braces Direct London?

Our direct-to-patient aligner service frees up time. With Clear Braces Direct London, patients can straighten their teeth at home using a seamless approach that is as efficient as it is effective. Does this sound like something worth investigating? This is just the start of what can be an amazing, life-changing journey. Read on to find out more.

Reasons to choose Clear Braces Direct London

Experience

Experience is largely a numbers game and this counts in our favour. We are pleased to say that we have helped close to 6000 patients towards a better-looking smile.This amazing feat gives us a Diamond Invisalign Provider status.

Since we only use Invisalign aligner treatment plans, we can argue to be a leading Invisalign provider. With this wealth of experience under the belt, patients can take comfort in the assurance that their teeth straightening treatment plan is in safe hands.

Registered dentists

All of our dentists carry professional dental qualifications and are registered with the relevant dental bodies in the industry. This means that, in offering our services, we abide by strict regulations and excellent practice methods.

Modern technologies

Modern technologies in orthodontics have opened up the way patients receive treatment and made what we do possible. In our treatment offering, we depend on three main mechanisms to help us achieve the desired results: digital scanning techniques, 3D modelling and the use of dental monitoring apps. The seamless workings of these processes make it possible to keep appointments to a minimum.

Remote monitoring

While we may not insist on frequent face-to-face appointments, this in no way means an out-of-sight-out-of-mind situation. We remain closely involved in your treatment progress through remote monitoring. For this to work, we will scan your teeth each week using the forward-thinking Dental Monitoring app, which will help us monitor your treatment and track your progress.

Why use Invisalign?

Many patients may not know this but Invisalign aligners differ from other types of aligners in the way that they are made. Invisalign aligners offer a more custom, contoured fit as they are completely machine-made (as opposed to being hand finished) for each patient. What patients receive is a more comfortable fit around the gum line.

Invisalign aligners also give patients more control over their treatment plans. It is up to patients to stick to their aligner change schedule as provided by our dentist.

For amazing results that you can track in real-time, the right choice is Invisalign aligners from Clear Braces Direct. Find out more about our seamless process by giving us a call today.

How Clear Braces Direct can help you

Straightening teeth offers many perks, some of which are visually obvious like the confidence-boosting effect of a beautiful, straight smile. Then there are those advantages, while incredibly beneficial, that need a bit more clarifying. These perks stem from what it means to achieve a healthier and cleaner mouth by straightening teeth through orthodontic solutions like Clear Braces Direct London.

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Improving teeth alignment has a profound impact on the patient that goes far and beyond the cosmetic changes that are achieved. In many instances, Clear Braces Direct London can help improve dental functions, making biting and chewing easier thus earning a plus point for better digestion and nutrient absorption.

One of the challenges that many adult patients who are interested in straightening their teeth face is having their lifestyles interrupted by an orthodontic treatment plan. For patients who don’t necessarily have the time to schedule numerous appointments at a dental clinic, we, at Clear Braces Direct, have made available Clear Braces Direct London to offer a more convenient way to straighten teeth and create an aligned and happier smile. What are some of the other benefits that we offer? We take a look at some of the reasons why patients might consider opting for our orthodontic services.

The Clear Braces Direct difference

We are a UK registered dental practice

It is of the utmost importance that patients choose a professionally qualified person who is affiliated with dental authority organisations in the UK. This is to ensure that they receive good quality care at the highest safety standards. We make accessing orthodontic solutions more convenient will always abide by excellent standards.

We have oodles of experience

Very few factors can provide the same level of assurance as experience, and, in terms of experience, we have that in abundance. Our successful cases, using clear braces treatment plans, total almost 6000, earning us an enviable Diamond Invisalign Providers distinction. This is the highest tier recognised by the manufacturers of Invisalign Align technology.

We concentrate on Invisalign

We specifically use Invisalign to straighten our patients’ teeth as we believe this plays to our advantage; we build on our knowledge of how to use this aligner technology in a myriad of patient situations. Invisalign has established itself as a leading orthodontic brand that has successfully transformed millions of smiles around the globe and is quickly becoming the go-to choice for patients.

We free up patients’ time

With each passing day, time becomes more of a scarce commodity as lifestyles get busier and more complex. Seeking to straighten teeth need not be an additional drain on time, and, with our services, even busy patients can now get their teeth straightened without worrying about appointment schedules. We make use of the Daily Monitoring app, available on smart mobile devices, to track our patients’ treatment progress, provide guidance and communicate any other needs. Another great reason to choose Clear Braces Direct is that we offer interest-free finance facilities. Maximising your smile potential just got a lot easier and simpler. Find out more by getting in touch with us today.

I am unhappy with my smile

Many people are unhappy with how their smile looks. It is normal to wish that your smile looked better. Many people are unsure about how to best combat the issues that they have with their smiles, so they just carry on feeling discontented. It doesn’t have to be this way. There are plenty of things you can do to make your smile appear more like you wished it did. If the issue that you have with your smile is how straight it is, then you are in the right place. If you have a problem with alignment and crossover, then you could benefit from the treatment that will be outlined in this article. You should read on to see if you could be an ideal candidate for this process, how these aligners work and what you should do next.

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Do I need braces?

You may want to consider Clear Braces Direct London to enhance your smile. Everyone should have access to a happy, healthy looking smile. These aligners alongside our help can offer you exactly that. If you are unhappy with your smile, then you should consider this treatment. If your smile is uneven or unaligned, we are confident that Invisalign will be of benefit in the majority of cases. It is important to work with our dentist to determine whether this treatment is suitable for you and your unique smile pattern. If this sounds like you, you might want to consider reading on to the next section to see how the clear braces are designed to work. You might then be able to make a decision as to whether this treatment could be a good fit for you.

How do clear braces work?

Clear braces Direct London use a series of aligners that will work in succession to transform your smile. The aligners are made to fit your specific arrangement of teeth. They are carefully made to fit over your teeth and gently coax your smile into the correct formation. You will be provided with a series of aligners each, when worn in the right order, will leave your smile looking and feeling better and better. Once you have been through your dental treatment, you will be provided with a retainer to make sure that your new smile stays in its new position and you can keep smiling. Your aligners are made to be worn for most of the day and whilst you sleep, this allows the treatment to work quickly and effectively. You can read onto the next section to see what you should do next.

What should I do next?

If you think that using the services of Clear Braces Direct London could be for you, then you can easily get in touch with us. You can make contact with us through our website, we will be more than happy to assist you on your journey to your new smile. You will be invited to a consultation where we can determine if you are an ideal candidate for this treatment. This process includes you uploading a smile selfie and having your mouth scanned, this procedure does away with the need for messy moulds. We look forward to hearing from you and helping you become happy with your smile again.

Who are Clear Braces Direct?

We have brought together a team of dentists who are committed to making sure their patients have access to the treatments that they need, in order to make their smiles as straight as possible. Invisalign is used exclusively to assist in creating beautiful, even smiles, and each clear aligner is made to fit a patient’s dentition exactly. The aligners fit snugly over the teeth in order to carry out their straightening work. Clear Braces Direct London are committed to supporting their patients through their journey to a healthier and happier smile. This article will run through why you should consider this treatment, as well as outlining how the process works. You will then be able to make an informed decision about whether you think this is the right treatment for you.

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Why should I consider your treatment?

You should consider Clear Braces Direct London if you are unhappy with the appearance of your smile and wish that your teeth were better aligned. You might consider this treatment as an alternative to more traditional straightening methods. Invisalign is known to be fast, allowing you to get to your goal quicker. With the use of clear aligners, you will be able to smile with confidence, sooner. The clear aligners are comfortable when worn throughout the day to allow them to exert the force to straighten your smile. The aligners are made to fit you perfectly, so they are easy to wear for long periods of time. This treatment is made to fit around your life, you don’t need to make any changes to your lifestyle. You can continue to eat and drink your favourite food and beverages. You should read onto the next section to see how our treatment works.

How does the treatment work?

There are three easy steps that you take to enhance your smile. The first step is to book your free Invisalign scan. You will be required to upload your smile selfies to be evaluated by our professionals. Our well-versed dentists use high-tech, innovative 3D dental scanners to assess your smile. This does away with the need for moulds. Following this, you will be offered a free in-house consultation with one of our experienced professionals. You will then be shown how Clear Braces Direct London will work for you and how your teeth will move week by week. You will be advised how long your treatment will take, as well as how much it will cost. Following this, you can make an informed decision as to whether this is a treatment that you would like to continue with.

The second step will see your clear aligners being made and then delivered either directly to your door or you can be booked in for a fitting. Each set of braces will be tailored to your unique smile and will fit over your teeth perfectly. You will wear the clear braces in succession and slowly your teeth will move to the correct position. In the final step, you will be supported to keep your smile in its new position. This includes the use of retainers. We look forward to hearing from you and being able to help you transform your smile into one that you are proud of.

What is it like to have clear aligners?

At Clear Braces Direct London, we’ve guided nearly 6000 people through the aligner treatment process, and therefore we know quite a bit about the treatment. So what’s it really like to live with a clear aligner?

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Clear aligners from Clear Braces Direct London are some of the UK’s top orthodontic tools and can only really be compared to the reach of traditional braces in their widespread popularity. Not that you notice clear aligners; patients can go out by day without a second look from those around them, therefore it is understandable how iconic they have become through their subtlety.

But the popularity of these aligners is due to more than just appearance. For instance, the fitting of an orthodontic brace can take more than an hour, whereas the fitting process for a clear aligner is more like being measured for a tailored suit. The priority is to take the most accurate possible measurements of a patient’s teeth; we found the best way to do this is with an intraoral scanner. This device makes a 3D model of your mouth from the inside far less invasive and a lot more comfortable than dental moulds.

Living with and using clear aligners every day

One of the better things about clear aligners over the standard metal brace is their greater degree of flexibility for the wearer. You can remove your aligner at any time, unlike a fixed brace.

From a medical perspective, aligners are definitely a double-edged sword, as the responsibility of continuing treatment is entirely placed on the patient rather than on the orthodontist at the clinic. Aligners are only effective if they are being worn 20-22 hours per day; this is considered the minimum use in order to maintain the treatment schedule. Removing aligners for extensive periods will not only slow down the overall treatment time, but could also result in having to restart treatment from the beginning.

This is very much a case of commitment, Thankfully aligners are very comfortable to wear and rarely create an issue for patients, who often forget they’re wearing them at all. Being completely transparent, the patient can see the changing tooth position, reassuring them as to how effective the treatment is and helping them to remain motivated and wearing their aligners. This is not the case with traditional braces which obscure the progress of realignment until they are removed.

Damage to aligners and accidents

In everyday life, accidents happen and it is likely that any orthodontic brace will take a few knocks on the way; traditional braces are designed to be hardy in order to survive the entire treatment schedule. Each aligner is only meant to function for 2 weeks and works in sequence with many others. This allows them to be thin and more comfortable. Unfortunately this also makes them easy to break; if you attempt to eat with them in or wash them in hot water, they can become irreversibly damaged. We at Clear Braces Direct London can rapidly replace damaged aligners in less than a week in order to minimise any delay in the treatment.

Who is Suitable for treatment with Clear aligners?

Clear braces Direct in London is a major supplier of aligners in the UK. Most people can receive treatment with clear aligners but here, we look into it further and see how they could help you.

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Clear braces are an orthodontic tool and should be seen that way, not as a cosmetic treatment procedure. Starting the journey with Clear braces Direct in London will begin with an assessment. Here, we will assess your suitability for treatment with aligners, and ask about any medical issues that you may have. That said, if you have a minor misalignment and no pre-existing conditions it is highly likely that clear aligners would not only be effective but also a convenient and useful procedure for you.

Aligners are not suited for more severe or complicated misalignments, for which you would have to be seen by a more skilled dentist. If you suffer from severe crowding or there is an issue with the position of your molars, then clear aligners would probably be ineffective.

Minor gapping a sloped retrograde (or forward slant), as well as rotated teeth, can be corrected by aligner treatment. Even crooked or front teeth that have malocclusion can be effectively treated but this is only if these issues are minor. For more complex cases of rotation or to correct more gapping, you may need to seek treatment from a more skilled dentist in relation to using metal braces.

Can adults use clear aligners?

There are no restrictions on treatment for orthodontic tools related to age; assuming you possess all of your adult teeth, there should be no issues. In fact, while many think that restrictions in the NHS on braces are due to success related to age, they are actually more to do with how the NHS funding works. And so, if you aren’t sure if you are suited for braces or aligners, just give us a call.

There is no medical evidence supporting the idea that orthodontic correction needs to occur within a certain age range but in the case of very senior patients, it can be linked with how structurally sound their teeth are making any application of aligners complicated.

Can I use both clear aligners and braces?

There is currently a great deal of work exploring the use of mixed treatment involving using an aligner and braces, just not at the same time. The brace is used first and the aligners are used afterwards for a shorter treatment period. This allows more conditions to be treated but in less time than a full metal brace. But you would require an assessment in order to work out if this is a viable option for you.

If this isn’t an option for you, you could explore ceramic braces. They are structurally similar to the traditional brace of a glass polymer mix and are completely transparent and more subtle.

If you have any further questions or would like to explore the option of using clear aligners for yourself or for a family member, please feel free to get in contact with Clear Braces Direct in London.

Clear braces Direct and how we do what we do!

Here at Clear Braces Direct in London, we are proud to be an Invisalign provider and part of Invisalign’s Partnership Programme achieving Diamond Status. This was achieved not by achieving some form of arbitrary sales target but by providing the highest standard of care and the highest success rate of their design providers.

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How did we do this? With relentless focus. Clear Braces Direct in London (although it may seem like a simple online provider) is a dental clinic but one that is simply entirely focused on providing and maximizing the use of Invisalign aligners. By allowing our medical staff to focus entirely on this subspecialty of orthodontics, we have become an industry leader and we couldn’t be happier. If you have an orthodontic issue or concerns about how your teeth line up or are working, we would be happy to provide an assessment. But for more general dentistry or any form of filling, scrape and polishing, you really should go to your local clinic.

Why Invisalign?

There are multiple other clear aligner manufacturers on the market but Invisalign was the first to establish themselves; they not only hold several patents on the best way to make aligners and provide them, but they also have established the largest base of local partners. This partnership works on the basis that Invisalign provides manufacturing skills and software whereas the local partners provide dental expertise and individual patient care. This allows us to maximize the journey and results that we can give and Invisalign, as the manufacturer, to ensure that their goods are being used with the guidance of fully qualified dentists to their greatest potential.

What problems can we and can’t we fix?

Not only have clear braces direct in London specialised in orthodontics, but we are actually sub-specialised in a category of orthodontic work, which would be considered nonspecialist, mild or cosmetic orthodontics. This is due to the limitations of clear aligners; there are some aligner providers who have a habit of over-promising the possible results of the use of an aligner and treating aligners like a silver bullet that can cure-all. This is a disservice, not only to the patient who is bound to be disappointed but to the manufacturers who are having false promises associated with the products. We do not accept patients simply to boost sales or service but we advise them when it is in their best interests to join us on an orthodontic journey using Invisalign.

Clear aligners are best suited to working on the front teeth, where milder overcrowding or gapping needs to be corrected. If a pallet needs extending or widening, then more advanced orthodontic treatment will be required; this is also true with any bridgework. We provide free assessments for anybody curious about the possibility of treatment with clear aligners in order to maximize the availability of aligners, whilst also directing those who require a different level of care to the appropriate services. Please see the ‘Am I suitable?’ section of the website for the online form and brief questionnaire to get you started.