You would think that Invisalign braces could not possibly move teeth. After all, they are plastic trays that pop in and out of your mouth. They are nothing like the old-school brackets and wires braces that most kids wear. Yet, the science is proven and invisible braces are available. So, how on Earth can hard plastic move your teeth around and make them straight? Well, for one thing, it involves a lot of pressure, which is typically the only thing that makes braces and orthodontia effective as a treatment program. Here is how Invisalign works to move your teeth.

Little Bit by Little Bit

If you were to wear traditional braces, you have a series of wires that are used to gradually push, pull and move your teeth. Ask anyone who has ever worn traditional braces and he/she will tell you that the first time brace wires are installed or adjusted, there is a lot of pain for the first day or two. This is because the wires are forcefully applying pressure to the teeth to get the teeth to move in certain directions. As the teeth stop resisting the applied pressure and begin to move, the pain subsides and you do not feel it anymore.

Likewise, you will experience the same thing with invisible braces. Every one to two weeks you get another custom set of invisible braces to pop in over your teeth. The pressure you initially feel with each tray change will be intense as the hard, clear, orthodontic plastic forces your teeth to conform. These plastic trays are designed and constructed out-of-office in a lab according to your dentist's or orthodontist's design and instructions. Each set forcefully moves this and that tooth a millimeter here, a millimeter there. If you were to look at each set, you would see the tiny differences designed into the trays that apply the pressure to move your teeth.

If You Kept Your Invisible Braces out Too Long

Let's say you took your invisible braces out overnight and then forgot to pop them back into your mouth the next day. Going an entire day without the braces can cause your teeth to begin reverting back to the position they were in before. In fact, with nothing applying force to your teeth to keep them in position or move them, your teeth could completely reverse treatment entirely.

It is the same with traditional metal braces (with the exception that you cannot remove the metal braces.) If you were to remove the wires from traditional braces and then not have your dentist or orthodontist put the wires back into your mouth, your teeth would begin to shift and revert back. The hard orthodontic plastic of invisible braces acts as both wire and bracket. Ergo, keeping the invisible braces in your mouth as instructed is vital to the success of your treatment plan.

A Word on Invisible Retainers

The one nice thing about finishing up your treatment plan with invisible braces is that you will also get a set of trays that act as your invisible retainers. You will have to wear the invisible retainers for as long as your dentist or orthodontist says you must. You have to care for and wear the retainer set in the same way that you cared for and wore all of the sets of braces before. When your dentist or orthodontist notices that your teeth have not reverted even the tiniest bit back to their old positions, you will be allowed to gradually go without the retaining set until it is clear that your teeth are set in their position.

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