How Invisalign Improves Oral Hygiene Compared to Braces

It is important to keep your teeth properly aligned for better oral health. Proper alignment helps prevent cavities and gum disease while ensuring good jaw support. There are two options in choosing the right orthodontic treatment for teeth straightening and alignment. One is to go in for an Invisalign treatment with removable customized trays, and the other is going in for a fitting of traditional braces. Let's explore the two options to help you decide which would be the most suitable for improving oral hygiene. 

How Do Invalsign Differs From Traditional Braces?

A dental brace is an orthodontic device used to straighten teeth that are crooked, crowded or have gaps between them and for a misaligned bite. They work by putting pressure on the teeth to get them to shift back to their correct position.

A traditional metallic brace has brackets inter-connected with wires and ligatures (tiny elastic rubber bands) and these will be tooth-coloured in the case of ceramic braces. Another type is lingual braces fixed on the back of teeth to make them less conspicuous. In the case of Invisalign, there are no brackets, wires, or ligatures. Invisalign clear aligners are customized trays placed over the teeth and blend in so well that they are practically invisible.

How Invisalign Improves Oral Hygiene Better Than Braces

Brushing and flossing regularly keep the teeth clean. However, with the set-up of brackets and wires that make up a dental brace, it becomes difficult to attack the minute food particles that creep into the tiny spaces in between teeth. In the case of Invisalign clear aligners, though, this is not a problem at all since they can be removed each time you brush and floss. Hence plaque is less likely to accumulate on your teeth and cavities are kept at bay. Even if attachments are required for the Invisalign trays, these are placed on only a few teeth and are too tiny to create any kind of impediment to brushing and flossing.

In the case of flossing while wearing metallic and other types of braces, the orthodontist may advise you to use a threading tool to work around the wires and brackets to reach the gaps between teeth. Another option the orthodontist may give is to use a handheld water flosser, a device that emits a stream of water at the teeth. Such additional tools mean more expenses, something which is not required at all in the case of Invisalign. The trays given to you during the Invisalign treatment can be removed for proper cleaning of teeth.

Oral hygiene includes keeping your breath fresh. When food particles get trapped between teeth and don't get properly cleaned due to the brackets-wiring system of braces, the mouth starts emitting unpleasant odours. This can be embarrassing when you are having close-up conversations! With Invisalign, your breath remains fresh since you are able to remove the trays for thorough brushing and flossing.

Other Benefits of Using Invisalign Over Braces

Invisalign not only helps to improve oral hygiene but has other benefits as well, such as:

Comfort: Invisalign trays are customized to fit snugly on your teeth and although initially you may feel a little discomfort, once you get used to wearing them, you do not feel soreness the way you would with fitted braces. Additionally, Invisalign customized trays have a smooth edge that does not rub against your cheek, which may happen with metallic braces.

Read to Know: Tips for Managing Discomfort with Invisalign

Fewer food restrictions: The system of brackets and wires can get damaged by chewing gum and biting on a hard nut. Even that much-loved tub of popcorn is a strict no-no. With Invisalign, you do not have any food restrictions. All you are advised to do is to remove the trays when eating, not on what you cannot eat.

Staining less likely: Invisalign trays do not require brackets. This means that there are no remnants of tooth discolouration when they are removed, whereas the brackets of a metallic or ceramic brace can leave noticeable marks on teeth.

More lucid conversations: You may find it easier to converse with Invisalign, with what you say more clearly than when your teeth are fitted with metallic braces.

Fewer dental sessions: Traditional braces are likely to mean multiple visits to the orthodontist when a ligature snap or a wire causes soreness in the cheek. In the case of an Invisalign treatment, patients may not feel it to be as painful. What’s more, you will be provided more than one set of trays with follow-ups coming between long gaps. This means that your routine schedule does not get disrupted too often.

Also Read, Food restrictions during Invisalign: All you need to Know

Choosing Between Invisalign and Braces

Teeth alignment is essential not only to make a good impression with a nice smile, but also to help chew food properly, and prevent dental problems like periodontal disease and TMJ dysfunction. Both Invisalign and braces are beneficial in getting teeth back to a smoothly aligned position. 

Invisalign is aesthetically appealing, comfortable, and easy to wear and remove. However, some dental issues cannot be resolved with Invisalign. For example, a tooth that has slid out of its socket or one that has been pushed into its socket has a detrimental effect on periodontal ligaments. In such cases, Invisalign trays may not really shift teeth into the properly required aligned position. Hence when an extensive correction is required to resolve a major dental problem, you would need to use a traditional brace.

Conclusion

Good oral hygiene means preventing the buildup of plaque and bacteria as well as gum disease. It requires cleaning of teeth with a toothbrush toothpaste and dental floss to reach food particles trapped between them. While brushing and flossing are key to long-term dental health, you may find using Invisalign less of a challenge than traditional braces, while the latter may be essential for certain types of dental issues. Get in touch with an orthodontist at Dentique Dental Studio, the leading dental clinic in Kochi to make the right decision in improving and maintaining oral hygiene.