If you want to fix your teeth’s alignment issues and improve your smile, Invisalign and dental bonding are both viable treatment options. These treatments can help you achieve the straight, beautiful smile you deserve, but which approach is best for you?
In this post, your #1 dental professional in Arnold, MO, discusses what you need to know about teeth bonding and Invisalign treatments to help you make a well-informed decision.
What Is Invisalign Treatment?
Invisalign is also known as clear braces, invisible aligners, or clear aligners. It is an orthodontic treatment that fixes crooked teeth without the look of traditional metal braces. This teeth-straightening treatment uses clear retainers that fit snugly over your teeth to correct your teeth alignment issues and improve your smile.
Unlike traditional braces, Invisalign has no metal wires, brackets, or braces involved, so you can remove them before brushing, flossing, drinking, or eating. Moreover, the aligners are almost invisible and are custom-made to fit your teeth. This makes them the best option for people who want to conceal their teeth straightening treatment and avoid the hassles of traditional metal braces.
What Can Invisalign Treat?
Invisalign clear aligners are often used to treat the following dental conditions:
- Gap teeth
- Overbite
- Underbite
- Crossbite
- Crowded teeth
- Open bite
- Misaligned primary or permanent teeth
Correcting the teeth alignment issues mentioned above can help you maintain a beautiful, healthy smile, reduce your chances of cavities and gum disease, and preserve your oral health.
How Does Invisalign Work?
When you visit our office for Invisalign treatment, we will evaluate your smile and make a 3D impression of your mouth. Then we’ll create a series of customized, clear plastic aligners (trays) that fit snugly and perfectly over your top and bottom teeth. As you wear this set of aligners, they’ll use gentle force to guide your teeth and shift them into proper alignment.
As your teeth gradually shift toward the desired result, you’ll swap out the tray with the next one in the set until you achieve your goal or reach the end of your treatment plan. To achieve the ideal outcome, you need to wear your clear braces for 20 to 22 hours per day for a specific treatment period. Treatment time usually varies between 3 to 18 months, depending on your teeth’s condition and the desired result.
What Is Dental Bonding?
Dental bonding (also known as teeth bonding or composite bonding) is a procedure that involves using dental composite or composite resin to improve or restore a person’s smile. Like Invisalign, dental bonding is a cosmetic dental procedure your dentist can use to fix crooked, misshapen, or gapped teeth.
The material used in this procedure typically lasts between 3 and 10 years, depending on how well you care for your teeth. However, the treatment time is usually shorter, with a single tooth taking between 30 to 60 minutes to complete.
What Can Bonding Treat?
Dental bonding is an option your dentist can consider for:
- Closing spaces and gaps between your teeth
- Changing your teeth’s shape
- Making your teeth look longer
- Concealing cracks or chips in your teeth
- Protecting exposed tooth roots due to gum recession
- Filling cavities or repairing decayed teeth
- Camouflaging discolored teeth
How Does Dental Bonding Work?
Dental bonding works by covering teeth imperfections with a tooth-colored resin to fix dental issues and make the teeth aesthetically pleasing.
During a dental bonding procedure, your dentist will clean your teeth, roughen the surface of each tooth, and apply the composite resin material shade that matches your teeth’s color. The dentist will then mold the resin to the desired shape and harden it with a special light to bond the material to your teeth. Lastly, your dentist will shave down the material and polish it to match the surface of each tooth.
This procedure requires no anesthesia because it is painless and can be completed in a single office visit.
Invisalign or Bonding: Which Is Better for Fixing Teeth Alignment Issues?
Both Invisalign and bonding can help fix teeth alignment issues, especially when you want to close the gaps between your teeth. Bonding adds material to the edges of teeth to reduce the spaces between the teeth, while Invisalign closes the gaps by moving the teeth closer. Choosing between these two options can be tricky, but your teeth’s condition may call for one over the other.
If your crooked teeth result from a misshapen tooth, or one tooth is smaller than the surrounding teeth, dental bonding would be the best way to reshape the tooth and close the gap. However, if all or some of your teeth are spaced apart, Invisalign treatment is the better choice. Since every condition is unique, you should consult your dentist to determine the right treatment option.
Can You Get Them Both?
Some people can benefit from a combination of bonding and Invisalign treatment. For instance, a patient may notice that a tooth is shorter than the rest or discolored after completing the Invisalign treatment process. In this situation, dental bonding will camouflage the discoloration or even the tooth out to match the others to give the patient a perfect smile.
You can get Invisalign before and after dental bonding (and vice versa). Most people go for bonding after Invisalign treatment as a follow-up procedure to get the perfect result. However, bonding your teeth during the Invisalign treatment process is a big mistake; your dentist will never recommend it.
Dental Bonding and Invisalign Treatment in Arnold, MO
Ready to make crooked teeth a thing of the past and achieve the straight, beautiful, and healthy smile you deserve? Meramec Family Dentistry can help! We offer dental bonding and Invisalign treatment in Arnold, MO, to fix your dental issues and give you a perfect smile.
Call (636) 333-3304 to schedule an appointment with us today or discuss whether bonding, Invisalign, or both will give you the perfect smile you deserve.
