Conventional dental braces have been a very effective and popular orthodontic treatment for correcting a wide range of problems like misaligned teeth, crooked teeth, teeth with excessive or uneven gaps etc. One of the problems associated with braces was poor aesthetics due to their metallic appearance. Naturally, people who were conscious of their smile and appearance did not like wearing braces, except where absolutely necessary for medical reasons.
The braces were a rather un-aesthetic way of improving dental aesthetics. Orthodontists and dentists offering orthodontic treatment realized this problem and have come up with some alternative orthodontic solutions which are invisible to various degrees. If you are not happy with wearing conventional metal train track braces but need or would like orthodontic tooth movement, you can look at the alternatives below.
Lingual Orthodontics
To move the archwire and the brackets out of sight, dentists can give you braces with the archwire and the brackets on the tongue-side (or lingual side) of the teeth. That is why these are called lingual braces. Lingual braces are aesthetically far superior to the conventional braces and are particularly popular with adults because they are more conscious of their looks.
The downside of Lingual Braces
- Inconvenience – despite being less conspicuous, lingual braces do pose some problems as the brackets come in between the tongue and the teeth. As a result, the tongue movement is hampered because of the reduced space available, and you will also feel a little odd for some time.
- Difficulty in Playing instruments – Also, if you play wind instruments, you may have some difficulty operating them with lingual braces.
- Special Training Required – Special training is required in addition to the basic dentistry degree to be able to apply lingual orthodontics.
Clear Brackets with Tooth Coloured Wires
This is yet another cosmetic alternative to the standard braces. The archwire is made tooth coloured to reduce its visibility against the background formed by your teeth. And the brackets are made of transparent plastic or tooth coloured ceramic so that they are not noticed. In addition, clear or transparent ligatures (The way the wire is attached to the brackets) are used to enhance aesthetics. Generally, the ceramic brackets are designed in such a way that they do not stain easily. However, the ligatures tend to stain easily, but this is not a big issue as they will be replaced on each visit.
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A 17 page report full of the most useful information, ideal if you’re thinking about having braces
- The costs and lowest price alternatives
- Your options and choices for treatment
- Are you suitable for treatment?
- How does each option compare to the other brace systems?
- How long does treatment take?
- Plus lots more…
The Price of Improved Aesthetics with Ceramic Braces
Ceramic clear braces are weaker than the conventional metallic braces. Therefore, they require a longer treatment time as orthodontists apply milder forces to make sure that the brackets are not overloaded. In addition, treatment with ceramic braces is often costlier as compared to the conventional metallic braces.
Cfast Clear Aligners
In the category of orthodontic teeth alignment appliances, the Cfast™ aligners sit at the top of the lot. A product created by engineering and dental technology, Cfast is very popular. It has really taken the orthodontic field by a storm.
How Cfast Works
The treatment consists of wearing a custom-made plastic aligner looking like a teeth guard for two (or one week, in some cases) which moves your teeth through a pre-planned shift. Then the next numbered aligner is put on for a similar period. Successively numbered aligners move your teeth through pre-determined stages, and by the time you remove your last aligner your teeth have moved as planned to give you an excellent smile.
How You Get the Cfast Aligners– At the start, the dentist takes impressions, photos, and x-rays of your teeth as they are. The impressions are digitized into a computer software. Another specialized software helps the dentist plan a gradual movement plan for your teeth again showing the teeth in their intermediate stages, and the final stage (which you can see). This plan is fed to a computer-aided machining system which makes around 12-24 aligners which when worn continuously for at least 20 hours per day, and in turn, move through the planned stages.
More complex treatments can be up to a year but cosmetic straightening on the front six teeth typically involves treatment times of between 4 & 6 months.
Consolidation
A retainer, another appliance like the last aligner, is worn for about six months to consolidate the tooth movement already achieved. Wearing a retainer is common with any form of orthodontics system.
Merits of Cfast Aligners
The Cfast has multiple merits compared to the other types of braces. These are:
- Invisibility This is the chief merit in the eyes of smile-conscious adults.
- Convenience-It is very convenient to put on and remove for cleaning and eating.
- No Fortnightly Visits– Fortnightly or monthly visits to the dentist are also not required as in cases of braces of all types.
- Preview– The beauty of treatment with Cfast is that you can see beforehand what your teeth and smile will look like at the end of your treatment. That is the miracle of leading-edge technology and software engineering.
Limitations
Cfast is the rage of orthodontics today but has some limitations also.
- Limited correction range – Only mild to moderate cases of misalignment or malocclusion can be corrected with Cfast. For more complex cases, treatment with traditional braces is required.
The Bottom Line with invisible braces
All orthodontic treatment modalities have their own merits and demerits.. In case of mild to moderate tooth corrections, and if there are no technical limitations, Cfast gives the best value for your money. However, for more complex cases, conventional or lingual braces may prove to be more useful.
