Clear Aligners
At Coliseum Dental Walnut Creek, our number one goal is to help you achieve a healthy and beautiful smile through our wide array of dental procedures available at our Walnut Creek dentist office. Every patient is different. For some patients, this may only mean regular dental exams and cleanings, while for others, this may mean restorations like dental crowns or root canals. Whichever type of patient you are, almost all patients can benefit from clear aligner treatment. We offer clear aligners in our office to help patients of all ages achieve a perfectly aligned smile without an uncomfortable and embarrassing treatment. Patients who groan at the thought of wearing braces can take a breath of relief. Clear Aligners in East Bay is the perfect orthodontic treatment alternative.
What are Clear Aligners?
Most patients have heard of clear aligners, but if you haven’t, clear aligners are a discreet and comfortable alternative treatment to metal braces. The treatment consists of moving your teeth with thin and clear plastic aligners. These plastic aligners are specially made to fit your teeth exactly, giving you the most comfort possible. Many patients like this orthodontic option because the aligners are practically invisible, leaving your treatment a secret between you and your dentist. Thanks to their discreetness, patients of all ages are choosing to realign their teeth without the stress of metal braces. There are so many benefits of clear aligners, find out why patients are choosing clear braces over metal.
The Countless Benefits of Clear Aligners
Comfort
To start, clear aligners treatment is a comfortable and nearly pain-free orthodontic treatment. Every 2 weeks, you will swap out your aligners for a new pair, which will slowly shift your teeth into their ideal position. Since they are making smaller movements more frequently, your mouth won’t be as sore as it would be after a braces tightening. In addition, the clear aligners are comfortable to wear. You won’t scratch up the sides of your mouth, cheeks or tongue or find yourself with a mouth full of cuts like you would with traditional braces.
Convenient
In addition to comfort, clear aligners are convenient. Your braces are not stuck in your mouth 24/7. You can remove your clear braces every time you eat, drink or want to brush your teeth. For patients who don’t want to give up popcorn or other foods for an orthodontic treatment, clear aligners are the choice for you. Since you can remove them for brushing and flossing, your dental hygiene won’t suffer during the treatment and you won’t end up with stains from metal brackets. You can also remove them for important events if absolutely necessary. We recommend our patients wear their aligners for at least 22 hours per day.
Custom Made
You should know that your clear aligners treatment in East Bay is completely custom made to fit your mouth. From your custom made aligners to your treatment plan, this is unique to your mouth and smile. Our dentists have your aligners custom made to follow their treatment plan to straighten your teeth in the way they choose. This allows for no guessing or surprises at the end of treatment. From day one, we know where your smile is going and how we’re going to get it there.
Effective
Many patients believe that clear aligners are not as effective as metal braces. This is not true. Our clear aligners dentists have years of experience working with clear aligners and can treat you with clear aligners just as well as they could with metal braces. There are some orthodontic cases that are too severe to be treated with clear aligners. Those are the patients who will need metal braces and usually other orthodontic treatments.
Are Clear Aligners Right For Me?
As we stated before, clear aligners can’t treat every smile. If you are interested in receiving clear aligners treatment, one of our dentists will thoroughly examine your smile visually and with x-rays to see if clear aligners are the right choice for you. Our East Bay dentists will look for the following dental problems:
- Mildly Crooked Teeth
- Over or Under Bite
- Occlusion
- Gapped Teeth
- Protruding Teeth
- Open and Crossbite
If you experience any of the above dental problems, you might be a good candidate for clear aligners in East Bay. In addition to having some of those problems, patients also need to have a healthy mouth. Another requirement for clear aligners treatment is for the patient to be responsible enough to hold themselves accountable for wearing the aligners at least 22 hours per day.
Overview of Clear Aligners Process
Now that you have a good idea if clear aligners sounds like the right procedure for you, you might wonder what the treatment process is like. After your consultation at Coliseum Dental Walnut Creek, our dentists will take digital impressions of your teeth as well as necessary x-rays. From there, they will form your entire treatment plan, where each tooth is going to move and how it’s going to get there. They will then send this information off to the clear aligners lab to make your custom made aligners. The aligners will return from the lab within weeks to begin your treatment.
You will wear your aligners all day and night with the exception of eating or drinking and brushing and flossing your teeth. You can only consume water with the aligners in. Before you pop them back in, be sure to rinse them out and clean them. This helps you avoid stains and bad breath. You will wear these aligners for two weeks and then switch to the next ones in the set. After 6 weeks, you will visit our East Bay dentist office for a checkup where we evaluate if your treatment is progressing properly. This process continues for the allotted time we told you your treatment would take. This ranges anywhere from 6 months to 2 years.
Towards the end of your treatment, we may prescribe extra aligners to make minor changes. Once you complete your treatment, you will only need to wear a retainer at night to keep your teeth beautifully aligned! This is necessary aftercare required to maintain your smile.
Discover if Clear Aligners are Right for You
With clear aligners, you will not only achieve a beautiful smile but prevent dental problems that can happen without orthodontic treatment. This includes uneven wear of your teeth, abnormal bite patterns, and even periodontal disease or TMJ. If clear braces sound like the right solution for you, what are you waiting for? Give our Walnut Creek dentists a call at 925-939-4989 or use our online form. Feel free to come prepared to ask any questions, or read our Clear Aligners FAQs beforehand. We look forward to helping you achieve your smile goals with our clear aligners.
