The saviours of crooked teeth!

Only the people with crooked teeth know what they have to face every day! From facing extreme self-esteem issues to difficulties in chewing and speech, they feel helpless. Additionally, there is a plethora of problems such as food lodgement, tartar, plaque, decay, headaches and neck aches.

While highlighting the fact that how eating habits define the jawline, Nutritional Periodontist, Dr Alvin H Danenberg points out that hunter-gatherers who do not eat processed foods have strong jaws and healthy bodies. When some individuals from these groups migrated to different “modern” societies and replaced their traditional diets with highly processed “western diets”, things began to change. “These individuals over time developed chronic diseases and dental problems, and they had offspring with increased dental abnormalities,” he wrote.

Pressures of education, competition, job and then the right career; hardly allow any time for the corrective treatments. Large no. of boys & girls are unable to get Orthodontic treatment is done as it is very long and time-consuming. Further, the visible braces look ugly and badly affect the social image, hence many people pass the age of good results orthodontics.

Thanks to modern Orthodontics, the new innovation. “Invisible Aligners” and advances in technologies, there is hope for many with such problems.

Invisible Aligners are the future for Dentofacial corrections which utilizes the concept of moving teeth very slowly & gradually into the desired position by utilizing a number of specially designed plastic aligners as per computerized projections and achieving the desired prognosis.

Aligners are the new modern-age braces made of TPU or PTEG, high food-grade plastics approved by the necessary authorities.  They are a solution for patients seeking a more discreet orthodontic treatment than conventional braces, as they do not use brackets or wires. Aligners can solve 80 per cent of crooked teeth cases. They are customized for each person, whereas braces are made to fit the mouth. 

Aligners give us what Braces can’t!

If we compare the Traditional Braces with the Aligners on various counts, we will find that the latter are technologically more advanced in terms of material and aesthetics. A patient may need to use aligners for less time as compared to traditional braces.

Aligners will cost just a little more than braces but are easy to use and a patient can fit it and remove it himself. They are far more comfortable as compared to Traditional Braces which can poke and cut once in a while. 

While there are many products in the market, the aligners from Clove Dental are custom-designed, invisible, and removable. One can eat and drink whatever one wants to eat or drink. It is made of high-quality material and technology. Manufactured i­n India, the USPs of these products make them ideal for use. 

How to wear aligners and what to do when wearing them?

When using the Aligners for the first time, push them over teeth gently till you hear a snap sound and they feel like a part of the mouth. There should be the usage of minimal force unless one might damage the Aligners. At the time of removal, one can use the fingers directly or the ‘Outie tool’ to remove the aligners. One has to be gentle so as not to damage aligners.

There are few things that one has to take care of while using Aligners. The product has to be cleaned and brushed properly. One has to clean Aligners in cool water, wash hands and then brush teeth before putting them on.

One has to store Aligners safely in the case when they are not in use. Wear the aligners for 23 hours a day for best results and take them off only to eat and keep them on for the rest of the day or night. The users should always keep the previous set of Aligners safe which you may have to be used if something happens to the current set.

Precautions to be taken while using Aligners

The Aligners should never be used along with the toothpaste, gels or hot toothpaste, gels or hot water as they may damage the aligners. One should never eat or drink (except cool water) with the Aligners on. Chewing food can damage or stain your Aligners

The Aligners can get damaged if any extreme force is used or one bites the product hard. Each time you wear a new set of aligners they start putting gentle forces on your teeth, which may cause discomfort in some cases. For the treatment to work, one needs to wear it throughout the day and definitely even while sleeping. 

Aligners can be the best friends to people with crooked teeth. The only thing that keeps the sufferers away from the immense benefits of these amazing products is the lack of awareness about their availability.

Dr. Anirudh Singh

Guest Author The author is Orthodontist at Clove Dental.