Invisalign attachments are essential for patients who want to attain their desired smile and confident look. There arises some questions in your mind, “What are Invisalign attachments, and how do they work?” Read on to get answers about these questions from our dentist for Invisalign in London.
What are Invisalign attachments and why are they needed?
Sometimes, your invisible braces are not sufficient to attain your gorgeous smile. This might be particularly true for moderate to advanced cases, where an Invisalign provider deals with crooked teeth, crowding or too much gapping problems. In such situations, they need to apply attachments to your teeth for providing the Invisalign trays with extra support to hold teeth firmly into their desired position.
Attachments are usually made of a tooth colored material known as composite resin that can be used for composite bonding and fillings. These are usually adhered to specific teeth for giving your aligners the extra support they require to shift teeth. Truly speaking, your Invisalign provider uses them for some movements such as – extrusions, intrusions or rotations.
What are Invisalign buttons?
Invisalign buttons are small auxiliaries that can be affixed to clear aligners and used in the form of anchors for rubber bands that you need to wear. These rubber bands usually act as an additional force for the teeth and are a suitable method to ensure your teeth remain on the right track with clear aligner treatment.
What are Invisalign bumps?
Bite ramps or bums serve the same purpose like attachments for your Invisalign treatment. The difference is that bite ramps or “bumps” are usually built into the plastic Invisalign tray for opening the bite vertically when your orthodontist knows it is needed.
Though attachments, buttons, and bite ramps are all similar, they are like a blessing for patients who wear clear aligners. Without these possible options, clear aligners might not be a suitable option for the ones who require moderate to complicated correction which means the only option is traditional metal braces.
Is it possible to undergo Invisalign treatment without attachments?
Though attachments do not speed up the treatment, your orthodontist will use necessary tools to improve your attractive smile. While you can certainly do Invisalign without attachments, you might have to compromise your results and probably lengthen the treatment timing.
Though the attachments might experience slight stains around their perimeter, it will hardly be visible while you wear the trays. Besides, these attachments do not have any risk to your teeth. They will not damage the tooth enamel or put you at greater risk for tooth decay or loss. Attachments, buttons and bite ramps are just the safest option for your teeth.
If you want to treat mild case of spacing or crowding without using these attachments, then you will probably save money and skip further trips to your dentist. This will help you to attain comparable results by opting for at-home clear aligner treatment.
Can Invisalign attachments hurt?
You might experience some discomfort in the days after they are being applied due to increased orthodontic force that attachments allow for clear aligners. This will make the teeth to shift more dramatically than they had been before. Thus, the more you wear aligners with your attachments, the faster you will become used to the discomfort.
When you eat by wearing the attachments, this will certainly require some kind of adjustment. Make sure you take proper care of the attachments as they provide more places for food and bacteria to hide and assess your oral hygiene habits. You should brush properly after taking each meal and floss daily to keep your teeth and mouth clean and healthy. These habits are necessary during the treatment when you are having attachments.
If you are worried about stain marks that occur due to the intake of tea, coffee or red wine, then this might cause discoloration. You can try to avoid them when wearing attachments and know that even if you have some stains, they will hardly be noticeable behind the trays which you need to wear for at least 20 to 22 hours in a day.
One thing which is not recommended is teeth whitening when you are having attachments on the teeth as the resin cannot be whitened. You cannot whiten the part of your teeth which is covered by attachments and so, you will have small discoloration marks on the teeth where the attachments had been.
What else should you know about attachments?
Patients usually ask “are Invisalign attachments noticeable?” Well, you will notice them for sure, but there arises a question, if every person you meet will know you have small dots of composite resin on your teeth. They won’t be noticeable when compared to metal braces and you can enjoy utmost comfort by knowing they are not at all permanent and your smile will be better for it.
You will also come across many people who want to know how they can remove Invisalign attachments by themselves. Well, you should never even try to remove these attachments on your own. This is because they are on due to some reason and when your Invisalign provider knows they have completed their job, they will remove them for you. The process involves minimal pain though it involves using the drill to wear away the resin.
Some patients might have several attachments placed on one tooth and sometimes it will be necessary to have a completely new set of attachments placed on the teeth. This is very common in case you are undergoing refinements. Well, your Invisalign attachments will wear out in due course. Though your provider will keep a keen eye on this, you should certainly tell them if you think one has worn our or chipped.
You may visit Adult Braces Clinic where your Invisalign provider will tell everything about the process so that you can get your teeth straightened and improve overall appearance. This way, you can restore your perfect smile and boost confidence level.
