Invisalign vs. Braces: What’s the Better Choice?

If you want straighter teeth, you’ve probably wondered if you need to get braces or if you’re a candidate for Invisalign®. We’ve got good news. While Invisalign isn’t right for every case, most people can reach their smile goals without metal brackets or archwires.

That’s why Gemini Master-Patel, DMD, offers Invisalign at Riverside Dental in Yonkers and Thornwood, New York. If you’re trying to weigh braces versus clear aligners, we want to go over some factors we think will help you make your choice. 

Visibility (or lack thereof)

Braces change your appearance. They require quite a bit of metal to be attached to your teeth. Worse still, all of that metal tends to attract and hang onto the food you eat. 

Invisalign gives you a different option. This treatment uses a series of clear plastic aligners. 

We create your first aligner set based on the current position of your teeth. You pop it in place, and it gradually shifts your teeth over the next 1-2 weeks. Then you swap to the next aligner set in your series, which nudges your teeth closer to their desired position. By the time you put in the last set of aligners, you’ll have a nearly straight smile.

In this way, Invisalign allows you to transform your teeth without ever attaching any metal to them. The aligners are even trimmed to your gum line to help them disappear from view. 

Removability

You need to wear your aligners 20–22 hours a day. You remove them to eat, and you can also strategically take them out at other times. You might choose to take an hour off to give a big presentation at work, or remove them before a date or a pick-up game. 

The ability to remove your Invisalign aligners means they adapt to your lifestyle. With braces, you’re the one who has to adapt. 

Comfort

Unsurprisingly, having a bunch of metal in your mouth isn’t overly comfortable. The brackets from braces can cut up the soft tissues of your mouth, and many people get poked by the archwire in the back. 

Invisalign aligners are created to fit your teeth. While you might have some discomfort as your teeth move, you’d experience that with braces, as well. And you won’t have to worry about any of the soft tissue injury that comes with a metal-based orthodontic treatment. 

Fewer dental appointments 

With braces, your orthodontist has to manually adjust the archwire to move your teeth into their desired positions. With Invisalign, we create all your aligners at the start of the process, and you swap them without needing to come to our office. 

We do schedule periodic check-ins to make sure you’re progressing the way we want. Still, Invisalign can mean fewer hours in the dentist’s chair. 

If you think Invisalign could be right for you, come see Dr. Master-Patel for a consultation. Call the Riverside Dental office nearest you or book your appointment online today.