You’ve completed your Invisalign® treatment, and your orthodontist has given you the “okay” to remove your clear aligners.
Now you’re wondering, what happens when Invisalign® treatment is over?
Determining the end of treatment
After Invisalign® treatment, our orthodontists will assess the condition of your teeth and determine whether your treatment is over. You will notice a significant improvement in the alignment of your smile!
At Fishbein Orthodontics, we understand that each patient’s mouth is different, and everyone’s mouth progresses at various rates during an orthodontic treatment. Though your treatment time may be over, your orthodontist may suggest an extended period based on your past diligence when wearing your Invisalign® clear aligners. (So, if you wore your aligners closer to 18 hours than the prescribed 22 hours a day, you might be facing a longer treatment period.)
Don’t decide on your own that your Invisalign® treatment is complete! Wait for our orthodontists’ professional opinion of your current condition to avoid reversing the progress your teeth have made over the past year.
Retainers
Following your braces treatment with both Invisalign® and Invisalign® Express, your orthodontist will prescribe you a retainer to be worn full-time for the next year. Unlike other orthodontic practices, we send you home with your retainer the day your treatment is complete! This is done to ensure your teeth hold their brand new, perfectly aligned formation.
Depending on your unique condition, we offer different types of retainers. We offer clear (invisible) retainers, fixed (permanent) retainers and traditional (Hawley) retainers. While the fixed retainer is permanently cemented against your teeth to hold them in place, clear retainers and traditional retainers are removable. These removable retainers are eventually just worn at night.
The retention process is absolutely imperative for maintaining the smile you worked for.
Teeth have a natural tendency to shift back into their former position prior to your treatment. A retainer enforces the new, properly aligned arch that your clear braces gave you. Failure to wear your retainer as prescribed will result in your teeth reverting to the same condition and alignment you initially brought to us.
Whitening
We often see patients who might have been fairly negligent about brushing their teeth during their Invisalign® treatment. In this case, once your clear aligners treatment is over, you may notice some discoloration or yellowing of the teeth. We can help you regain the brightness of your smile with after-Invisalign® whitening treatments. We will suggest the right whitening treatment for you, based on the current condition and severity of discoloration. During your follow-up appointment, ask us about your options for achieving the brightest smile possible to compliment your straightest smile yet.
If you have additional questions about affordable orthodontics, Invisalign® costs or the process following a braces treatment, request an appointment or give us a call today!
