Invisalign has now been around for over 20 years and helped over 9 million people achieve straight teeth and a great smile. Every year for all of those 20+ years, the technology in Invisalign has gotten better. Yet, some of the old stories about Invisalign from when it first came out in 1999 have stuck around, and are even widely accepted as fact. Today, we want to give you the facts and tell you what’s true about Invisalign.
We’ll cover 7 things about Invisalign for you and tell you what’s really true. We’ll cover topics like:
- The complexity of treatments Invisalign is made for
- How long Invisalign takes
- The cost of Invisalign vs. braces
- And lots more
By the time you finish, you’ll know what’s real and what’s fake news when it comes to Invisalign treatment and what it can do for your smile.
You only get one smile in life, so it’s important that you make a good decision when it comes to deciding how you will straighten your teeth and improve your smile. Do-overs are possible, but they’re also costly, and some damage to your teeth can be hard to undo. If you’re thinking about getting straight teeth with orthodontic treatment, make sure you have the facts first. We wrote this for you.
7 Myths About Invisalign
Myth 1: Invisalign is only for very simple, basic treatments.
It’s still quite common to hear someone – even some professionals – say that Invisalign cannot achieve all the types of movement that traditional braces can. When Invisalign was first introduced in 1999, that was true – the technology was really only limited to very simple cases.
That was 22 years ago and Invisalign has vastly improved since then. Its effectiveness has too. Today, Invisalign can treat every case now – regardless of complexity. There is really no case too complex for Invisalign now. In fact, there are things we can do for your smile with Invisalign that you CAN’T do with braces.
It gets even better: with braces, your treatment is dependant on fine-tuning as you go along. With Invisalign at Dr. Peter Brawn, your treatment is completely planned in advance and customized to you. We aren’t just seeing how it goes as we go along. It makes results much more predictable. There are no guessing games for you about how much this is going to cost, how long it will take, or what the end result will be. We show you a simulation of what your smile will look like before and after Invisalign in your very first consultation (which is completely free to you).
The simple truth: Invisalign can treat every case that braces can – regardless of complexity. And actually, there are some things Invisalign is able to do for your smile that braces cannot.
(Check out this post for a complete comparison of Invisalign vs. Braces.)
Myth 2: Invisalign treatment takes forever.
When some patients hear their Invisalign treatment may include 40 sets of clear aligners (or even more), they grow concerned that they’re going to have to endure years of treatment and costs to get the smile they want. It sure sounds like there’s no end in sight…
That might be the case with other Invisalign doctors, but not at Dr. Peter Brawn.
Most of our patients finish Invisalign treatment within a year or less. Our patients enjoy the benefits of huge advantages we’ve mastered that reduce their treatment time by 50% – and sometimes even more. In some cases, depending on complexity, we can be done in even a quarter of the time of standard Invisalign or braces treatments.
With shorter treatment times you get the smile you want faster and avoid many of the advertised potential risks associated with long orthodontic treatment processes: gum disease, tooth decay, white spot lesions, and others.
The simple truth: Standard Invisalign is comparable or shorter than traditional braces, and at Dr. Peter Brawn, your Invisalign treatment is 50% faster than both standard Invisalign and braces.
Myth 3: Invisalign is just as painful as braces.
Both Invisalign and braces straighten your teeth by putting force on your teeth to create movement. The difference is the forces that Invisalign requires to do this are much smaller. We find that patients share a little bit of pain for aligner set 1 and 2, and after that, it is almost none.
If the force on your teeth were the only pain that braces create, you could maybe call them competitive to Invisalign’s comfort. But braces have another downside: braces can really rip up your mouth from wires and brackets. It’s not intended, but it is still fairly common. Invisalign aligners don’t have that kind of downside. The attachments are relatively smooth and don’t create the same issues you get with braces.
What’s better, the same clinically-proven technology we use to speed up your treatment also helps to reduce the amount of pain you feel. We’ve found that this gentle light therapy treatment leads to up to a 75% reduction in pain for our Invisalign patients.
The simple truth: Invisalign is less forceful on your teeth than braces and doesn’t have any of the more painful downsides that come with braces’ brackets and wires in your mouth. And at Dr. Peter Brawn, we can massively reduce the amount of pain you experience overall.
Myth 4: You have to wear your aligners at all times.
While it is true that your treatment progress will occur faster the more you wear your aligners, it’s not true that you can’t ever (or shouldn’t ever) take your aligners out.
Unlike braces and other popular traditional orthodontic treatments, Invisalign aligners are completely removable so that you can enjoy meals, snacks, coffee dates, and girls’ wine night exactly the same as you always do.
Being able to remove your aligners is great for avoiding stains from colored or sugary liquids. And the fact that aligners are removable means there are no food restrictions with Invisalign as there are with braces (hard food, nuts, and more can break the brackets of your braces and cause wires to poke into your mouth – not fun.).
Invisalign aligners are completely removable – meaning that you can take the aligners all the way out of your mouth and all that is left are the small little buttons we call ‘attachments’.
At Dr. Peter Brawn, we can get you straight teeth and a great smile 50% faster than traditional Invisalign and braces methods. This is very appealing to many of our patients and most want to do as much as they can to get faster treatment and results. For this reason, some of our patients even eat with aligners in – it can speed up treatment. This isn’t very everyone, and not all of our patients choose this, but it is an option for you.
The simple truth: Unlike other orthodontic treatments – like braces – Invisalign clear aligners are completely removable, and there are no food restrictions. Many patients prefer to eat and drink colored liquids without aligners in, and that is doctor-approved behavior with Invisalign.
Myth 5: Even if you’re careful, Invisalign aligners get discolored easily.
A huge appeal of Invisalign over braces and others is that they are clear and virtually invisible from even normal talking distances. But then you might hear a story or read online about how easy it is for Invisalign aligners to get stained, discolored, and gross. So if they don’t stay clear and clean for long, what’s the advantage?
We agree! So we’ve done something about it at Dr. Peter Brawn.
Typically, a single set of Invisalign aligners is worn by a patient for between 7-14 days. You can imagine that after 5-7 days they’ll get discolored. In our Invisalign treatment, you change every 4 days. So your aligners will never get dirty. The quicker you change aligner sets, the fresher your Invisalign stay.
It’s just one of many pieces of our treatment that we’ve optimized to work better for you.
The simple truth: It’s true, Invisalign aligners can stain and grow discolored after about a week of use. At Dr. Peter Brawn, we’ve eliminated that problem for you – our patients change aligner sets every 4 days, so your aligners will stay fresh.
Myth 6: Invisalign costs more.
Ah yes. We’ve all heard this one before, haven’t we? Traditional braces treatment in Canada ranges between $5,000 – $10,000. Guess what? The same range is true for Invisalign.
For Invisalign in Vancouver, BC the price compared to braces is, generally speaking, comparable. Most of our patient cases range between $4900 – $8900. There are some complex cases that require more, but if that’s you, you can expect that you’d always know your total treatment cost from us in advance.
If your dental plan offers orthodontic coverage, it will likely cover a portion of your Invisalign treatment costs – Invisalign is considered orthodontics. But not all dental insurance carriers provide orthodontic coverage. Some plans only cover adults, some only cover children, and some don’t cover anything at all. When there is coverage, typically the plan covers a percentage of the total fee up to a maximum – usually, that adds up to about $2,000 – $3,000 in savings for you.
When you schedule your free consultation with us, we walk you through everything you need to know about the cost of Invisalign for you and help you figure out what your insurance might cover.
The simple truth: The cost of Invisalign in Vancouver today is essentially the same as other popular orthodontic treatment methods – like braces.
Myth 7: Invisalign requires a whole bunch of attachments on your front teeth.
In certain cases for moving front teeth, attachments nearer to the front of your mouth are required. Typical offices do attachments on the outside of your teeth to straighten those front teeth.
One of the great factors about Invisalign is the clear aligners make Invisalign virtually invisible. For some people, the attachments on the outside of their front teeth are more visibility than they care for with Invisalign. To them, it’s unsightly.
For others, their smile is a part of their job – such as an actor who is on camera or stage.
At Dr. Peter Brawn, we can do attachments on the inside of your front teeth (the tongue side). That way, no one sees anything, and your front attachments are only on the back of your teeth.
While we’re talking about attachments, you may have heard that DIY aligner companies like Smile Direct Club don’t use attachments in their treatment. That is true, but you are also very limited as to what types of movements with your teeth are possible. And you don’t have the support and guidance of a professional dentist – just a 1-800 number. If anything goes wrong, you’re responsible. To read up on everything you need to know about DIY aligners and how they differ from Invisalign, read our Invisalign Clear Aligners vs. DIY Aligners post.
The simple truth: Invisalign can require attachments for your front teeth, but they don’t have to go on the outside of your mouth. We can put them on the inside so that no one sees them.
Conclusion
There’s a reason that over 9 million people have chosen Invisalign – you get a great smile. And now that you know what’s true about Invisalign, you’ve got the info you need to make a good decision for your smile.
We are the only Invisalign practice in Vancouver – and all of Canada – dedicated specifically to accelerated Invisalign treatment. That means we spend our entire focus mastering how to get our patients (like you!) great smiles faster and easier.
Here are just a few examples of what you get at Dr. Peter Brawn:
- A free consultation with an Invisalign Before & After simulation
- An Invisalign treatment plan customized to you
- Treatment time 50% faster than typical Invisalign and braces
- About a 75% reduction in pain from standard Invisalign
- And a whole lot more
If you’re ready to get a smile you love and want to avoid the hassle, discomfort, and years of treatment that often come with typical orthodontic treatment methods, get a free Invisalign consultation with us today.
