West Hills Smiles

A dentist putting braces in for a patient

Invisalign Vs. Braces: The Major Differences

The way your teeth look can have a great impact on your confidence. There’s nothing wrong with having crooked teeth, but patients often complain that it makes them feel under confident in most situations.

In order to straighten out their smile, people opt for either Invisalign or braces. There are many differences between the two, and depending on what you’re looking for, you can decide which option may suit your teeth better. Here are 3 major differences between Invisalign and braces.

Invisalign are Less Visible:

One of the main reasons that so many people tend to opt for Invisalign is because of its transparent brackets that fit right onto your teeth. Because they’re tailor made for each person, when you pop them on, it’s hard to tell whether you have them on. In each set of Invisalign, there are minor differences between the shape of your teeth and the brackets, and the tightness pushes your teeth to gradually take the shape of the bracket completely, after which you get a new one to further correct the shape of your teeth.

Braces, on the other hand, have wires, rubber band, and colored brackets. Most teens and adults find these a bit too conspicuous and choose Invisalign instead.

A model of teeth with braces.

You Can Remove Invisalign:

Another perk of Invisalign is that they are removable. The worst thing about braces is that they cause pain 24/7 in the beginning. Because of this, it can be difficult to eat certain foods. Apart from this, crispy or sticky foods even tend to get stuck between the brackets and wires of braces and then are almost impossible to get out, which is why you may have to avoid eating a lot of foods when you have braces.

Since Invisalign is removable, you don’t have to restrict your diet at all. You can remove your Invisalign, eat whatever you want, brush your teeth, and then pop them back in. You are typically allowed to remove them for 2 hours out of 24.

Braces Can Solve Bigger Oral Health Problems:

Though Invisalign looks better, and definitely do function well for the odd crooked tooth, there are many things they cannot correct. For example, some people even use braces to push the jaw outward or to correct an overbite. All these problems cannot be solved using Invisalign, so for more serious cases, braces are definitely the better option.

For Invisalign or braces from the best dentists in Woodlands, CA, visit West Hills Smiles. We also offer cosmetic dentistry to make your smile brighter!

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