Invisalign Treatment Time – East Islip, NY

With orthodontic alternatives like Invisalign, it can be easy to breathe a sigh of relief that you don’t necessarily have to settle for traditional metal braces. Of course, part of ensuring that your realignment stays on schedule is taking the right steps during your Invisalign treatment. At East Islip Dental Care, we pride ourselves on helping patients stay informed on the best habits to maintain, whether it’s for aftercare or ongoing care like Invisalign. If you have questions about your treatment, don’t hesitate to contact our office directly!

How Long Does Treatment Take?

It’s important to note that Invisalign clear aligners take substantially less time overall to complete than traditional braces. While metal braces require a minimum of two years to see any results, Invisalign only takes an average of 12 months. However, this is partially due to the fact that clear aligners are more often used for patients suffering from mild to moderate levels of misalignment or crowding teeth.

Factors That Influence Treatment Length

One of the most notable factors for treatment length is case complexity. For example, less complex cases may only require six months of treatment to complete, while more complex cases can take as long as two years, especially if back teeth struggle to shift properly. During your consultation, our team will be better able to determine how severe or mild your case is and create a timeline from there.

With that said, it is also crucial that you wear the aligners for at least 22 hours per day, only removing to eat, drink fluids other than water, and practice daily oral care. You may also remove them when having your photo taken, but this should be kept to a minimum.

How to Ensure a Smooth Treatment Process

As mentioned, compliance is a fairly significant factor when determining the length of your treatment. This means you’ll need to care for your aligners as you switch them out every two weeks. To avoid any hiccups in your treatment, always keep your aligners in their protective case when not in use. Clean them in either denture cleanser or Invisalign’s own blend of cleaning crystals so they do not become stained or collect residual food debris. Food particles can interfere with your treatment, so make sure to inspect them every time you wear them. Use water to rinse them off and never put them in hot water, which can easily make them change in shape and ruin them permanently. In the event you lose a pair or one of them breaks, contact our office right away to schedule an appointment so we can get your pair replaced. Until then, we’ll ask you to either revert back to a previous pair or move on to the next one in your series.