What Is the Difference Between Invisalign and a Retainer?

There are distinct differences between Invisalign and retainers. Invisalign is a revolutionary therapy to straighten crooked, crowded teeth with gaps, underbites, overbites, crossbites, open bites, et cetera. On the other hand, retainers are dental appliances to keep your teeth in their fresh places, preventing them from reverting to their original positions.

If you have crooked teeth, Invisalign can help straighten them depending on your situation’s complexity. After completing Invisalign treatment in six to 24 months, the provider suggests wearing retainers to prevent crooked teeth from reverting to appearing straightened and remaining in their new positions.

This article explains the difference between Invisalign and retainers to help you understand orthodontic treatments better. Kindly read the article before proceeding with treatments to straighten your teeth.

What is Invisalign?

Invisalign is a revolutionary therapy to straighten teeth affected by the abovementioned conditions. Although considered an orthodontic treatment, Invisalign does not saddle you with a mouthful of metal with brackets and wires. Instead, you receive Invisalign invisible braces, which you wear over your teeth for the duration of your treatment.

Your situation’s complexity determines how long you must wear the virtually invisible Invisalign braces over your teeth. After you qualify for Invisalign therapy by getting your teeth examined and evaluated by the Whitby provider, your teeth can begin moving to their desired positions in six to 24 months. If you have mild orthodontic problems, your teeth are straightened by Invisalign quickly in six months. However, if your situation’s complexity is moderate, you will require 24 months to achieve the desired results. Meanwhile, you must wear Invisalign braces over your teeth for at least 22 hours daily and replace them every fortnight as the dentist recommends.

Invisalign braces have a removable feature and need expulsion when eating or drinking anything but water. You can remove the braces from your teeth when eating and cleaning your teeth before you clean the aligners and return them to your teeth to continue your treatment.

Invisalign braces do not need adjustments or tightening because no wires or bands hold them attached to your teeth, indicating that you don’t need monthly appointments with Invisalign in Whitby, ON. However, you must visit the Whitby provider once every eight weeks to assess your improvement and collect your fresh batch of aligners to continue your therapy.

After the Whitby provider determines your teeth have straightened as desired, they suggest wearing retainers to keep your teeth in their new placements to have the beautiful smile you constantly wanted minus the dental infections.

How Long Should You Wear the Retainers?

Retainers are part of the orthodontic treatment you must wear over your teeth indefinitely or as the Invisalign provider recommends. Without the retainers, your teeth can revert to their original positions within a week, wasting the time and money you spent to straighten them.

Initially, the Whitby provider recommends wearing the retainers throughout the day and night, removing them when having food or cleaning your teeth. However, wearing the retainers should be fine because they are created from the same dental-grade plastic used to fabricate Invisalign braces. Therefore they remain virtually invisible in your mouth and indistinguishable from your natural teeth.

After wearing the retainers for about a year, the dentist might recommend wearing them over your teeth at night when sleeping, providing you freedom from them during the day. First, however, you must adhere to your dentist’s recommendations if you intend to show off your beautiful smile by helping hold your teeth in their new positions without allowing them to revert.

If you display negligence with the retainers, you again become a victim of dental infections like tooth decay and gum disease because convoluted and misaligned teeth make it formidable for you to clean them to make dental treatments like fillings and deep cleanings essential. Therefore it helps if you follow your dentist’s instructions to the letter T and wear the retainers as advised by the Invisalign provider.

As can be seen, Invisalign and retainers satisfy different needs, and one complements the other after your teeth are straightened by helping them remain straight and beautiful without the concerning infections that affected you earlier. Therefore when considering straightening your teeth with Invisalign or traditional orthodontic treatments, you must prepare for the long haul with the braces and retainers to have beautiful-looking teeth and an alluring smile that remains with you for as long as possible.

If you want to straighten your misaligned teeth, Brooklin Village Dental Center provides orthodontic treatments with traditional braces and Invisalign. Discuss your needs with the dental practice and consider Invisalign braces if you qualify for them with similar retainers to achieve the beautiful smile you desire.