If you are a teen or adult with crooked teeth, you may be finally ready to have your dental alignment corrected. Crooked teeth can negatively impact your speech, chewing ability, and appearance. Still, you may be apprehensive about covering your teeth with metal brackets for years. 

If your dental misalignment is not excessive, you may be able to use Invisalign to straighten your teeth. Here is a bit of information to help you make an informed decision as you and your dentist, someone like Michael G Landy DDS, discuss orthodontic options.

Invisalign Straightens Quickly

Some orthodontic options, such as traditional braces, may take several years to realign your teeth. Invisalign can often straighten the teeth in a year or less. This means that you can enjoy straight teeth sooner.

Invisalign Doesn't Complicate Teeth Cleaning

With Invisalign, you don't need any special tools to clean your teeth. People who wear braces often use special devices, such as threaders and interdental cleaners, to try to navigate around the bulky brackets and wires of their appliance. 

Invisalign patients simply remove their mouth trays and brush and floss as they did before beginning their orthodontic treatment. Once their teeth are clean, they place the trays back in their mouth.

Invisalign Patients Can Whiten Their Teeth

People who wear braces often wait until the end of their orthodontic treatment to whiten their teeth. If they whiten with the braces in place, only the exposed areas of their teeth will become whiter. The portions of their teeth that are covered by the brackets are left untreated. As a result, once the braces are removed, the color of the teeth is not uniform.

Invisalign users can whiten their teeth with traditional bleaching products without fearing strange variations in the color of their teeth after the treatment. The trays are removed for the treatment and put back into place after each whitening session.

Invisalign Patients Can Play Sports More Safely

Contact sports often cause inadvertent blows to the mouth. With braces, a blow could cause the appliance to snag the sensitive soft tissues of the inner lips and cheeks. 

However, with Invisalign, the trays don't have sharp corners or areas on which the mouth can become easily snagged or caught. As a result, sports can be played in a safer manner. In addition, if consistent contact is expected, the trays can be removed and replaced with a sports guard for greater protection.

For more information about Invisalign, visit an Invisalign dentist in your local area.