As clear aligner treatments are becoming more popular, we are asked this question many times a day. Below are a few points comparing both treatment modalities. Believe it or not, in most cases, Dr. Mosery will be able to achieve the same result in the same amount of time with braces or Invisalign. The choice will be yours to choose which treatment modality best fits your lifestyle.

Hygiene: With clear aligners, once they are removed, brushing and flossing may proceed as normal, and regular dental cleanings can easily be done. As opposed to braces, where brushing and flossing is a bit more difficult due to the presence of the brackets and wires.

Dietary restrictions: There are virtually no restrictions regarding what you may eat with clear aligner treatment. As opposed to braces, sticky and hard food items are forbidden, as they can break braces and damage wires.

Comfort: Both braces and clear aligners will take a few days of getting used to. Each aligner will gradually move your teeth over time. Some prefer this stepwise movement as opposed to the in office adjustment visits. In general, there are less “poking” things with clear aligners, whereas braces have many more moving parts.

Responsibility: Most often we hear “ I won’t be responsible to wear the aligners” or “I will lose the aligners”. This is where we need to stress that the responsibility is not more or less with Invisalign or braces, it is just a different type of responsibility. With braces one has to be very responsible not to eat hard or sticky foods, and to take the extra time required to have perfect hygiene. With Invisalign, one needs to be responsible to wear the aligners for the recommended amount of hours per day.

Some people will do better with Invisalign, and some will do better with braces. We hope this short article helps with your decision process, and as always, please feel free to reach out with any questions at all!

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