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Invisalign is a revolutionary product that allows you to straighten your teeth in a discreet and pain-free way, whilst still enjoying all your favourite foods and drinks.
What is Invisalign?
Invisalign utilises clear plastic and removable aligners in order to straighten your teeth. The aligner itself is a series of custom moulded, very comfortable and nearly invisible plastic (It’s a BP free type of plastic which is 100% safe) that fit perfectly over your teeth like a mouth guard. The aligners are removable and each one is worn for a period of 2-weeks at a time before moving to the next set of aligners which gradually move your teeth to your final desired position.
The fact that Invisalign is clear and removable means that it can transform your smile easily without disturbing your daily routine. Even for those of us who always thought that a straight white healthy smile was only achievable by other people, Invisalign clear removable braces allows everyone the opportunity to achieve their ideal smile.
When needed, small tooth-coloured bonded attachments are used by your dentist to help the relevant teeth rotate to the desired position. Your plastic aligners simply fit over the top and whilst these attachments might bother you in the early days, you will quickly realise that no one notices them and that Invisalign is truly ‘invisible’ to most people.
To date, over 4 million people Worldwide have already benefited from this technology which is not only limited to those celebrities or the rich and famous but developed for everyday people like you and I in mind.
Where can I get Invisalign in London?
1. Book a consultation in Notting Hill with Dr MCas
The best way to start planning your Invisalign treatment is to select a certified Invisalign dentist in London based on their level of expertise and that is located near you as you will need to visit them regularly for check ups.
If you are looking for an Invisalign dentist in London, especially in the Notting Hill, Bayswater or Royal Oak area, Dr MCas clinic is the perfect location for you and can be found at 14 Needham Road, a few minutes walk from Notting Hill tube station.
Dr Melanie Castelhano is an Invisalign Diamond provider and is in the top 1% of all Invisalign practitioners in the UK. She practices Invisalign at her Notting Hill clinic alongside her cosmetic dentistry and aesthetic medicine .
You can also book a virtual consult with Dr Melanie Castelhano to do this from the comfort of your own home if you are unable to visit her London clinic in Notting Hill for a face-to-face consultation.
2. Invisalign suitability assessment
Malocclusion of the teeth is the technical term used by dentists to describe a misalignment problem that can lead to serious oral health complications. Patients often refer to those misalignment problems as crooked teeth, wonky teeth, crowded teeth, overbite, open bite, cross bite or large spaces and gaps between the teeth.
These deviations from ideal ‘occlusion’ can range from mild to severe cases. With any of the above malocclusions, the teeth are not able to perform vital functions, which can have serious consequences on both your oral and digestive health, not to mention they can also impact your confidence at work, in social settings or in your relationship.
Previously these issues could only be addressed by fixed braces or surgery. This is no longer the case with Invisalign as this new technology has revolutionised the world of cosmetic dentistry.
Invisalign aligners are the ideal solution for:
Correcting overbites
Realigning teeth that have shifted after wearing braces (relapse)
Closing gaps in your teeth
Aligning teeth prior to other dental restorations such as veneers, implants etc.
During your first Invisalign consultation at her Notting Hill clinic in London, Dr Melanie Castelhano will assess the suitability of Invisalign for your particular case. This will usually be done within the first five minutes of your Invisalign consultation.
As previously mentioned, you can also book a virtual consult with Dr Melanie Castelhano if you are unable to visit her Notting Hill clinic for a face-to-face consultation.
3. Get your impressions done in minutes
Before a treatment plan can be created for you, Dr Melanie Castelhano will need to take an impression of your teeth, which can only be done in person. So patients who have undergone a virtual consult will need to book an appointment at her London clinic in Notting Hill.
Making an accurate and detailed impression is the first and most important step in creating your custom aligners and should not be neglected.
By using the iTero scanner, a state of the art device which scans your mouth in minutes to create 3D images of your teeth during your first consultation.
4. Review your ClinCheck
Once your teeth have been scanned, Dr Castelhano will create a detailed treatment plan using ClinCheck®, Invisalign’s virtual 3D treatment plan simulation. ClinCheck is a 3D computer generated animation showing a series of movements your teeth are projected to go through over the course of your Invisalign treatment.
The Clincheck simulation is reviewed and approved by you and Dr Castelhano prior to starting treament.
By choosing this method, you know exactly what to expect before you start treatment. This is unique as very few teeth straightening methods are able to offer this type of 3D simulation in order for you to view your before and after prior to going ahead with treatment.
Once your ClinCheck has been approved, Dr Castelhano will discuss your Invisalign treatment plan with you. By planning your treatment like this, you’ll know how frequently you will need dental appointments at her Notting Hill clinic, what to expect during the treatment, and how long the treatment will take.
5. Speed of treatment
The speed of your Invisalign treatment depends on how far the teeth need to move in order to create your perfect smile and the type Invisalign braces recommended by Dr Castelhano.
Invisalign offers three types of treatments depending on how much and the complexity of the movement required:
Invisalign i7 is the cheapest solution available and prescribed primarily for non-complex and rapid cases which are usually limited to very minor crowding or spacing. The appliance is also often used to treat patients who previously had braces and have suffered minor relapse / movement and need slight corrective treatments to bring their teeth back to the desired position.
The treatment course uses 7 or fewer aligners, limiting the treatment course to 3-6 months.
Invisalign Lite is a lower priced solutions for less complex orthodontic cases, where malocclusion is limited to issues such as minor crowding or spacing. In some instances, Invisalign Lite is also used as a pre-cursor to restorative or cosmetic treatments to ensure teeth are in the desired position prior to placing things like veneers, crowns or implants.
The Invisalign Lite course of treatment is usually between 6-9 months and uses up to 14 sets of aligners with practitioners obtaining amazing results in a very short space of time.
The Invisalign full treatment will normally be used for more complex cases and will usually take between 12-18 months, although some extreme cases might take slightly longer.
6. Refinement stage
In any of the treatment courses a refinement stage may be required. This extra stage allows you to complete any small movements that were not achieved initially by the first sets of aligners, either due to lack of compliance by patient, difficult or stubborn tooth movement or other unpredictable factors.
A whole new set of records are obtained and sent off to Invisalign and a new round of aligners ordered that will be able to perfect the final movements required to achieve your desired position.
There may be an additional cost attributed to this extra stage but it is usually nominal and discussed with Dr Castelhano prior to going ahead.
7. Frequency of dental appointments
As part of your Invisalign treatment plan, Dr Castelhano will need to see you at her London Notting Hill clinic at specific time intervals in order to assess progress against your treatment plan. These check-ups are usually scheduled every 4 to 6 weeks, although in very specific circumstances, it is possible to have an 8-week period between visits (if you are going on holiday for example).
Invisalign review appointments will be an opportunity for you to discuss progress of your Invisalign treatment with Dr Castelhano and ask any question that may have arisen during the time which you wore your aligners and moved up in the series.
Dr Castelhano will dispense your new sets of aligners for the following 6 -8 weeks which you will be able to take home with you after your review.
During your invisalign review visit, Dr Castelhano will usually:
Check the fit of your existing aligners to assess compliance and progress
Evaluate the progress against existing ClinCheck treatment plan simulation
Add or remove attachments or buttons as per your treatment plan
File teeth (IPR) to create spacing between your teeth to allow tooth movement
These check-ups shouldn’t really take more that 15 to 20 minutes each time, unless a large number of attachments and buttons needs to be added.
8. Appearance: what to expect?
Unlike fixed metal or porcelain braces which are very visible and can be embarrassing for certain patients, Invisalign braces are clear and designed to be almost invisible. They are a perfect alternative for image conscious patients interested in straightening their teeth and will often go unnoticed by friends, relatives or work colleagues even after months of treatment.
Invisalign is therefore a far more suitable option for professionals, celebrities and anyone else interested in straightening their teeth in a way that is virtually unnoticeable to other people.
However, there are several reasons why people may be able to see your aligners. These are outlined below:
Whilst the clear plastic used to create Invisalign aligners is almost completely invisible, it can sometimes give your teeth a shiny aspect especially if in the sunlight.
Other parts of the Invisalign system are visible, such as attachments, buttons and elastics. These are used throughout the treatment and whilst Invisalign have designed buttons and attachments to be as invisible as possible, some people might notice them.
If the aligners have become stained, this will make it easier for people to see you are wearing braces.
One of the very important things to note is that most Invisalign patients will require attachments and sometimes buttons and elastics.
The reason for this is that clear braces alone are not enough to achieve more difficult tooth movements. This is the reason Dr Castelhano may recommend the use of Invisalign attachments. You’ll find out if you need to use attachments at the beginning of your treatment when your dentist shares your treatment plan and ClinCheck simulation with you.
In a nutshell, attachments are small tooth-coloured dots of dental bonding (usually matching the colour and shade of your teeth), in the shape of a small square, tear shaped or round button, applied to very specific locations on a patient’s teeth.
The purpose for these attachments is to provide an anchor point for the Invisalign aligner, one that helps to direct the forces of the aligner more effectively to the tooth and retain the aligner itself.
The number of attachments required will depend upon your personal treatment plan and severity of your case (in other words how much movement or rotation is required), but unlike other treatments, Invisalign uses attachments usually on only a few of your teeth.
Buttons are similar to attachments as they are made of tooth coloured composite bonding material and adhered to specific teeth. The elastics which are strung from hooked cut outs on the opposite aligner grip to the buttons in order to to apply force from one arch to the other and modify the bite by guiding the jaw.
By either bringing the lower jaw forward as in overjet correction or lower jaw backwards as in underbite correction, the elastics are clear and the buttons hardly visible. These buttons serve as the anchor points for the clear elastic rubber bands and the patient will be given sufficient elastics to change periodically throughout the day or as advised by Dr Castelhano.
Dr Castelhano will usually try to position any buttons close to the tooth’s gum line which usually keeps the visibility of those buttons to a minimum. Some patients can be self conscious about the elastics that run from the buttons to the hook cut out in the aligners or even from button to button when trying to rotate a stubborn tooth but in most cases they are able to cope well with buttons and elastics.
Remember that you might only need buttons and elastics for a few weeks until one tooth has reached the desired position or the bite has modified sufficiently. Brackets and wires plus elastics on fixed conventional braces on the other hand will be visible throughout the duration of your treatment and can be much harder to cope with.
9. Book your virtual Invisalign consult now
As a Diamond Invisalign provider and cosmetic dentist Dr Castelhano has treated thousands of patients in Notting Hill and London, and given them the smile they always wanted.
To discuss your personal requirements and assess if Invisalign clear braces could be right for you, book your 15-min free of charge virtual consultation with Dr Melanie Castelhano today!
What are you waiting for? Go wireless. Go Invisalign by Dr MCas.
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