Tag Archives: losing teeth

Invisalign

Does smile direct work?

I keep seeing advertisements on Facebook for smile direct club. They’re offering a free start on their program and it’s much less expensive than Invisalign. Does it really work?

Sadie

Dear Sadie,

  • Image top: A woman putting on her Invisalign aligners. Image bottom: a woman smiling with Invisalign on her teeth

The Smile Direct Club is an company which has been in business since about 2013. They’ll mail you your aligners which you’ll wear for three weeks. With Invisalign, you switch the aligners every two weeks.

Their biggest benefit is the money savings. It does cost less than working through a dentist with Invisalign. It appears to work out fine for many patients. But (you knew there would be a but), there are risks.

Dangers with Smile Direct

  • Gum Disease

While you submit a photo and a dentist reviews it, only certain cases of gum disease are able to be diagnosed this way. Dentists will also do x-rays and probe the tissue.

If you do this treatment and have gum disease it will quickly get worse. As it progresses, your teeth can become loose. Combine that with shifting of tooth movements for your orthodontic treatment and you could end up losing teeth.

  • Complications

While for most patients things will go fine, there are exceptions. Sometimes a tooth his supposed to rotate which doesn’t. This affects the entire treatment process.

Another, more common issue, is when there’s crowding. When that is an issue, some of the sides of the teeth have to be shaved down to make room for the correct alignment.

This is something you’ll have to do at a dental office. However, removing the right amount of enamel is tricky. You’d really want a dentist who’s invested in the case to do the work on it. Without that, It might not go as well as you’d like.

So, could it work? Possibly. In many cases it does. The thing to be aware of is what to do if something doesn’t. At the very least, I’d recommend you get a good check up with a dentist ahead of time and make sure you don’t have any signs of gum disease before proceeding.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette Dentist Dr. Mike Malone.

Invisalign

Did the Oral Surgeon Lie to Me?

When I turned 18 my wisdom teeth began to bother me. We checked them and my dentist said, they don’t have to be removed, but if I wanted to remove them she’d give me a referral to an oral surgeon. We decided to just see what he had to say. He told me I really needed to removed them, otherwise, I’d need braces from crowding. If I had them removed, I’d not have to face that. I’m almost 40 now and suddenly my teeth are crowding. Did he lie to me or is something else going on? What can fix them at this point? I’m a little old for a mouth full of metal. Heck, I didn’t want that when I was young.

Tabitha L.

Dear Tabitha,

A woman placing in her Invisalign aligners

I don’t think the oral surgeon intentionally lied to you, though, admittedly I don’t know who he is or anything about his practice habits. He was, as we’re giving him the benefit of the doubt, overly generous of the benefits of removing your wisdom teeth. While it did prevent your wisdom teeth from causing crowding, it can’t stop other causes of crowding.

Reasons Teeth Can Crowd

There are numerous reasons for crowding aside from wisdom teeth which don’t fit. Here are just a few which could pertain to your situation:

  • Grinding

Most people who grind their teeth don’t even realize they’re doing it. Generally, it’s the dentist who first recognizes the signs of teeth wearing down due to the grinding. Believe it or not, that back and forth pressure can shift your teeth. A simple mouthguard can protect your teeth in these situations.

  • Sucking

I’m assuming you’re well past the pacifier and thumb sucking stage, but even some adults have an oral fixation. You see it when they always seem to need something in their mouth, pens and other things.

  • Losing a Tooth

If you lose a tooth and don’t get it replaced, your teeth will shift to close in the gap. This shifting can cause problems for the remaining teeth. At the very least, things will start to look off. This is one of the reasons it’s quite important to replace a missing tooth with something like dental implants.

  • Shoddy Dental Work

There are unskilled dentists out there. Poorly shaped crowns, bridges, and other work may change the bite or begin to push teeth out of alignment. Often the patient ends up with a serious case of TMJ Disorder.

  • Tooth Trauma

When there is an injury to your teeth it can affect them in a variety of ways, including shifting.

  • Tumors

Don’t panic about this if you get regular checkups with x-rays. Your dentist would have noticed this. But, if you have sudden huge changes in your bite, it’s worth getting another x-ray. It’s rare, but tumors can significantly change your jaw, teeth, and bite.

Repairing a Bite without Braces

There is a simple solution in your case. If it’s just a matter of your teeth shifting and crowding Invisalign is a perfect solution. This uses clear aligners to straighten your teeth. No one will know you’re wearing them, even at a conversational distance.

Talk to your dentist. Let he or she know what’s going on. They’ll help you get the smile you’ve always loved back.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Mike Malone.