Are you looking for the very best dentist in Sherwood Park who offers a range of services from dental checkups to cosmetic procedures? Are you looking for a Sherwood Park Dentist who offers an alternative to dental braces? How about a dentist open evenings in Sherwood Park? If your family is looking for a full-service family dentist in Sherwood Park, look no further than Sherwood Park Dental.
If you are a resident of Sherwood Park, a quick internet browser search with the search terms “dentist near me” should identify our location. Or try searching “best dentist near me” on google to see results and patient reviews.
Searching During an Emergency
If you should ever require an emergency dentist, use search terms like “dentist open weekends in Sherwood Park” or “Emergency Dentist Sherwood Park” to find a dentist quickly. If your family dentist is unavailable at the time of your emergency, you should proceed with booking another emergency clinic right away and follow-up with your regular dentist once your urgent need for care de-escalates.
Do I Need to See an Orthodontist for Braces or Invisalign®?
Gone are the days when an orthodontist was the only practitioner who could safely install and oversee traditional braces. Now, many general practitioners offer traditional braces as well as Invisalign® to clients for whom alignment issues are not overly complex. Similarly, Invisalign® therapy is only available to patients with mild-to-moderate alignment challenges. Although elastics can be added to Invisalign® by bonding ‘buttons’ onto the teeth, severe cases require the heavy-lifting capacity of traditional metal dental braces.
Invisalign® and Braces – What’s the Difference?
Both braces and Invisalign® aligners use the same strategy to help teeth drift into position – pressure. Both of these systems are designed to place a controlled amount of pressure on each tooth to encourage it to drift away in the direction of the pressure and into its ideal alignment. This is made possible by our teeth, bones and gums being able to respond to this pressure by eroding bone on one side of the tooth’s socket while rebuilding it in its wake.
The Looks
The biggest difference between Invisalign® aligners and metal dental braces are the way that they look. While metal braces are in full view while speaking, Invisalign® aligners are practically invisible! These clear aligners are thin forms that are customized to fit your teeth snugly. That means that whether you are being see head-on or from the side, your appearance will be as natural as possible.
For instances like photo shoots or special occasions, like weddings, Invisalign® can be removed and reinserted. This gives it an advantage over metal braces which cannot be removed throughout the course of treatment.
With proper care, aligners will maintain this very snug fit and will place slight pressure in strategic places. As you progress in your program, you will change into new aligners every 3-4 weeks (or per your dentist’s instructions). New aligners will reflect the changes your previous set achieved and will further the strategic pressure to move your teeth into just the right position.
The Lifestyle
Your life with braces will look very different day-to-day depending upon the treatment you use. With braces, your dentist in Sherwood Park will advise you to stay away from foods that can easily get caught in your teeth or break away your brackets. This includes gummy candies, candies, chips, popcorn and taffy. Crunchy foods like apples will also need to be avoided unless cut into bite-sized pieces, since biting into it with the front teeth may dislodge your brackets.
Your life with aligners is considerably more flexible, but it does require that you keep to a strict routine. You will be required to wear your aligners for a minimum of 22 hours a day and should only remove them for eating. Any time you are having a snack or a meal, your aligners will need to be stowed in their carrying case until you have an opportunity to clean your teeth well. Skipping this step before reinserting your aligners can lead to gingivitis and decay. The benefit, however, is that you can eat whatever food you choose when you sit down for snacks and meals. Only cool water is safe for drinking with aligners in as hot water may compromise the appliance’s fit.
Getting Started
At our dental clinic in Sherwood Park, we see patients regularly who show interest in getting started with braces or Invisalign®. Once we confirm that you are a good candidate for Invisalign®, we talk about the process and take a digital 3D scan of the teeth which is what the laboratory requires to make your Invisalign® aligners.
If you’re looking to get started with Invisalign® in Sherwood Park, contact Sherwood Park Dental today to book a consultation.