Local Orthodontic Elgin, IL Dental Care for Orthodontists

Learn More About Invisalign Treatment

What Are Invisalign Braces?

• Invisalign braces are the invisible way to straighten your teeth without metal braces.
• These braces use a series of clear removable aligners to straighten your teeth without metal wires or brackets like traditional dental braces.
• Invisalign invisible braces have been proven effective in clinical research and in orthodontics practices nationwide. In fact, over 70% of all U.S. orthodontists are certified to treat patients with Invisalign clear braces.

How Do Invisalign Braces Work?

• You wear each set of aligners for about 2 weeks, removing them only to eat, drink, brush, and floss.
• As you replace each Invisalign aligner with the next in the series, your teeth will move - little by little, week by week - until they have straightened to the final position your orthodontist has prescribed.
• You'll visit your orthodontist about once every 6 weeks to ensure that your Invisalign braces treatment is progressing as planned.
• Total treatment time averages 9-15 months and the average number of Invisalign aligners worn during treatment is between 18 and 30, but both will vary from case to case.

How Are Invisalign Aligners Made? You'd Be Amazed…

The Invisalign aligners are made through a combination of your orthodontist's expertise and 3-D computer imaging technology.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

Orthodontic Braces: Preventing Playground Teasing

Sticks and Stones and The Halo Effect

Beauty is good. Beauty is character. Beauty is competence. That's the "halo effect." And the halo effect is alive and well and living on playgrounds everywhere.

What's the effect of the halo effect?

Not so good, if you're one of the unfortunates without a halo. Especially if you're a child called Beaver or Dopey or Goofy.

Not so long ago, a study of British schoolchildren revealed that the appearance of teeth was the fourth most common target for teasing. Children suffered under nicknames like Bugs Bunny, Fang and Dracula. Furthermore, children who were teased were twice as likely to be harassed, subject to verbal or physical intimidation, lying or other abuses, than children who were not teased.

Although height, weight and hair were also factors in teasing, ridicule about their teeth caused children the greatest amount of unhappiness.

Researchers were concerned that exposure to the sustained taunts and insults of peers would predispose some children to a lowered self-confidence and self-image.

The Solution? Orthodontics — The Sooner The Better

Thousands of children need early care — some as young as three years old. Early diagnosis and monitoring allows us to take full advantage of a time when your child's bone and facial structure are easier to shape.

If you think the odds of a young child having orthodontic problems are remote, consider these facts: Two out of three people have orthodontic problems, which should be treated. A fourth of the problems are severe, says the American Association of Orthodontists. Orthodontic defects aren't limited to protruding teeth or underbites.

Often the problems relate to the overall structure of the mouth and face. Frequently they don't show up in a smile at all.

That's why an orthodontic checkup and braces, if necessary, should be a part of every child's health care program.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.