Having a crooked or gapped smile is one of the most common complaints people have about the appearance of their smile.
At Massa Dental Center, we have been helping people correct their smile’s appearance for more than 25 years. Over the years, we have seen many teeth-straightening approaches appear, and we’ve even seen some go because they didn’t deliver as promised. It’s important to understand that every recommendation we make to a patient for fixing their crooked or gapped smile is customized to that patient’s needs. You can only know the best approach for your smile by scheduling a consultation. However, here are some situations in which we might recommend one approach or another.
The Top Approach to Fix Your Smile Quickly
Most orthodontic approaches take time. That’s because your body has to reshape the bone around your teeth to let your teeth move. Your bones can change under pressure, but they don’t change quickly. Your body must remove bone in some places and rebuild it in others, limiting the speed of orthodontics.
So, how can you fix your crooked or gapped smile quickly? You can choose “instant orthodontics.” Instant orthodontics isn’t an orthodontic approach; it’s one way we describe using dental restorations—such as bonding, veneers, and crowns—to reshape your teeth and help them look straight.
The most common application is correcting the appearance of a diastema—a gap—between the two front teeth, known as your central incisors. Instead of taking months to move teeth together to close the gap slowly, instant orthodontics reshapes the incisors, making them just a little wider so that they fill the gap.
Just how “instant” is this procedure? We can complete dental bonding in one visit in less than an hour. Dental bonding has the advantage of being very quick and inexpensive but not very durable. If you want a longer-lasting solution, we recommend dental veneers. These thin facades of advanced ceramic can fit onto the front of your teeth. These look a little more natural than bonding and are much more durable. Plus, thanks to our CEREC machine, we can complete treatment with two veneers in just one visit. However, if you need more than two veneers, we’ll want to send your impressions to a lab where they will make your veneers. This takes a couple of weeks. So, for most people, instant orthodontics takes a month or less to straighten teeth and close gaps.
The Most Convenient Orthodontic Approach
Porcelain veneers can be a very convenient way to straighten teeth, but they’re not right for everyone. However, even if you need a true orthodontic approach to achieve your smile goals, there is another option designed to be as convenient as possible: Candid Pro aligners.
Candid Pro moves your teeth using clear plastic aligners, similar to Invisalign. However, Candid Pro uses technology to further minimize the need for checkups during treatment. With traditional orthodontics, you must visit a dentist whenever your braces are tightened or adjusted. With Invisalign, you only need to see the dentist every few aligners to ensure your treatment progresses as planned. With Candid Pro, you might only need to visit our office for the initial consultation. After that, you only come in if there’s a problem. This is possible thanks to CandidMonitoring. Every 14 days, you’ll use your phone to take a picture of your teeth and send it to us. If you’re on track with your treatment, we’ll clear you up so you can move on to the next aligner. If there’s a problem, we’ll schedule a visit to look at your teeth in person.
Candid Pro is an excellent choice for mild to moderate crowding and gaps between teeth.
The Approach That’s Right for Most People
Although veneers and Candid Pro are great options for some people, Invisalign is the best approach to straightening teeth and closing gaps in your smile for most people. That’s because Invisalign is a proven orthodontic approach with outstanding technology that keeps improving constantly.
Invisalign pioneered the plastic aligner approach to orthodontics. Initially, the treatment was very limited, but the company took all the data from previous treatments and used it to improve the procedure. In addition, the company has pioneered material science to improve the properties of its aligner material so that it can move your teeth with more force and achieve results even faster. Although many people might still need to wear aligners for two weeks, if your teeth are moving easily, we might clear you to wear each aligner for only one week before moving to the next one, cutting treatment time almost in half.
In addition to gaps and crooked teeth, Invisalign can correct:
- Overbite
- Underbite
- Crowded teeth
Although it’s still not the best choice for all orthodontic treatments, it’s improved to the point that most people are good Invisalign candidates.
The Best Approach If You Snore or Have Sleep Apnea
The orthodontic approaches we’ve discussed so far mostly focus on cosmetic problems with your smile: crooked teeth and gaps between teeth. However, one treatment option has the potential to cure snoring or sleep apnea while straightening your teeth: Vivos.
Vivos is an orthodontic approach that doesn’t just focus on moving your teeth; it’s also trying to expand your jaw. This not only makes more space for your teeth, but it can also improve the size of your airway.
From your nostrils to your throat, the size and shape of your airway are partly controlled by the size and shape of your upper jaw (maxilla) and lower jaw (mandible). If your jaw doesn’t fully develop, your airway may be constricted. A narrow airway can create turbulent airflow when you breathe. This turbulence vibrates your tissues, which causes the sound of snoring. Narrow airways are also more prone to collapse, which cuts off your access to air, which is what we call obstructive sleep apnea.
Vivos corrects this situation by encouraging the growth of your upper and/or lower jaw, which can expand your airway while straightening your teeth.
Find the Best Way to Fix Your Smile in Naples, FL
If you’re unhappy with your smile because it’s crooked or has gaps between your teeth, there are plenty of options to get a smile you’ll love. Find out which is right for you by talking to one of our expert dentists.
Please call Massa Dental Center in Naples, FL at (239) 597-7333 .
