Invisalign Vs Braces – Cost and Effectiveness

You can get that perfect smile you seek using a regular brace or an Invisalign brace, but not, however, at the same level of comfort, duration or cost. We present you with a comparison of Invisalign versus regular braces, so you can make your own evaluation.

Comfort And Convenience
Regular Braces: These come with their own burden of pain, mouth sores, brace-wire caused injuries, acute discomfort and even tooth decay owing to inaccurate brushing and flossing techniques.  There’s also possibility of tooth discoloration, breakage of tooth and bracket, plaque buildup, difficulty in chewing and swallowing food.

Several dietary sacrifices are required, such as avoiding items that might stick to or get under the braces. Some of these food items are chips, bagels, popcorn, hard-crusted bread, pretzel, candies, nuts and several fruits and vegetables. Plus, it’s not possible to brush and floss under the braces, which can give rise to oral hygiene issues, causing societal discomfort and ostracism.

Clear Invisalign Braces: No dietary sacrifices are required. One can take off the braces when one wants, and put them on again. There’s no pain involved. Brushing and flossing are easy, since the wearer can take them off during oral hygiene routines. The flipside is that the bracket adhesive could get stained from coffee and other dark drinks, plus cigarettes.

Aesthetics
Regular Braces: Regular braces can be really ugly and a deal-breaker when it comes to dating; getting a job that requires visibility and so on. For people who need to speak a lot at their jobs, regular braces can present severe limitations.

Invisalign Braces: These clear orthodontic aligners are removable. So you can take them when you have an important presentation or a date to go to.

Technicalities
Regular Braces: Regular Braces can correct both vertically misaligned teeth and also rotated, crooked teeth over time. Regular visits to the dentist are required to tighten the braces as alignment proceeds, sometimes even every week. Regular braces must be worn for the entire duration prescribed, which might be several years. They cannot be taken off and replaced by the wearer when required. Wearers have to retain the metal and wire contraption for years, to get their crooked teeth fixed.

Invisalign Braces: These braces are better suited for horizontally misaligned teeth. They don’t do a good job of aligning teeth that are of different heights, or teeth that are badly rotated or teeth that are severely overcrowded. Only periodic visits to the dentist are required, once in 6 weeks or so. Since these aligners shift into place as the teeth adjust, there’s no need to wear the same ones for long. Even very crooked teeth can be aligned and set right within a year and half.

Cost
The cost comparison is based on recent surveys by the Journal of Clinical Orthodontics, USA.

Regular Braces: The average cost of a set of adult regular braces is USD 4,800, for a year’s treatment.

Invisalign Braces: These can cost about $500 more than traditional braces, for a year’s treatment.