These days we have the benefit of numerous options for correcting crooked teeth. The only problem is deciding which one is the best one to give us the results we desire. Porcelain veneers and Invisalign are both good options for straightening your teeth, and understanding the benefits of each will help you make your decision.
How Porcelain Veneers Straighten Teeth
Porcelain veneers are different from other tooth straightening options. Unlike other forms of orthodontics, you don’t actually move your teeth, you reshape them. Some tooth material is removed and replaced with advanced ceramic material. In place of your gapped, crowded, or crooked teeth, you are given a straight, even line of teeth.
How How Invisalign Straightens Teeth
Invisalign is an orthodontic treatment that moves your teeth with clear plastic aligners, rather than traditional metal wires. You wear one aligner for two weeks, which moves your teeth a little bit, then move to the next one, which moves them a little more, and so on, until your teeth reach their desired location.
How Advantages of Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain veneers are sometimes described as “Instant Orthodontics” because they can give you your results quicker than any orthodontic option. In less than a month, you can have your new smile (compared to a year or more expected treatment with Invisalign and traditional braces).
Porcelain veneers also don’t just make your teeth straight, they can correct many other problems at the same time. If you have a small tooth, such as a peg lateral, it can be corrected with porcelain veneers when you have your smile straightened. Discolored teeth can also be whitened, and porcelain veneers can whiten teeth that don’t respond to tooth whitening.
Porcelain veneers are also good at correcting some problems that Invisalign has difficulty with, such as rotated teeth.
For many people, though, the best thing about straightening your smile with porcelain veneers is that you don’t have to wear a retainer. Because your tooth roots aren’t moved, there’s no tendency for them to try to move back.
How Advantages of Invisalign
The best advantage of Invisalign is that it preserves your natural tooth material, which is always good. This can be especially important if you have an imbalanced bite that may put excessive force on your front teeth and cause premature failure of porcelain veneers. If your front teeth aren’t just crooked, they’re also worn, cracked, and chipped, porcelain veneers might not be the best option for you.
How You Don’t Always Have to Choose
For some people, this decision isn’t an either/or proposition. Instead, you may benefit from a combination of these procedures. You might, for example, have Invisalign to straighten your smile, then have a small tooth veneered.
The best way to decide which of these treatments is right for you is to talk to one of our cosmetic dentists about your smile goals and treatment desires.
To schedule an appointment at our location in the Hilton Head, SC area, please call Beyond Exceptional Dentistry at (843) 706-2999 today.
