When you choose Invisalign aligners, you’re getting the gold standard of clear aligner systems, with more than 900 patents behind it, 20 years of research, and data from 6 million other smiles available to help ensure you get the smile you want.
But because of the success of Invisalign aligners, some other companies now create and send their own clear aligners through the mail. This appeals to some patients because clear aligners do not use metal brackets or wires to straighten teeth and are not attached to your teeth. Additionally, some patients want to avoid going to a dentist—and they want lower prices.
But there are serious risks in mail-order orthodontics. Would you expect to take accurate impressions of your own teeth at home? Do you think you’ll get the best results of orthodontics with no professional supervision? Are you sure you’ll reach your smile goals all alone?
Invisalign Aligners vs. Mail-Order Aligners
If you’re curious about this issue, think about this: With Invisalign clear aligners, you’ll be working with a local, caring doctor who is responsible for your health and safety. Dr. Hollinger is committed to the people in our area of Connecticut—and to remote patients across the country who join our extended community.
But mail-order companies don’t guarantee that you will ever see a real dentist, even for this highly involved dental procedure. You might never get an experienced professional to look at your teeth and give you feedback, let alone a professional who knows you and your teeth personally.
When you come to Central Connecticut Orofacial Pain & Sleep Medicine, Dr. Hollinger will:
- Give you a free consultation to discuss your medical history and dental goals.
- Check over your teeth and general oral health.
- See if your gums need additional cleaning to improve your health and safety.
- Take x-rays of your jawbones and teeth with state-of-the-art scanners.
- Survey your past dental and orthodontic work and incorporate it into your Invisalign plan.
- Examine the way your bite moves and plan how to correct it, if it needs it.
- Create 3D models of your teeth, which we transfer to Invisalign labs for 3D printing.
While offering these and other services, we also strive to understand you personally, get to know your goals for your smile, and keep you comfortable and safe. We look for opportunities to reduce any pain in your jaw joints, face, and head. We plan how to prevent your teeth from being worn out prematurely and more!
Mail-order customers get none of these advantages. They may be told that a dentist in some distant location will check over their case, but they never meet with that dentist.
Serious Challenges With Home Dental Impressions
A major step with mail-order aligners is to get impressions of your teeth. But here’s what those companies don’t tell you: Practicing dentists who have worked for many years work hard to get perfect impressions of teeth. They might take several tries to get it right—and that’s in their own controlled office.
Teeth are complicated and unique. No one else in the world has a set just like yours. And for aligners to fit just right and move your teeth in the best way, those impressions have to be accurate. Very accurate. Another serious problem is that if the impressions are inaccurate, the average person won’t be able to tell. They’ll simply send in their first attempt.
If your teeth impressions were to be flawed from the very beginning, would you expect your results to be good? There would be a serious risk of a poor outcome. It would be like trying to build a house when the land survey was performed badly.
At Central Connecticut Orofacial Pain & Sleep Medicine, we have seen hundreds of patients with a variety of orthodontic challenges. Dr. Hollinger uses that experience to plan complex tooth movements for each one. We can:
- Rotate individual teeth.
- Realign a bite so the teeth come together in a healthy way.
- Move a row of teeth to come out straight and even.
- And much more.
Get a Straight Smile With Dr. Hollinger
We don’t roll the dice here with dental impressions. We use cutting-edge equipment to make absolutely sure they’re done right. We don’t just guess at the structure of your teeth and jaw. We take 3D x-rays.
This all means you’ll get the result you want: a beautiful smile you’ll be proud to show off. Call us to schedule your free Invisalign consultation now.