Have you been thinking about getting a dental treatment? Here at Neel Dentistry we have many dental treatments available, and after an initial consultation we will be able to discuss your options with you and see what would work best.

Yes, computer-aided orthodontics is here and so is your Invisalign dentist near me! Read on to find out more about it and the tech we use at Neel Dentistry. Not many treatments in the clinic show off the full range of how integrated technology has become with clear aligners and, for our local community, we are proud to be their Invisalign dentist near me!

Invisible aligners may seem like a pretty simple plastic retainer, fitting over the teeth and gently pushing them into a new position. However, an awful lot of engineering goes into that supercritical shape and how it affects the teeth.

Using photo geometry intraoral scanning, a very high-quality digital camera and a lighting probe, we can quickly and comfortably make a 3D model of the inside of the mouth that is accurate down to a few micrometres. This data is then sent to servers, running software that will design the mock-up, in real-time, of how your teeth could be modified using aligners. We then show this to you, explaining how the treatment schedule will affect your teeth.

The really clever bit behind designing aligners is all to do with a high fidelity 3D model of the mouth. This anatomically correct simulation is calibrated using your scan and, in the blink of an eye, the amount of force required to move the teeth into a well-aligned configuration is calculated. These calculations are described as a force vector map. Next, the software has to produce a set of aligners that can generate the forces required at each stage of the treatment.

These 3D models are then sent on to manufacturing where they are printed from UV-cured resin, similar to the type we use in the clinic to attach veneers. 3D printer manufacturing allows extremely unique products to be created with minimal human intervention, allowing aligners to be economically viable in the first place.

The result is an aligner sequence; each one is individually designed not only for the patient but for that particular stage in the treatment as well. This is why it is so critical to use the aligners in their designed sequence, neither skipping nor wearing any aligner for too long as this will pull your treatment out of its pattern and results will vary compared to the simulated prediction. This is where the value of supervision by an Invisalign dentist near me comes in. By having regular check-ups together during the procedure, our team ensures that your progression is continuing as expected and helps you along.

This makes aligners excellent at what they do but highly personalised and only useful at a particular moment for a particular person. The advantage is they can be lighter and more comfortable. With smaller increments between adjustments every 2 weeks, each step in the treatment is smaller and more tolerable making it far more comfortable overall.