The difference between conventional braces and Invisalign is quite evident. For both treatments, the patient has to go through a procedure where the dental practitioner requires doing a consultation of the current teeth. However, it is very common for patients that go forth for metal braces to have their teeth taken out in order for the treatment to take place; this can be due to overcrowded teeth or etc. Generally 2 teeth’s are taken or possibly 4, but this depends on the severity of the teeth condition. Moreover, the dental practitioner has to make an appointment with a dental surgeon for the teeth removal, and this is causes a huge delay for the treatment. Furthermore, the dental surgeon will of course will do as much as he/she can do to ease the pain, such as numbing the gums so that the pain for removal cannot be felt. Nonetheless, the numb wears off and the pain tends to arise later, and this causes a lot of distress and discomfort.

But with Invisalign, the patient has to simply go for a consultation and the practitioner will devise a treatment plan by taking bite impressions of the teeth and will send them to Invisalign with precise instructions. Invisalign will then do all the hard work and calculate which teeth needs to be moved and then produce clear removable aligners in order to straighten the teeth, without having to endure any agony or pain of teeth removal.

By looking at traditional braces in Fig. 1 below, it clear that the metal brackets and wires are highly visibly. Some adults feel embarrassed of having braces and tend to feel insecure; this also applies to teens that are considered photogenic, who like to take a lot of pictures but feel unconfident due to the metal visible braces. With Invisalign clear invisible aligners, the problem of feeling insecure is eliminated and enables the patients to continue to smile with confidence, a great advantage for those photogenic teens. The aligners are far more difficult to detect than traditional metal wire and bracket braces.


Fig. 1

Also the aligners are known for as being more comfortable than conventional metal braces. Unlike metal dental braces, Invisalign patients have the flexibility to remove aligners to eat and drink, and also allowing them to brush and floss to have fresher breath and better oral hygiene which makes life a whole lot easier. On the other hand, patients with metal braces have to brush over their metal wires and brackets and sometimes have to go through the agony of removing and applying their elastic bands in order brush their teeth easily, and yet it still becomes problematic to brush as small areas and edges are quite difficult to reach.

Additionally, with metal braces irritation to the mouth or gums can be caused, leading to painful mouth ulcers. Additionally, metal wires and brackets have the tendency to trap food and build a lot plaque. But with Invisalign these matters do not occur, in fact research shows that aligners have a tendency to improve gum disease, plaque decay and tooth decay. Having a better oral health is important and with Invisalign, it provides you the flexibility to maintain a good oral hygiene.

Invisalign provides a series of clear removable aligners which do not require any adjusting. They come pre-prepared and designed specifically just for the patient – so when the patient desires to apply new pressure on to the teeth, all the patient has to simply do is upgrade into the next aligner in the personalised set. Additionally, visits to the Invisalign specialist is kept in order to examine the progress of the treatment and to collect new sets of aligners, so the time spent with the Invisalign specialist is very small. Whereas, traditional braces requires visits to their practitioner in order to tighten the braces and do any adjusting, making the time spent with practitioner quite long.

The price and treatment length variation really depends on the condition of the teeth before the treatment. However, in most cases Invisalign is considered to be cheaper than metal braces, however the quote given also depends on the Invisalign trained practitioner, this also applies to metal braces. So the less complex the treatment is the sooner the treatment will complete and the cheaper it will cost.

Lastly, Invisalign has a certain technology called ClinCheck© treatment plan which allows the patient and practitioner to see a visual representation of the final result. Demonstrating the series of movements that the teeth will go through as the treatment progresses, from the current teeth position to the final desired position; showing the expected results of how the teeth will look like at the end. However, metal braces lack from this certain technology and the patient has to build a trust for the practitioner that the teeth will come out perfect, and in obvious cases the results are fabulous.