I often get patients asking me this question. And my answer might be something like: 'Well, you’ve managed 30 years of adult life without it, so it really depends on what you mean by "need"'.

Are you going to die without it because you can no longer eat?

Of course not.

Will it reduce the risk of gum disease and tooth decay?

It might do yes, often it can make it easier to clean certain heavily crowded areas.

Will it stop me from wearing away my teeth?

Yes it might. If the contact between your teeth is more even, it spreads the load from the thousands of times our teeth contact each day with significant force. This can reduce damage to specific teeth. You will also be wearing nighttime retainers for life afterwards, and that will certainly protect them from wear.

Will it help my clicky/painful jaw?

Maybe. Often, the cause of a clicky or painful jaw (or TMD, as it’s technically known) is the way our teeth meet. The bite can force the jaw joint (TMJ) into a position it doesn’t like, causing tension. Please note, there are other causes of TMD; it is a complex condition beyond the scope of this blog post. However, if we can make the teeth meet in a way that reduces strain on the TMJ, then it can certainly help and sometimes even resolve the issue.

Will it make me more confident about my smile?

Now we're talking! On this point, I’m confident to say YES! Well, as long as your teeth are not already in a perfect position, are healthy, and are mostly your own. If you are self-conscious when you smile or have photos taken because of the position of your teeth, then Invisalign is likely to be a great option. It is fantastic at correcting crooked teeth, gappy teeth, narrow smiles and much more.

Will it make me look like a movie star?

Well, maybe. If an absolutely perfect smile is what you’re after – i.e., straight, well-proportioned, balanced and white – then it depends on your starting point.

If your teeth are shaped perfectly and are just a little crowded or gappy, then Invisalign and whitening might be all that’s required. However, if they are not the perfect shape, then you’re gonna want more: whitening, composite bonding (on the tips or as full-face composite veneers) or porcelain veneers.

This often leads to the next question I hear from patients: "I don’t want veneers, they look so fake and you have to drill my teeth down to little pegs, don’t you?" Well no, not necessarily. I do not like drilling healthy teeth down to little stumps and, frankly, I don’t do it. If that is what a patient wants, I will explain why I think it’s a bad idea. If, after explaining all that, they still want me to drill down healthy teeth, I will generally recommend they go elsewhere.

However, that doesn’t mean I don’t do veneers. I love them when they are done well. I do lots of them because they are long-lasting and look fantastic. Nowadays, we can provide porcelain veneers with minimal drilling of the teeth, and sometimes even no drilling at all.

So, what have veneers got to do with Invisalign?

Well, quite a lot. If your teeth are crowded, it means that if we want to place veneers on them, we can’t make them look amazing without hacking away a load of healthy tooth structure. However, if we pre-align them using Invisalign, knowing we are going to place veneers afterwards, we can position the teeth perfectly so that we only need to do minimal drilling.

Doesn’t that take ages?

When I first qualified, prealigning teeth would have meant sending a patient to a specialist orthodontist for wire braces for at least a year, and it was pretty hard to convince them to do that! Invisalign has changed all that. Wearing aligners is discreet, and now it's pretty quick too. Combine that with the progress made in digital planning tools and in the strength and aesthetics of modern porcelains, and we’ve really come a long way. Prealigning will mean things take a little longer, but the payoff is well worth it in my opinion.

So, to summarise, do you NEED Invisalign? Well, maybe we should avoid the word 'need'. I always like to look at ALL the benefits and weigh them up against the risks and costs (both financial and the impact on your life). Only when we both fully understand these, and the equation stacks up, is it time to go ahead.

I have over 15 years and nearly a thousand cases worth of experience in Invisalign and will soon be offering Invisalign in Kingston-upon-Thames at our new surgery Harmoni Dental. We will be offering some incredible Practice Opening deals, so do get in touch to find out more and book your consultation.