If you're about to get Invisalign braces, you may have heard someone mention "teeth shaving." It sounds strange, and maybe even a little worrisome. However, Dr. Olson, a family orthodontist in Verrado will tell you that teeth shaving doesn't hurt and may even help during your Invisalign treatments. Visit Olson Orthodontics for Invisalign in Verrado today.
Teeth Shaving Required Only under Special Circumstances
Invisalign braces work great, but the teeth have to be able to move into position. If there's overcrowding, teeth shaving can make the spaces between the teeth wider and the teeth narrower. Then the braces can more easily shift teeth into position.
Invisalign braces have to push teeth past each other too. In order to avoid fracturing any teeth during this process, shaving them down decreases stress on certain surface areas, particularly the sides of teeth and the biting edges. The last thing you want is to chip or fracture a tooth and then have to stop using the braces until the tooth is repaired. If the fracture is especially bad, a crown may be needed and then Invisalign braces may not be an option anymore.
Shaving to Reshape for Aesthetics
If you don't need to shave teeth to make the Invisalign liners work better, you may still need to shave to make your aligned teeth look nicer later. The family orthodontist from Verrado would wait until all your teeth are aligned. Then the orthodontist would shave teeth to give you a very uniform smile.
When the bite edges of your teeth are shaved at this point of treatment, everything is straight across or looks like it. Additionally, the retainers you would need to wear would fit better because the biting edges are lined up and no edge is slightly longer or slightly bumpier than the other.
Shaving Teeth That Are Already Slightly Damaged
Most of the time a dentist or orthodontist will shave teeth because they are already slightly damaged. Small cracks on the sides, tiny chips, etc., can make it harder to correct teeth with Invisalign Verrado orthodontists confirm. Then the shaving might be for the purpose of protecting teeth as they are slowly moved into position. No further damage could occur if the pre-existing damage were already removed by shaving. The dentist may decide to use a bonding agent to protect the rest of the shaved tooth during the orthodontic phase.
If you want to know more about teeth shaving, contact Dr. Olson at Olson Orthodontics in Verrado.