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With Invisalign becoming more and more popular, you may be wondering what to expect if you were to get Invisalign treatment. There are many common questions we get asked on a day to day basis at Kennell Orthodontics. Thankfully, Dr. Kennell and his team are here to put your mind at ease!

First of all, lets start with, How does Invisalign treatment work?

Using 3-D computer imaging technology, Invisalign creates a series of custom-made, clear aligners exclusively for your teeth, based on the treatment plan that we specify for you. Each aligner moves teeth incrementally and is worn for two weeks, then, is switched out for the next aligner in the series until the final position is achieved.

Will I experience pain during treatment?
Most people experience temporary discomfort for a few days after a new aligner is placed. This feeling of pressure is normal and is a sign that Invisalign is working by sequentially moving your teeth to their final destination.

Can other people see that I'm in treatment?
One of the benefits of Invisalign is that the aligners are clear. Most of our patients need to have little bumps placed on their teeth called attachments to help guide the teeth into the aligner, but luckily these attachments are tooth colored and are also not very noticeable.

Are there any foods I shouldn’t eat while in treatment?
You can eat normally during the entire course of treatment. One of the advantages of Invisalign is that the aligners are removable. We do ask for you to be aware that attachments could fall off if you were to eat something too hard, but other than that there are not restrictions to your eating. Simply take the aligners out before each meal, brush your teeth before reinserting the aligner. If you are unable to brush your teeth due to being at work or school, a good rinse with water will do the trick too!

What about chewing gum?
We recommend removing your aligners for all meals and snacks, as gum and other chewy substances can stick to the aligners.

How often must I wear my aligners?
The most important part of the Invisalign treatment is that you wear your aligners for any progress to be made. With saying that, aligners should be worn all day, except when eating, brushing, and flossing.

Will my speech be affected by the aligners?
As with any orthodontic treatment, aligners may temporarily affect your speech. If this does happen, your tongue will adjust within a day or two and your speech should return to normal.

Can I smoke during treatment?
We discourage smoking while wearing the aligners as they may become discolored.

How do I clean my aligners?
The best way to clean your aligners is by brushing and rinsing them in lukewarm water. Invisalign also provides you with "cleaning crystals" to put in a cup of water with your aligners. You can use these every so often and leave them in overnight to give them an extra good cleaning.

How often must I visit the office during treatment?
For most patients, we will provide you with 4-5 aligners at a time. This makes visits every 8-10 weeks which is frequent enough for us to determine that your treatment is progressing properly. We will provide you with a specific schedule that supports your individual treatment plan.

Dr. Alan Kennell has OVER 20 YEARS experience and extensive training with Invisalign. General dentists receive minimal orthodontic training in dental school and usually attend a weekend hotel course to learn how to do Invisalign. If your dentist (or your child's dentist) offers orthodontic treatment, insist on seeing an orthodontic specialist! If you have any questions please give our Laconia, Plymouth or Littleton offices a call.

At Kennell Orthodontics, we know orthodontic emergencies are never convenient nor timely. If you are a patient of Dr. Kennell's orthodontic office, he and his team are committed to your dental health and are more than willing to see you after hours or over the weekend. As a general rule, you should call the office when you experience severe pain. We’ll be able to schedule an appointment to resolve the problem as soon as possible. If you have a orthodontic emergency after regular office hours, you can still give us a call. If you are calling us after hours, please follow the emergency prompts to learn how you may be able to solve the problem yourself, or, if you cannot, how to contact Dr. Kennell and team. Someone is always on call and will be able to get back to you as soon as they can.

Tooth soreness is to be expected after getting braces or Invisalign treatment, this would not count as an emergency as it will take a few days to get used to them. Some things that help are sticking to a softer food diet (ex: ice cream, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, etc). Taking Advil or Tylenol can help relieve the soreness as well. If your gums are irritated, using a warm saltwater rinse can help with healing. At our office, we provide wax to put on your braces to help protect your lips and cheeks from any other irritation as your mouth gets used to having them on.

You might be surprised to learn that you may be able to temporarily solve many problems yourself until you visit our office.

Common emergencies include:

-Broken Braces (If still attached to wire, you can leave it be or add wax if it's irritating you. This is not urgent unless it is causing persistent pain)
-Broken Wires (If it is poking you can try to put wax on it or use the end of a pencil eraser to protect your lips/cheeks. If it is not poking, you can leave it be and give us a call)
-Tie has come off of a Brace (This is not an urgent emergency, it can be fixed at your next appointment, but if you call and let us know we can fix it easily)
-Loss of a Separator (Give us a call, if it is close enough to the next appointment it should be okay, but if not, we will schedule you to come in and get it replaced)
-Wire Poking (At the beginning of treatment the wires tend to get long. You are welcome to try and clip the wire yourself with CLEAN nail clippers, or any sharp pliers that are small enough to fit in the mouth. You can try to cover it with wax, or a pencil eraser for the mean time)

To conclude, it doesn't hurt to give us a call if you are having concerns, but hopefully after reading this you can be alleviated that not all of your emergencies are URGENT!

A common question you might be wondering is if you can still whiten your teeth while being in Invisalign treatment. We used to always inform patients that they should wait until they are done with treatment to use whitening strips. It still holds true that you should not use whitening strips, but there is now a solution to the whitening!

Invisalign now offers the Invisalign Professional Whitening System that is safe to use during and after your treatment.

Why it is safer to use this system than whitening strips is because it will be able to whiten your teeth despite the attachments. Trying to use a whitening strip would not be able to go through the attachments, leaving spots that are not as white when they some day come off. This Invisalign Professional Whitening System contains 10% carbamide peroxide formulation which breaks down into water, oxygen, and reactive oxygen molecules. The reactive oxygen molecules are what are able to change the stained molecules, making them lighter. Due to this reaction, the whitening solution will spread through the entire tooth without actually having to cover every part of it. So even the tooth surface underneath the attachments will still be getting whiter just the same.

The at-home kit allows you to easily whiten your teeth professionally! The kit comes with 4 syringes of whitening gel. At Dr. Kennell's orthodontic office they are sold for $150 and can be used throughout your treatment. It is instructed for you to lightly insert the gel just enough to cover the aligner so that it does not overflow to your gums. It is recommended for you wear them for at least 8-10 hours to get the full benefits. It is important to know that if you start to feel any sensitivity during these whitening treatments, you should take the aligners out. Using a toothpaste like Sensodyne along with your treatments will be helpful in reducing the sensitivity. This whitening gel is also made with potassium nitrate, used to reduce dental hypersensitivity, and fluoride, which helps strengthen the teeth.

Luckily, this whitening system can be used for Invisalign patients (during and after treatment), any patients that are in a Vivera/clear retainer, or anyone that is simply interested in just whitening their teeth! Make sure to ask your orthodontist/dentist about the Invisalign Professional Whitening System next time you are in the office, it will be worth it!

With the new year starting, getting your teeth fixed might be, or should be part of your New Years Resolutions! Whether it is for your child or for yourself it could be a good idea to see an orthodontist. Knowing the difference between Phase I and Phase II treatment can help give you a better understanding of how soon to have your child looked at and the importance of it.

Let's start with Phase I, or early age orthodontics. This phase of treatment can be very useful in cases when patients have crowding, misaligned bites, jaw discrepancies, and or protruding teeth. Phase I treatment usually starts in young patients between 7 to 10 years old. A child is still growing and developing with a mix of baby teeth and adult teeth during this age range. This gives the perfect advantage to start correcting dental issues before they can get worse.

Some options for Phase I treatment include retainers, palate expanders, space maintainers, braces, and in some cases Invisalign. Removable retainers can help teeth stay in place to prevent shifting, guiding adult teeth into place, and even help with jaw development. Space maintainers will aid in maintaining the space needed to allow the adult teeth to grow and erupt correctly. Palate expanders help with correcting jaw growth problems in patients with narrow palates. Expanding the palate will make teeth less crowded and make room for the proper alignment of adult teeth. The use of limited braces is typically for cases when patients have overcrowding or issues with their bite.

All in all, Phase I orthodontics will do the early work in guiding the adult teeth in the right direction, whether its making space or maintaining the space for them to develop.

This now leads us into the next phase of treatment, Phase II orthodontics. Some patients who were in Phase I treatment will still need Phase II treatment later on, but less work is needed. Other patients do not need Phase I treatment and will just begin with Phase II.

Depending on how severe the misalignment of the teeth are, or if there are any jaw discrepancies or impacted teeth, it would be important for the patient to begin their treatment sooner than later.

The most common treatments in Phase II orthodontics include braces, traditional or clear brackets, and clear aligners, usually Invisalign. Both treatments can succeed in fixing misalignment or malocclusions based on what the patients needs are. It also depends on preferences, if you do not prefer to have the braces showing, maybe clear brackets or clear aligners would suit you best. In certain cases, extractions may be a necessity to make room for overcrowded teeth. If a patient has impacted teeth they may need surgery to expose the tooth and guide it in the right direction. The orthodontist will develop a treatment plan that will go over all of the expectations throughout your treatment.

To conclude, the main difference between Phase I and Phase II orthodontic treatment, is the desired result. Phase I aims to fix urgent issues that cannot wait until the permanent teeth develop. Whereas Phase II is important in making sure the adult teeth come together in proper alignment.

Setting up a consultation with your local orthodontist would be a good idea, especially when it comes to whether your child will need Phase I treatment or not. Dr. Kennell of Laconia, Plymouth, and Littleton, NH offers free consultations and will inform you if Phase I treatment is needed or if there is still time to wait!