If you are about to start a course of Invisalign, you might be wondering if you can do so while you have untreated cavities. While you can undergo Invisalign treatment with existing cavities, treating your cavities first is the best way to go. Otherwise, several issues could occur that will interrupt your treatment and negatively affect your oral health.
1. You should treat your cavities before your treatment
Before you start your Invisalign treatment, you should have any existing cavities filled. Before you begin treatment, your orthodontist will want to take impressions of your teeth. This is so they can create the set of aligners that you will use over the next few months. Invisalign aligners require a very close fit to move teeth, and fillings during treatment will have a negative effect.
2. Dental fillings could affect your treatment
The reason an orthodontist takes an impression of teeth before creating Invisalign aligners for their patient is that they need the aligners to fit as snugly to the teeth as possible. The aligners work with the natural shape of the teeth. This means that if you have a filling during Invisalign treatment, the filling could change the shape of the tooth.
A large filling will change the shape of a tooth and thus prevent your premade aligners from achieving their pre-set movement goals. As a result, your orthodontist will need to remake all of your aligners to match the new shape of your filled tooth. That could prove costly in terms of time and money.
3. Dental cavities heal more slowly while you wear aligners
Leaving a cavity untreated during Invisalign treatment is also not a good idea. Your mouth relies on saliva to prevent and heal cavities. But while you wear your aligners, your teeth won't have access to as much saliva as usual. Under normal circumstances, for the duration of your treatment, this would be fine. But if you have a cavity, the lack of saliva could prevent the cavity from healing. You could end up with a worse cavity if you wait until after your Invisalign treatment.
4. Invisalign makes oral hygiene more difficult
You also need to be very strict with your oral hygiene while undergoing Invisalign treatment. This means rinsing your mouth out after every meal, cleaning your aligners, and keeping your teeth clean. Because of this extra responsibility, undergoing treatment with a cavity is not advisable. This is especially true if you have little time to spare.
Cavities and Invisalign treatment don't mix well. Ensure you treat your cavities before you start Invisalign treatment.
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