Patients used to expect to be told what to do by their medical practitioners. They would go to the surgery, present their concern and leave happy with a prescription or appointment for a treatment. But the world is changing, and more and more people are taking control of their health. They want to be involved, they want to play a part in their healing, they want to understand what’s happening to their body.
Take Invisalign in St John’s Wood. This alignment treatment has only been around for 20 years, so in the grand scheme of things, it’s a new kid on the block (the first braces were used at least 3,000 years ago). Invisalign requires a high degree of input on behalf of the patient. High street practices in north London, such as Aura Dental, are finding Invisalign in St John’s Wood is hugely popular, so this level of involvement isn’t putting patients off.
What is Invisalign in St John’s Wood?
Invisalign is different to most other kinds of braces because it uses clear, plastic aligners rather than metal brackets and wires to do its work. It uses pressure points on specially-designed aligner trays to nudge the teeth into position over several months.
The Invisalign dentist takes a digital scan or impression of the patient’s teeth and feeds this into a software programme. This creates a computerised treatment plan that is sent to the Invisalign technicians, who use it to create a bespoke set of aligners for the patient.
How is the patient involved?
For this next step, it’s all about the patient. They receive their aligners in the post and then wear each set for 7-10 days, until the pressure wears off. They must take the aligners out each time they eat or drink anything other than plain water, clean them and their teeth, then pop them back in. This is where the discipline comes in. Because unlike traditional braces that are fixed and adjusted by the dentist, the patient is in control of their treatment with Invisalign in St John’s Wood. It’s up to them how many hours in a day they wear the aligners for, though to keep treatment on track, 20-22 hours per day is necessary.
