Our office will be closed from December 24th until Wednesday, January 6th. Happy Holidays!
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Our office will be closed from December 24th until Wednesday, January 6th. Happy Holidays!
If you’d like to straighten your teeth, but want to avoid wearing highly visible braces, ClearCorrect from Dr. Blalock at Lakeside Dental in Lenoir City, Loudon, or Tellico Village may be right for you. With ClearCorrect, it is possible to straighten your smile with a stress-free, nearly invisible treatment in under a year. Call today to schedule an appointment.
ClearCorrect is an alternative to traditional metal or ceramic braces. Instead of using brackets, wires, and elastic bands to change the position of your teeth, this orthodontic treatment uses a series of clear plastic aligners. These aligners, which look similar to a retainer or a nightguard, are designed to shift your teeth gently into the proper position.
Since ClearCorrect is nearly invisible when worn, removable, and offers a faster treatment time than braces, it’s a very popular alternative to traditional orthodontics, particularly for adults.
The process begins with a consultation at Lakeside Dental. Dr. Blalock will examine your mouth and determine if ClearCorrect is right for you. If you’re a good candidate, he will take images and dental impressions of your teeth. Then, he will work with ClearCorrect to develop your smile treatment plan and build your first several sets of aligners.
Once your first several sets of aligners are complete, you’ll come back to our office to pick them up. Then, you’ll wear each set according to Dr. Blalock’s instructions, usually for 20-22 hours per day for about 2 weeks. Every 2 weeks, you’ll switch to a new set of aligners.
About every 6 weeks, you’ll come back to our office for a brief checkup and to get your next few sets of aligners. Usually, treatment requires about 20-24 sets of aligners, so it typically takes about a year to correct your smile.
Clear aligners have a number of great benefits compared to traditional braces, such as shorter treatment time, removability, and a more subtle appearance. However, they are not appropriate for all patients. If you have serious orthodontic issues like a malpositioned jaw or a bad bite, braces are a more versatile and powerful orthodontic treatment. To find out which treatment is right for you, come visit Dr. Blalock for a consultation now.
In 2015, more than 1 million Americans had braces. ClearCorrect from Lakeside Dentistry is a great alternative to braces if you’d like to straighten your smile!
Your ClearCorrect aligners are completely invisible when worn and do not affect speech, making them much more subtle compared to braces.
You can remove your aligners to eat and drink, eliminating dietary restrictions. You also can remove them to brush and floss, which helps you keep your teeth healthy during treatment.
ClearCorrect exerts gentle, even pressure on your teeth and does not have any sharp metal brackets or wires that may poke or irritate your mouth.
This will vary depending on the extent of your orthodontic issues and a few other factors. Some patients expect to start seeing results within a week or two of starting ClearCorrect, but this is not realistic. The process of moving the teeth is more gradual, so it will take a little while to see results.
However, most patients will begin to see subtle results after about 8-12 weeks of treatment. At this time, it will start to be obvious that your teeth are moving, and they will be shifting toward a healthier, more cosmetically-appealing alignment.
You will need to wear your clear aligners for at least 20 hours per day, and it’s recommended to wear them for 22 hours per day or longer. You’ll wear them throughout the day and overnight, removing them only to brush and floss and to eat and drink.
When you’re undergoing treatment with ClearCorrect, it’s very important to be consistent and wear your aligners as much as possible. If you frequently take out your aligners and don’t wear them for at least 20 hours per day, your treatment will begin to fall behind.
Falling behind can cause more discomfort when you swap to a new set of aligners, or even result in the inability to switch to a new set of aligners when you’re scheduled to do so. In turn, this will set your treatment back by days or even weeks, and may end up costing you additional money, as well.
So if you’re getting ClearCorrect from Lakeside Dental, make sure you’re wearing your aligners as much as you possibly can. Staying diligent and wearing your aligners properly will speed up your treatment, and minimize any potential complications.
In addition to this, you’ll also need to make sure you swap to a new set of aligners whenever you’re instructed to do so by Dr. Joseph Blalock. This will ensure that your treatment stays on track.However, most patients will begin to see subtle results after about 8-12 weeks of treatment. At this time, it will start to be obvious that your teeth are moving, and they will be shifting toward a healthier, more cosmetically-appealing alignment.
Yes. Your ClearCorrect Aligners will look and feel completely natural. It may take you a little bit of time to get used to wearing them. For the first few days you wear your aligners, you may notice that you’re producing excessive saliva, but this will go away fairly quickly. In addition, your speech may sound a little bit slushy, but this will also go away after you adjust to your aligners.
Once you’ve worn your aligners for a little while, you will barely be able to notice them while you’re wearing them, and they’ll feel natural as you go about your day. You may even forget that you have them on! And since your aligners are made of thin, clear plastic that fits perfectly onto your teeth, nobody else will notice them, either.
However, you can expect a bit of discomfort when you swap to a new set of aligners, since this is when the pressure on your teeth will be the greatest. After a day or two, though, this will go away, and your teeth should feel normal once again.
