Considering straightening your teeth with Invisalign? One of the biggest concerns patients have is how long it will take to see results, and for good reason. If you’re spending thousands of dollars to get a better smile, you definitely want to know all the ins and outs of the treatment and how long you’ll need to wear your aligners for before you start to see a noticeable difference.
On average, it takes anywhere from 6 to 12 months for your teeth to start moving back in to place—but you may start to see the first signs of your teeth shifting back into place during the first two weeks.
It’s important that you wear the aligners day and night and only take them out to eat. “If you don’t wear a particular aligner correctly or for as long as it needs to be worn each day you may need to wear an aligner for a longer period of time to compensate for the missing time that was need to change the position of the teeth,” says Wellington, FL, cosmetic dentist Sam Sadati, DDS. If you don’t follow your doctor’s protocol, the entire treatment may take longer to work. “The result may never be achieved, or worse, the dentition might even become worse than before the treatment was started.”
So, in a nut shell, if you stick to wearing your Invisalign every day for as long as your dentists tells you to wear them for, around the 12-month mark you’ll be able to notice a new and improved smile. And, once you’re done with the whole treatment, Dr. Sadati says it’s imperative to use retainers to keep the teeth straight and in the same condition.
