08/08/2016 14:52
For decades, if you wanted straighter teeth, your only option was metal braces. Though they were effective, the metal brackets and wires made them uncomfortable to wear. As a result, braces gained a reputation as an unpleasant but necessary part of the journey to straight teeth. That all changed in 1997.
Kia Chishti was a student at Stanford who had just completed treatment with braces. As a young adult who had to live with the unsightly and uncomfortable metal brackets and wires, he thought their must be a better way to get straighter teeth than braces as they currently were. As his orthodontist handed him his retainer, he realized that a series of retainers could be used to move the teeth just as well as metal braces could. He partnered with three other Stanford students, and together they set out to design a set of retainers that could do just that.
After about a year of research using computer design software, they created a system that would make a series of clear plastic retainers to be worn over the teeth that could slowly move the teeth into correct alignment. With this, Invisalign was born.
Besides the comfort, a big draw for Invisalign is their invisibility, allowing your teeth to shine through in all their glory. If they are not as white as you would like, consider a whitening treatment such as Zoom whitening to help them shine through brightly.
To learn more about the benefits of Invisalign, schedule a consultation with our dentist in North Hollywood today.
