If you, like many people, are interested in straightening your teeth, there are quite a few reasons you would be interested in clear aligners—they’re subtle, sleek, and being able to remove them gives you additional options for being able to clean them.
The popularity of clear aligner treatment has spawned several startups claiming to be able to mail these plastic trays directly to your home, skirting the need for a dentist. However, it’s been noticed that these mail-order aligners often don’t deliver the results they promise, and can even make people’s teeth worse than they were before. Here’s why these kinds of mail-order aligners tend to be dangerous.
1. No Preliminary Exam
If you talked to your dentist about any kind of orthodontic treatment, one of the first things they’ll do for you is to find out whether you’re dealing with any kind of oral health problem that could make the treatment risky. If you’re dealing with significant tooth decay, for example, your teeth may not be quite strong enough to support the strain of clear aligners.
When you get mail-order aligners, there isn’t an in-person exam. This means that you could be suffering from an oral health problem that could cause issues with your aligner treatment without realizing it.
2. Wait for the Pitch
You may have had an experience with a dentist who was a little bit pushy about treatment, or that seemed to try and sell you procedures you don’t really need. However, many clear aligner companies give even the shadiest dentist a run for their money.
Mail-order aligner companies have one product to sell, and the dental professionals who work for them are often required to pitch them as hard as possible. It’s not unheard of for people to be sold on clear aligner treatment even if the dental assistant knows they aren’t a good candidate. You’d be hard-pressed to find a dentist bold enough to do that in person.
3. No One On Your Side
Orthodontics is unbelievably complicated, and tracking the movement of the teeth over the course of treatment is crucial to getting good results. While the virtual dentists you see may try their best, they’re limited to what they can see through a laptop camera. That means a bigger chance that they’ll miss something, causing you not to get the results you’re hoping for.
In general, your oral health is the last thing you want to try and skimp out on. If you want to straighten your smile, it’s best to see a professional about that.
About Our Practice
At Granger Dental Group, we can promise you that if you aren’t the biggest fan of the dentist, we’ll give you an oral healthcare experience unlike any other that you’ve ever had. Everyone on our team is not only an expert in their field, but also genuinely cares about the health and happiness of our patients. When you visit our office, you’ll see firsthand the difference that makes.
If you want to know more about clear aligners, we can be reached at our website or by phone at (574) 277-4235.