Invisalign

Social media has become a widely used and accessible source of health-related information for patients young and old. But is this material always accurate or even appropriate? Today on the blog we're taking a research-based look at whether the information you may be consuming on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok about dental related topics is helping or hurting your understanding of your own body. Specifically, let's look at orthodontic information across social media platforms.

Reliability of Social Media Information

The peer-reviewed Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) is widely accepted by dental professionals as being the nation's premier dental journal and a leading, reliable source of quality information on current dental medicine. This month, the JADA published a systematic review to evaluate the quality of orthodontic information on two of the most popular social media platforms.

The authors conducted a systematic search of the literature that analyzed information regarding orthodontics on social networks, then used recognized quality-evaluation methods. Of the hundreds of sources the authors reviewed, you might be able to guess that they concluded most of the content was of insufficient quality and lacked "scientific rigor, precision, and support" from reliable sources. One of the largest sources of orthodontic misinformation? Content regarding the topic of clear aligners like Invisalign.

Practical Implications

Implicated by this study is the practical concept that social media platforms overall provide low-quality healthcare information to patients, which has the potential to be harmful. These findings also underscore the importance of promoting informed and responsible education to patients before and during treatment, by professionals who are qualified to offer this guidance.

Dr. Messina is one such qualified professional. As a licensed dentist with over two years of postgraduate training in orthodontic treatment modalities such as Invisalign, she is qualified to evaluate your dentition, answer questions you may have about orthodontic or dental treatment, and make an appropriate referral if our office is not the right fit for the parameters of your care.

Get Off Instagram and Come Ask the Dental Team You Trust

The internet is an unregulated environment in which information that is inaccurate, misleading, or false can be uploaded and shared by anyone at any time. But like the field of dentistry in general, the subject of orthodontics requires specialized knowledge and experience to provide accurate and reliable information about available treatments and specific recommendations for each mouth. You'll find this expert level of analysis and care at Dr. Messina's practice, and our team looks forward to partnering with you for all your oral healthcare needs.

Give us a call at (303) 666-4260 or stop on by our practice in Louisville, Colorado and it will be our pleasure to care for you!

We write a blog post every month to keep our patients and our community updated on important dental topics, so be sure to check back here often! And don't forget: we love your questions! We welcome discussion of these blog topics or anything you're curious about. Our patient family is the best part of our practice, and we are grateful for you!

It's month three in Dr. Messina's Invisalign blog series! Welcome back to this little corner of the internet where we address questions you have about treatment options at our dental office, and where we strive to provide evidence-based backing for the way we practice. Today we'll answer three FAQ's on Invisalign specific to clinical treatment. Read on and make sure you call us or stop on by if you'd like a free orthodontic consult at Dr. Messina's practice in Louisville, Colorado!

How many people have gone through Invisalign treatment?

Over 17 million people have transformed their smiles with Invisalign!

Is Invisalign different from other teeth straightening options?

Invisalign clear aligners are made from a proprietary material called SmartTrack to deliver more predictable tooth movements. And unlike many other clear aligners and retainers, Invisalign aligners and retainers are trimmed relative to each patient’s gum line to provide optimal comfort and aesthetics.

Do Invisalign clear aligners contain BPA (Bisphenol A)?

All Invisalign clear aligners and retainers are made of medical-grade thermoplastic polymers. These materials were carefully selected for their appropriateness in aligners and retainers based on their properties and safety classification, and all have a long history of FDA approval for longterm use in the human mouth. Based on Invisalign's parent company's current knowledge and testing of raw materials and processes used to manufacture aligners and retainers, they state they are unaware of any BPA, phthalates, latex, parabens, glutaraldehyde, or epoxy present. But as with any medical device, you should consult with Dr. Messina and/or your healthcare provider regarding applicable risks of use of these aligners and retainers.

Interested in finding out whether you're a candidate for clear aligner orthodontics in our office? Call our front office at (303) 666-4260 or make a free consult appointment here on our website and we'll walk through your possibilities with you! We're here to answer any questions you may have, and don't forget to check back next month for our second blog installment on more Invisalign FAQ's!

We write a blog post every month to keep our patients and our community updated on important dental topics, so be sure to check back here often! And don't forget: we love your questions! We welcome discussion of these blog topics or anything you're curious about. Our patient family is the best part of our practice, and we are grateful for you!

It's month two in our short series addressing some common FAQ's we hear every day about Invisalign! Welcome back to Dr. Messina's blog, where today we'll answer questions about costs involved in clear aligner therapy in our office.

How much do clear aligners cost?

In most cases, the cost of Invisalign treatment in our office is comparable to the cost of braces. Dr. Messina determines the cost of treatment based on how complex your case is and how many aligners you require. At our practice there are several options to make clear aligner treatment more affordable for you, from using insurance and/or tax-free dollars to a monthly payment plan with CareCredit.

Is Invisalign treatment more expensive than braces?

Clear aligner therapy in our office is typically comparable in cost to braces.

Will my insurance cover Invisalign treatment?

Many dental insurance plans cover clear aligner therapy the same way they cover traditional braces. Your insurance may pay for a certain percentage of your Invisalign treatment, or it may cover a certain dollar amount. Your dental insurance may cover up to $3000 for orthodontic treatment and depends on the specific plan you're covered under. Our front office manager Carly can help evaluate your coverage with you and see what your options for using dental insurance for Invisalign treatment in our office could be.

Interested in finding out whether you're a candidate for clear aligner orthodontics in our office? Call Carly at (303) 666-4260 or make a free consult appointment here on our website and we'll walk through your possibilities with you! We're here to answer any questions you may have, and don't forget to check back next month for our second blog installment on more Invisalign FAQ's!

We write a blog post every month to keep our patients and our community updated on important dental topics, so be sure to check back here often! And don't forget: we love your questions! We welcome discussion of these blog topics or anything you're curious about. Our patient family is the best part of our practice, and we are grateful for you!

Dr. Messina is particularly passionate about orthodontics and what it can do for a person's oral and overall health. In our practice, we recommend clear aligner therapy for a variety of reasons, and we know that a healthy mouth with a stable foundation sets our patients' smiles up for lifelong success.

We love helping our patient family understand options that are available to improve the health of their mouth, and we get asked some great questions in our day-to-day at the practice. Because we are so passionate about the role of clear aligner therapy in creating healthy, stable smiles, we'll do a short series on the blog over the next few months addressing some common FAQ's we hear every day about Invisalign!

What is Invisalign?

Clear aligner therapy in general is the process of wearing a series of clear, removable aligners that gradually straighten the teeth. Invisalign uses no brackets or wires, and doesn't involve the same restrictions you might experience with traditional metal braces.

How does Invisalign straighten teeth?

Dr. Messina, Rachel, or Simone will take a 2 minute digital 'impression' of your mouth using our iTero digital scanner. Then Dr. Messina creates a unique treatment plan just for you which digitally maps out the progressive movements of your teeth, and the Invisalign production team fabricates a series of aligners each custom made to apply the exact right force to the exact right surface of the tooth at the optimal time based on your plan. Dr. Messina is with you every step of the way to monitor your progress and ensure the correct fit of your aligners from beginning to end.

What are the primary benefits of clear aligner treatment?

Clear aligners are truly clear -- people may not even notice you're wearing them! You can remove them to eat or drink, to brush or floss, or to attend a special event. There are no metal brackets or wires to irritate the mouth, and Invisalign clear aligners use patented technology to ensure an awesome fit throughout your treatment course. Each aligner is trimmed for optimal comfort against your gemlike, and Dr. Messina is able to make adjustments as needed along the way.

Interested in finding out whether you're a candidate for clear aligner orthodontics in our office? Call Carly at (303) 666-4260 or make a free consult appointment here on our website and we'll walk through your possibilities with you! We're here to answer any questions you may have, and don't forget to check back next month for our second blog installment on more Invisalign FAQ's!

We write a blog post every month to keep our patients and our community updated on important dental topics, so be sure to check back here often! And don't forget: we love your questions! We welcome discussion of these blog topics or anything you're curious about. Our patient family is the best part of our practice, and we are grateful for you!

We have a big announcement we're so excited to share: Dr. Messina's office is the first general dentistry practice in Colorado to receive the most current, most innovative intraoral scanner on the market from Align! This month we're introducing our new iTero scanner during routine hygiene visits with Rachel and Dr. Messina, and we already love the ways this digital dentistry technology is helping us provide the most cutting edge care to our patient family.

At Michelle N. Messina DDS, we pride ourselves on staying up-to-date with the newest technologies so that we can provide our patients with the modern, efficient, evidence-based care they deserve. So when Dr. Messina had the opportunity to incorporate the fastest, highest quality scan for each of her patients, she and the team were keen to learn and grow so this discovery tool could help everyone who comes into the practice.

So what is an iTero? The iTero scanner is an intraoral scanner that takes photos and videos at thousands of frames per second inside the mouth to produce lifelike images of your teeth within minutes. Part of the reason the iTero scanner is such a helpful tool is its capacity to take thousands of images faster, more easily, and very accurately. We can use our new scanner during health checks at your routine hygiene visit, during smile makeover consultations, for clear aligner therapy and Invisalign workups, and even to take digital impressions during our restorative work flow for treatments like crowns and implants.

The iTero scanner is fully digital, and that means our patients usually get to skip taking physical impressions. No more goopy impression material! And within minutes we have a highly accurate digital model to enhance understanding and facilitate productive discussions so that our patients are part of the discovery process of getting to know their own mouth better. And scans are kept in a HIPAA-compliant, encrypted cloud-based manner that allows us to compare your scans year after year to directly track changes to your teeth and gums!

iTero scans in our office are quick and painless, using single-use wand covers in keeping with our extensive whole-office cleaning protocols. After a quick scan of the teeth, the digital elements of the scanner compile the scans into images that show your entire mouth from front to back, top to bottom. We use these images to check patient occlusion (bite), to track tooth wear over the span of months/years, to see cavities, to evaluate the condition of previous restoration -- we even use it to show you what you could look like with straight teeth after clear aligner therapy!

We are excited to bring this technology to our community and to use it for the good of our patient family. At their next recare appointment, each of our patients is eligible for a complimentary iTero scan. For those who have not yet joined our patient family but are interested in the enhanced understanding of the mouth this technology can provide, call Carly to get scheduled for your iTero scan and see what it can do for you!

We write a blog post every month to keep our patients and our community updated on important dental topics, so be sure to check back here often! And don't forget: we love your questions! We welcome discussion of these blog topics or anything you're curious about. Our patient family is the best part of our practice, and we are grateful for you!