Lots of people get anxious about finding out they’ve got cavities during regular dental check-ups, thinking they’ll be put off from ever getting the straight teeth they’ve always wanted. And when your dentist tells you that you’ve got tooth decay that needs sorting out, the excitement about finally doing something about your smile can quickly turn to disappointment. We’ve seen it time and time again, patients get pretty upset when they find out they need to do some extra dental work before they can even think about starting the cosmetic treatments they’ve been looking forward to for months, even years.
The thing to bear in mind is the link between tooth decay and clear aligner treatment, because the orthodontic appliances can actually make it easier for cavities to form and grow while you’re having treatment. When you wear clear aligners, they can create a seal around your teeth which traps food and bacteria against the surfaces of your teeth for a long, long time, and if you’ve got cavities already, that can make the whole process a lot worse. A Root Canal saves a damaged or infected tooth by removing bacteria and sealing the inner chamber. Modern Root Canal treatment is comfortable and helps relieve pain while preserving your natural tooth.
Most dentists, including ours, will tell you that any active tooth decay needs to be sorted out before you start any orthodontic treatment, including clear aligner therapy. This makes good sense, of course, it keeps your mouth healthy and means that the orthodontic work can go ahead without any unexpected problems. It also lets you plan your treatment properly, because you can think about the end result and how you want your teeth to look, which is always a big part of the process when making up your aligner sequence.
When it comes to sorting out cavities in relation to orthodontic therapy, it really depends on a number of things, like how bad the decay is, how urgent your orthodontic needs are and how healthy your teeth and gums are overall. Small fillings that don’t need a lot of work usually don’t slow down the orthodontic therapy too much, but larger areas of decay may need more serious restoration work before you can even get your aligners fitted.
Some people get worried that getting a filling will mess up their aligners or mean that their teeth don’t move quite right. But modern composite fillings are made to stick to your teeth really well and, when put in by an experienced dentist, shouldn’t cause any problems at all with clear aligner therapy. Just make sure that all the restorative work is done before you have your impressions or digital scans done to make the aligners.
In some cases, you might need a team of dental specialists to get everything sorted out, big fillings, crowns or other major dental work can make it harder to do the orthodontic therapy in the usual way. Teeth Whitening brightens your smile by removing stains caused by food, drinks, and aging. Professional Teeth Whitening delivers faster and longer-lasting results than over-the-counter options.
When patients ask us if they can get Invisalign even if they’ve got a few cavities, we always say that taking care of those cavities first is a vital part of their long-term oral health, and it won’t stop them getting the smile they want. We make sure to plan our treatment properly to take care of all of our patients’ oral health issues in the right order.
At Dentistry on the Pines, we’re big on making sure that all of our patients have healthy mouths before we even start talking about elective treatments like Invisalign. We want our patients to get the smile they want, but we also want to make sure that their dental health is in tip top shape throughout the whole process.
Preventing new cavities during orthodontic treatment is really important because it can be harder to clean some areas properly when you’re wearing aligners. Just following a good diet and looking after your teeth should help keep them healthy.
People might ask us “Can I get Invisalign with cavities in Vaughan?” and the answer is usually that the first step is to get the cavities sorted out and then get on with the orthodontic treatment once you’ve got healthy teeth.