Braces that are as invisible as they&rsquo;re effective.

If you got braces in your teenage years and thought that at least it&rsquo;s all over, a lot of people don&rsquo;t tell you that your jaw actually changes in your 30s, which may also move your teeth around yet again. A lot of people get braces or cosmetic dental work later on in life for many reasons, but if you&rsquo;re one of those who don&rsquo;t see yourself with a mouthful of steel, this may be for you: invisible aligners.&nbsp;
Alina is a Filipino-led dental company that creates &ldquo;designer smiles&rdquo;&mdash;orthodontic work that&rsquo;s tailor-fit to one&rsquo;s facial features and proportions using a technology called clear aligners. While these are fairly new to the Philippines they are not completely new in general&mdash;you may already know Invisalign, which is yet another brand of clear aligners. Alina however, is established in the country, which means they have a clinic here and a fabrication lab, making the creation of your aligners more timely for your treatment plan. Clear aligners are 3D printed plastic trays that are in the perfect mould of your teeth, adjusted every three weeks to move your teeth in the &ldquo;correct&rdquo; alignment and correct bite. Duration will vary depending on your personal treatment plan, which can go from 8 sets to 57 or more. They will look similar to plastic retainers that traditional braces-wearers get at the end of their treatment, however aligners are adjusted throughout your process for the actual alignment to happen. Aligners don&rsquo;t just adjust the placement of your teeth aesthetically, but align your bite so that it fits anatomically to your proportions.&nbsp;

The process of getting clear aligners is different from getting traditional steel or titanium braces in a lot of ways. First, you no longer have to go through the gum moulding because at first consultation they do a 3D scan of your teeth, which shows every angle of your teeth and your bite, inside and out. The scan doesn&rsquo;t only help them craft a specific treatment plan, but it also helps them fabricate every set of 3D-printed plastic aligners you&rsquo;ll receive, and they also use it to create a visual digital projection of your teeth&rsquo;s progress. This way, they&rsquo;re also able to see if you&rsquo;re on track in terms of timeline.

The visual digital projection shows a digital image of your upper and lower rows in the exact placement and bite, and by moving a toggle it&rsquo;ll show the progress of your teeth throughout the x number of months you&rsquo;ll be going through for your treatment plan. This is also how they&rsquo;ll know you&rsquo;re on course. And if you&rsquo;re slacking, no worries, because you get to keep every set you&rsquo;ve ever used and you can always go back to the last one to get back on track.&nbsp;

Second, instead of a physical adjustment of metal braces already in your mouth, you go in every three weeks to receive a fresh set of clear trays or aligners, and a checkup as well. They cross check your progress with the digital projection to see if you&rsquo;re on track. Depending on one&rsquo;s case, you may also get attachments in place, which may remind you of &ldquo;brackets&rdquo; on traditional braces, except these are tooth-colored material attached to your teeth (yes they color match it as well), that they&rsquo;ll create impressions for in your aligners so they pull your teeth in the right direction together. The dentists may also need to do particular dental work for your case (i.e., filing the back molars to create space for crowded teeth, extraction if need be, cleaning, attachments, etc.).&nbsp;
Lastly, unlike metal braces, these are plastic trays you can remove and wear again on demand. They recommend having it on for at least 22 hours a day, and you can simply take them out with a &ldquo;Pul&rdquo; tool, which is a plastic hook that dislodges the aligners from your teeth. For whatever reason you&rsquo;re removing them&mdash;eating, drinking colored beverages, or even for photos&mdash;you only have to make sure your teeth and aligners are clean again before putting them back in. Cleaning the aligners only needs soap and water OR fizzy dental cleaning tablets dropped in water you can soak the aligners in for a couple of minutes.&nbsp;

How does one know if you&rsquo;re a good candidate for clear aligners? Alina caters to almost anyone, including individuals who have crowns or veneers. Because aligners fit over one&rsquo;s teeth, they&rsquo;re gentle enough for most teeth but works as effectively as braces. They do, however, work more slowly than metal braces, but they&rsquo;re perfect for those who want something that&rsquo;s almost unnoticeable and something more aesthetically pleasing.&nbsp;
lfAlina invisible aligners are priced at P350,000, which includes all sets of 3D-printed aligners, all 3D scans, and all dental work needed throughout your whole treatment plan. Find them along 7th Ave., BGC, Taguig and @alinainvisiblebraces on instagram.

The Future of Smiles

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