Being More Professional with Invisalign

Invisalign’s Benefits for Your Lifestyle

When it comes to enjoying your life, Invisalign offers many important benefits. With Invisalign, you’ll be happy that aligners are:

• Nearly invisible
• Removable
• Changeable at home–no need for an appointment

Invisalign aligners are made of clear, BPA-free plastic. This makes them nearly invisible in most situations. Under most normal circumstances and lighting situations, people won’t notice your aligners, even if they’re standing close and having a conversation with you. 

Traditional braces are cemented to your teeth. You have to wear them constantly until treatment is over. With Invisalign, the aligners are removable, allowing you to eat, drink, brush, and do other tasks without your orthodontics interfering. For some treatment stages, you might have a few clear studs attached to your teeth, but these won’t interfere with daily activities. 

With traditional braces, the only way to advance your treatment is to make a tightening appointment at the orthodontist’s office. With Invisalign, you can have several aligners on hand, then move to the next one when the time is right. We’ll still want you to come in periodically to check on your progress and health, but it can be more flexible–less interference with your daily routine. 

Looking Professional with Invisalign

Compared to traditional braces, Invisalign helps you look and act more like a professional. One of the keys to success in professional relationships is getting people to take you seriously. Braces can be a big drawback here–people look at them and think you’re too young to merit respect. If you are obviously older, braces might still be a problem since it might seem that you’re behind the curve. With Invisalign, you can maintain your professional appearance. 

Tips for Managing Business Lunches with Invisalign

You’ll keep your aligners in during most of your work hours, but you would have to remove them for lunch. This is easy to do if you don’t mind people knowing that you are straightening your teeth. Otherwise, it might take additional effort to conceal around mealtimes. 

If you eat at your desk, it’s easy to take your aligners out there. Otherwise, remember to take them out and store them safely at your desk before going to lunch. Always have a toothbrush, floss, and toothpaste handy–you’ll need to clean your teeth before putting aligners back in. 

For long business lunches, it might make sense to keep aligners in until just before you eat. At that point, you can excuse yourself to the bathroom just before the food arrives, then remove the aligners there and put them in their case. If you practice, you might learn to remove aligners discreetly behind a napkin at the table. However, don’t store aligners under your napkin–it’s easy to forget them there. Always put your aligners in their case, and then put their case in your purse or your pocket. 

When you’ve finished eating, excuse yourself to the bathroom to brush your teeth. Nobody will question this–good hygiene is professional. Then, after cleaning your teeth, put your aligners back in before returning to the table. 

If people are lingering over cocktails, be aware of the time. Remember, you ideally want to have your aligners in for 22 hours a day–20 hours at the minimum, and then only infrequently. If lunch or cocktail hour is getting too long, put your aligners back in and switch to water–the only thing you should drink with aligners in.

Speaking Clearly with Invisalign

Perhaps the only significant challenge of presenting a professional image with Invisalign is speaking. When you first start Invisalign treatment, you might find it harder to speak clearly. People often develop a slight lisp or other disfluency when speaking with aligners. However, getting past this is just a matter of practice. 

You can try practicing alone if you want. Use your phone to record yourself reading aloud, then play back the recording to make sure you’re clear. Otherwise, find someone you trust who doesn’t mind listening to you to help you practice. Don’t have anyone but want to practice talking to someone? Try calling a helpline. It can take more effort to get through to a person these days, but once you do, you can ask them questions about an account, an appliance, or anything else that might have a dedicated helpline. 

Speaking loudly and clearly during major meetings or presentations might be a little bit more complicated. If you don’t have enough time to practice beforehand, you can take your aligners out for the presentation, then put them back in when you’re done. 

Photo Ops and Professional Headshots with Invisalign

Although Invisalign aligners are invisible under most conditions, the intense light and high resolution of professional photography could make them show up. Since these pictures might be very important to your professional image, you might not want aligners to be visible, so take precautions. 

If possible, schedule headshot sessions for after you’ve completed your treatment. After all, you’ll want to show off your newly straight smile. If there’s some reason you can’t wait, remove your aligners before the session. 

Photo opportunities are another story since you don’t have as much control over them. Since you’ll want to keep your aligners in most of the time, try to be aware of when people will be taking pictures–such as during arrivals and departures–and take your aligners for those times, keeping them in during the event. 

Get Invisalign in Butler

Invisalign is not just about getting a straighter smile; it’s about becoming your best self. Unlike traditional braces, that doesn’t mean you have to accept being less than your best during treatment. Let Butler cosmetic dentist Dr. Robert Fornalczyk help you make the most of your Invisalign experience so you can do even greater things with your new, beautiful smile. 

Please call (724) 282-4436 or use our online form today to request an appointment at Advanced Dentistry of Butler, located near Butler Community College in Oak Hills.