Can you get Invisalign with crowns? This question is probably on your mind if you are considering teeth straightening treatment with Invisalign aligners, but are unsure of whether this is even a possibility for you.
In this article, we seek to answer all of the most important questions surrounding wearing Invisalign aligners if you don’t have all natural teeth. We are also going to discuss whether traditional braces would be a better orthodontic treatment option if you have crowns or dental implants.
All right, without future ado, let cut right to the chase by answering the most important question you came here to find an answer to.
What makes you a suitable or unsuitable candidate for Invisalign treatment
Before you begin you Invisalign treatment, you will be required to attend an initial assessment. At this preliminary appointment, an Invisalign doctor is going to carefully assess your teeth. This assessment involves making precise moulds of all of your teeth, as well as taking a 3D scan using the revolutionary iTero scanner.
After your assessment, your Invisalign dentist is going to send the scans and moulds back to Invisalign HQ, where a team of orthodontic experts review your teeth and decide whether or not you would be a suitable candidate for the Invisalign treatment. Being a suitable candidate means being a treatable case – being someone who would stand to benefit and see results from undergoing the treatment.
Whether or not you are a suitable candidate comes down to how misaligned your teeth are, and whether or not you have any other oral health issues that will need to be addressed before you are able to embark on any form of orthodontic treatment. This might include cavities, gum disease, missing teeth or teeth that are improperly spaced.
In other words, for the Invisalign system to work for you, your teeth need to be in a reasonably healthy condition and they also cannot be too severely misaligned to begin with. Another important requirement is that your teeth are rooted soundly in your gums, so that the aligners are not able to pull them out.
New patients who want Invisalign treatment are going to be deemed suitable in the vast majority of cases, but if the Invisalign experts see any other issues that your teeth require more urgently or before treatment becomes a good idea, they will turn you down as a patient and you will not be charged anything. It could be that your teeth or jaw are so severely out of alignment that you will need traditional metal braces or perhaps a tooth extraction before any other dental restorations can be considered.
What doesn’t determine whether or not you can go forward with the Invisalign treatment is whether or not you have any crown or even full implants.
Why dental crowns or natural teeth don’t matter (much)
Dental crowns are dental restorations intended to fortify damaged or vulnerable teeth, particularly teeth that have have sustained damage or undergone root canal treatment.
Crowns are essentially prosthetic teeth and, like the name indicates, they are intended to cover and encapsulate what remains of the tooth that has received the root canal or other form of treatment which might have left it imperfect or vulnerable. Crowns can be made from a number of different materials, including tooth-coloured composite resin, gold, porcelain, porcelain fused to metal or zirconium.
Dental crowns both look and function much the same as natural teeth. Initially after getting a dental crown, you are likely to notice that the texture and feel of it in your mouth is a little different than your surrounding teeth, but you will most likely get used to it in a matter of days.
When considering orthodontic treatment to straighten teeth, it is completely reasonable to wonder whether or not having dental crowns – or even just a single crown – could adversely affect the outcome of your teeth straightening treatment. You might also worry about whether or not wearing clear trays could damage or pull at the crowns.
Well, we hope to be able to relay your fears on both counts. Fortunately, crowns are no hindrance to you choosing or being deemed a suitable candidate for Invisalign. The same is true if you have dental implants that completely replace one or more of your natural teeth.
Clear aligners are designed and custom made to fit your mouth and to provide you with the smile you desire. The way the aligners work is by putting firm pressure on your teeth which causes tooth movement. If you have dental crowns, implants or veneers, they will respond to the pressure of the aligners in the same way as your natural teeth will, provided that they are firmly rooted in your jaw and are properly bonded to your teeth.
The only danger associated with undergoing orthodontic treatment if you have crowns or other dental restorations is if the dental work has not been done properly, in which case it is possible for a crown to become loosened or a veneer to crack. However, in the vast, vast majority of cases, the dentists who have performed these procedures will have done an excellent job of it.
Why you aren’t better off with traditional braces
You might be wondering whether traditional metal braces are a better option for you than Invisalign aligner trays. The answer is no.
In fact, because traditional braces – whether metal, lingual or porcelain – are attached to the teeth. And while it is perfectly possible to secure the attachments to crowns or veneers as well as natural teeth, the pressure exerted is significantly more than that of Invisalign aligners.
What’s more, staying on top of your oral health and hygiene is a lot easier when you are wearing clear aligner trays, for the simple reason that clear aligners are removable, which means you can take them out for meals and to brush and clean your teeth. Traditional braces do not allow you the same luxury.
Still, in those cases where patients are turned down for Invisalign treatment because of their severely crooked teeth or other orthodontic issues, tradition metal braces is still a good option to have on standby. Having said that, clear aligners should be your first option, not least when you have crowns, veneers or implants to consider.
How to remove Invisalign clear aligners if you have crowns
You should always remove your Invisalign clear aligners carefully, but this is especially important if you have dental crowns, particularly if the crowns are a little older and worse for wear.
Dental crowns are not forever, and after about a decade, they can become chipped or rough around the edges. What this means is that an old crown is much more likely than a new crown to get stuck in your clear aligners, which has the dual effect of making the aligner trays harder to remove and can mean that you are pulling on your crown every time you are removing your aligner trays.
Ideally, you should slip your clear aligners up and over your teeth as smoothy as possible, to avoid any pulling. Doing this is not difficult, but can take a bit of practice.
The easiest way to remove your clear aligners without pulling at your crowns is to place your fingertip on the inside of one of your back molars and slowly pulling the aligner free by pushing it with your finger. Once one side of your aligner has become loose, repeat the same procedure on the other side of your mouth. When you have managed to wiggle both sides of your aligner loose, pull it slowly up and slip it over your front teeth. Et voila!
Invisalign aligners with crowns FAQ
Can Invisalign pull out a crown?
Assuming that your dental crown has been bonded properly to your tooth, it is all but impossible for your Invisalign clear aligners to pull out a crown.
Still, you should do the reasonable thing and remove your aligners very carefully every time you want to take them out to avoid any potential crown-pulling. Older crowns are likely to have chips or sharp edges, which could get stuck in your aligners and make them harder to slip off without pulling at the crown in the process.
Should I get a crown before or after Invisalign?
If you are in need of a dental crown to replace any damaged or missing teeth, you should absolutely get it before commencing your Invisalign treatment.
However, if your crown is purely for cosmetic reasons, you may want to undergo your orthodontic treatment first and get the crown installed afterwards.
Can I straighten my teeth if I have crowns?
Absolutely. Having crowns or other dental work is no hindrance at all to undergoing the Invisalign treatment.
Dental crowns both look and function pretty much the same as your natural teeth, and provided that your crowns have been properly installed and are bonded to your teeth, this is also going to be the case when you are getting your teeth straightened.
Can you get braces with crowns on front teeth?
Yes, absolutely.
Having crowns, veneers or implants is no obstacle to getting your teeth straightened. However, if any of your dental work is old and needs replacing before you can undergo orthodontic treatment, your Invisalign provider will be able to spot this during your initial assessment, before you start your Invisalign treatment.
Can you get Invisalign with a missing tooth?
Whether or not you can get Invisalign if you have a missing tooth depends on how large a gap has been left by the tooth, and where the gap is placed.
In many cases, your Invisalign dentist is going to recommend getting an implant before you can proceed with your teeth straightening treatment.
Takeaway
There are many things to consider when you are contemplating getting your teeth straightened with Invisalign clear aligners, and one of them is whether or not the dental work you already have had done is going to get in the way.
Fortunately, neither crowns, veneers or full implants are a stumbling block if you want to pursue teeth straightening treatment with Invisalign.