How to Straighten Teeth Without Braces

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Everyone wants to have a perfect smile without having to compromise their look by placing traditional braces. And even if the looks don’t bother you, using traditional braces is also an obstacle to performing different daily tasks. And some of the patients have shown allergic responses to the metal components used in the braces.

What causes misaligned (crooked) teeth?

For the most parts, crooked teeth are caused because of your genes. But you shouldn’t put all the blame on your ancestors for your crooked smile.

A crooked tooth, or misalignment, is generally caused by a few reasons:

  • Thumb sucking after a baby has started to teethe.
  • Low-grade swallowing reflux causes the tongue to push against the front teeth.
  • Early loss of baby teeth.
  • Uncharacteristically big teeth.
  • Poor dental care
  • Poor nutrition
  • Facial injury

Why should you straighten your teeth?

People with crooked teeth can encounter an increased chance of developing tooth corrosion, tooth pain, tooth damage, and even tooth loss. Straightening all the crooked teeth not only enhances the overall appearance of your smile but your oral health too.

Patients that have crooked teeth may feel:

  • Recurring headaches
  • Bad oral hygiene
  • Pain in the jaw
  • Difficulty to chew

Can you Straighten Teeth without Braces?

Luckily, the response to this question is yes, you can. We want to welcome you to the era of clear aligners, retainers, and porcelain veneers. So here are the most common ways you can straighten your teeth without the use of braces:

Straighten Teeth Without Braces With Porcelain veneers

Porcelain veneers are the most prevalent in cosmetic dentistry. It is crucial to note that they don’t initiate teeth movement. They just cover up the appearance of the teeth that are slightly misaligned or crooked. The process of getting porcelain veneers firstly begins with removing a thin layer of your tooth. This makes the tooth-colored veneers seem real when attached to the teeth. After that, the dentists proceed to secure the veneers. This procedure doesn’t take a lot of time, and it is an easy solution. Just like fingernails, the veneers cover up the teeth, stains, and other flaws. And the result is a beautiful and attractive smile.

Straighten Teeth Without Braces With Retainers

Another popular option for teeth strengthening without braces is retainers. However, they are meant for mild to moderate levels of misalignment. If you have a mild misalignment, you need to wear the retainers only when you’re asleep. If you have an intermediate level of misalignments, then you should probably wear them both during the night and day.

Straighten Teeth Without Braces With Clear Aligners

For severely misaligned teeth, one of the best options is using clear aligners. Modern clear aligners are assembled from transparent plastic. Under normal circumstances, it’s hard for anyone to know that you’re actually wearing them.

What is the best solution to straighten teeth without braces?

Now that you already know you can correct teeth alignment without the use of braces, you need to conclude which solution fits you the best. Even though it all depends on the patient’s needs and condition, we advise you to use clear aligners if you have mild to severely misaligned teeth.

Metal Braces vs. Clear Aligners: Which Is More Effective?

Metal braces are more efficient at correcting teeth that have critical overcrowding. And, since they’re attached to your teeth, you won’t misplace or lose them.

On the other hand, a study discovered that the clear aligners are great for medium or easy teeth overcrowding. And the full treatment time with aligners was shorter than with traditional braces. The clear aligners have multiple advantages over their traditional braces. They are:

  • Smooth and comfortable
  • Easily removable
  • Not restrictive on foods you can eat
  • Helpful for regular brushing and flossing
  • Virtually invisible

So if you want to enhance your smile quickly without having to be worried about your look, then clear aligners might be the best solution for you.

Can anyone get invisible clear aligners?

The invisible aligners are custom-made for a perfect and tight fit, and they are most suitable for teens or adults. Aligning a child’s teeth can be a lot more complicated. Kids’ teeth are still growing and refining. So the dentist must think about this when providing a child with the proper treatment.

Clear aligners are mainly applied to patients who have moderately crowded teeth or have lesser spacing problems. Patients who are suffering from severe crowding or spacing problems may require a more complicated treatment.

How do Clear Aligners work?

 Aligners work by using precisely calibrated force to move your teeth into the correct position, pushing the body to adapt by rebuilding the teeth’ bone. Every set of aligners is a unique 3D-printed model of the teeth intended to move them into different positions along the way to the wanted end result. Once a dentist finds the correct bite, he then creates a method for moving your teeth in the correct spot.

Will they affect what I can eat?

No. Since you must take off the clear aligners when eating and drinking, you can maintain your regular eating habits. It’s crucial to brush and floss before you insert your aligners back again so that you can keep dental hygiene and clean breath. But unlike the traditional metal braces, you never have to worry about forgetting your favorite foods while in therapy.

What are the best Clear Aligners manufacturers?

A popular brand for adults who are searching for clear aligners is Invisalign. If you aren’t familiar with Invisalign, they are the first orthodontic treatment with a clear aligner product.

Invisalign is undoubtedly a fantastic selection if you’re looking for a professional method to straighten your teeth without braces. They are so discreet that your mates won’t be able to tell you’re wearing them while you speak, laugh or smile. But, this kind of orthodontic treatment still needs you to do scheduled checkups at the orthodontist, and Invisalign can be a pretty expensive solution. Invisalign can cost you anywhere from $5,000 and up to $7,000 for just a single year.

How to straighten teeth without braces on a budget?

And because the prices are way too high for an average person, we have done a lot of research to develop the most affordable options while still performing the job as efficiently and professionally as Invisalign.

Candid

Even though they offer low prices, Candid is one of the top names when it comes to clear aligners. With $99/month for 24 months, they are among the most affordable clear aligners providers worldwide. They have a strong emphasis on quality and care, and their AI monitoring technology makes treatment more effective and precise. So this means you don’t even need to go to a dentist on a regular check. You can do it in front of the PC and in the comfort of your home.

Candid has several physical locations, also called Studios, which you can attend for a scan. There’s also the possibility of requesting an impression kit and doing everything from your house without going anywhere. If you’re interested in starting with Candid, then here is a link where you can find all the necessary information. Just follow the link. There will be a guide on how you can order clear aligners from them and all other essential details.

NewSmile

NewSmile is well placed as a provider of clear aligners in Canada, and it’s starting to catch up in the USA market by showing that they create quality but at slightly lower prices. They use the most explicit material available and use a multi-tooth movement system for faster treatment.

Byte

Another great aligner band goes by the name of Byte, offers high-quality treatment using their unique hyper-byte technology. Orthodontists use your impressions to create your personalized treatment plan. And your dentist follows your progress throughout a monitor.

Advantages of using Clear Aligners

Here are the three most vital advantages to straightening your teeth with clear aligners instead of traditional bracelets.

Clear aligners are so efficient that they can decrease treatment time in half.

One of the most significant parts of an adult seeking cosmetic dental care is the speed of the treatment. Adults have a hectic life, and the dental treatment needs to be as fast as possible.

The average patient can cut their treatment period in half or more by taking clear aligners over traditional braces. The average treatment time of the clear aligners is approximately six months.

No one will know that you’re straightening your teeth unless you tell them.

You should never be embarrassed by orthodontic treatment because it could happen to everyone, but many adults would preferably avoid wearing regular braces because of their obvious appearance. Clear aligners aren’t precisely invisible, but they are so hidden that the average person will have no idea you’re even wearing them even when you’re close to each other.

Acknowledging that you are able to keep your teeth straightening a mystery is really encouraging, particularly for patients that are working in a professional environment, going on a date, or are in a spot where appearance is very important to them.

You’ll be able to brush and floss without any difficulty.

The most nerve-racking thing about traditional braces is that the system relies on semi-permanent wires and brackets. These brackets and wires can create many problems when brushing or flossing. Plus, you won’t be able to do teeth whitening until after treatment is finally over.

On the other side, if you proceed with the clear aligner treatment you will be able to remove them whenever you wish. When you’re willing to brush and floss, grab the aligners and remove them from your teeth, it’s easy as that.

Straighten Teeth Without Braces Frequently Asked Questions

Here are a few of the most asked questions on the net. We did our best to answer them with all studies checked:

How can I straighten my teeth cheap?

The most affordable approach to straighten your teeth without the use of braces is by using clear aligners. And we recommend the following brands for the most affordable solution to your problems: Candid, NewSmile, and Byte. Even though they are not placed as high as Invisalign, they will get the job done without any problems.

Does pushing your teeth straighten them?

No, you should never try this method because it will never work. This practice will only make your teeth worse and can even lead to you cracking up and losing your teeth.

Even if you try to push your tooth for 9 hours a day continuously, you will get a tiny bit of movement. But in the remaining 15 hours, the tooth will slowly move back to its original position. So you have achieved nothing and just wasted your time.

If you want to achieve something, you would need to push your tooth for 22 hours a day to get the movement.

Tooth movement requires constant and consistent pressure that’s why braces or aligners straighten teeth. You surely won’t be able to push constantly by yourself for 22 hours a day – day after day after day.

Can you straighten your teeth yourself?

If your teeth are slightly crooked or just a bit crowded, then an orthodontist-prescribed retainer may be just enough to get them straight. But you should never attempt to straighten your teeth by yourself without the prescription of a professional dentist. Work with an orthodontist to find the perfect solution for straightening your teething. 

Doing something that your licensed dentist doesn’t confirm without their allowance can just cause additional damage to your teeth. There are many tips on the internet where they will tell you to “place your tongue on your teeth and push in the right direction”. This won’t work, and we advise you never to follow the information that a dentist or doctor doesn’t verify.

Dr Febin Mary George - Editor

With more than 10 years as a dental surgeon, Dr Febin Mary George is passionate about educating consumers around the world to help look after their teeth.

She completed her Bachelor of Surgery at the Century Institute of Dental Science and Research Centre in 2010.

Alongside editing the International Journal of Dental Clinics she has also written for major publications including Thrive Global.