“The smile you’ve always wanted. Without the hardware.”
Metal braces belong in middle school. For adults who want straighter teeth, Advancements in Dental Care offers Invisalign — the clear aligner system that straightens your smile without brackets, wires, or the self-consciousness that comes with them. The aligners are made of a strong, clear plastic that fits snugly over your teeth and is, in most cases, completely undetectable to anyone who doesn't know to look.
Invisalign works by using a custom series of graduated aligners to gently shift your teeth into their correct positions over time. Each aligner moves your teeth incrementally, and you progress through the series on a schedule designed by Dr. Aust for your specific case. Invisalign can address crowding, spacing, bite issues, and general misalignment — and in many cases achieves results up to 50% faster than traditional braces. The aligners are FDA-approved, BPA-free, and because they contain no metal, they are ideal for patients with metal sensitivities.
The confidence that comes from a straight smile is real — and the freedom that comes from achieving it without metal hardware is equally real. If you've been considering straightening your teeth but held back because you didn't want to deal with braces, it's time to talk to Dr. Aust about Invisalign. At Advancements in Dental Care, every smile is treated as the unique case it is, and we take the time to determine whether Invisalign is genuinely the right fit for your goals and your anatomy.
Why Invisalign
The Advantages
Nearly Invisible
Invisalign aligners are made of a clear, smooth plastic that fits precisely over your teeth. Unless you specifically point them out, most people will never notice you're wearing them — which makes Invisalign the preferred choice for working professionals, adults in social settings, and anyone who wants to straighten their teeth discreetly.
Removable for Eating and Cleaning
Unlike fixed braces, Invisalign aligners are removed when you eat and when you brush and floss your teeth. This means no food restrictions, no awkward cleaning around brackets and wires, and no increased cavity risk from trapped food. Simply remove, eat normally, brush your teeth, and reinsert. Your oral hygiene routine stays completely intact.
More Comfortable Than Braces
Traditional metal braces have wires that poke, brackets that rub against the inside of your cheeks, and adjustment appointments that leave your mouth sore for days. Invisalign aligners are smooth-edged, custom-fit plastic. There's no metal in contact with your soft tissue. The gradual movement still involves some pressure as teeth shift, but the overall experience is significantly more comfortable than braces.
Faster Treatment in Many Cases
For many adult patients, Invisalign treatment can be completed in 6 to 12 months — compared to 18 to 24 months or longer for traditional braces. Treatment time varies depending on the complexity of tooth movement needed, but many patients are pleasantly surprised by how quickly they see results.
No Emergency Appointments for Broken Hardware
With braces, a broken bracket or poking wire means an unscheduled trip to the dentist. With Invisalign, there's no hardware to break. If you misplace or damage an aligner, we simply progress to the next set or order a replacement. The process is far more flexible and forgiving.
Treats Multiple Alignment Issues
Invisalign can address crowded teeth, widely spaced teeth, crossbite, overbite, underbite, and open bite. It can also be used in combination with other restorative procedures — for example, straightening teeth before implant placement to optimize spacing and occlusion. Dr. Aust will evaluate your specific case to confirm what Invisalign can achieve for you.
How It Works
Your Invisalign Journey
Consultation and Assessment
Your Invisalign journey begins with a consultation at Advancements in Dental Care. Dr. Aust will evaluate your teeth, bite, and jaw to determine whether Invisalign is the right treatment for your specific alignment needs. Not every case is a candidate for clear aligners — some complex bite problems require different approaches — and Dr. Aust will give you an honest assessment of what Invisalign can and cannot achieve for you.
Digital Impressions and Custom Treatment Planning
Once you're confirmed as an Invisalign candidate, we take precise digital impressions (or physical molds, depending on your case) of your teeth. These impressions are used to fabricate your full series of custom aligners and to generate a digital treatment plan showing the projected movement of your teeth from start to finish. You'll actually be able to see a simulation of your expected final result before treatment begins.
Receiving Your Aligners
Your custom aligners arrive in a numbered series. Dr. Aust will walk you through how to insert and remove them, how to care for them, and what to expect during treatment. You'll receive several sets of aligners at once, which means fewer office visits than traditional braces require.
Wearing Your Aligners
You must wear your aligners for 20 to 22 hours per day throughout treatment. They are only removed for eating, drinking anything other than water, and cleaning your teeth. Consistent wear time is the single most important factor in achieving your projected results on schedule. Skipping days or wearing aligners less than recommended will extend treatment time.
Progressing Through the Series
Typically, you progress to the next aligner in the series every 1 to 2 weeks. Each new aligner is slightly different from the last — gradually moving your teeth closer to their final position. You'll return to our office periodically (usually every 6 to 8 weeks) for Dr. Aust to monitor your progress, confirm that your teeth are tracking as planned, and provide your next set of aligners.
Completion and Retention
When you complete your final aligner, your teeth will be in their corrected positions. To keep them there, you'll wear a retainer — typically at night. This retention phase is critical: without it, teeth have a natural tendency to drift back toward their original positions over time. Dr. Aust will provide you with a custom retainer and a clear retention plan at the end of treatment.
Common Questions
Invisalign FAQ
Why Dr. Aust
Invisalign at Advancements in Dental Care
At Advancements in Dental Care, we approach Invisalign the same way we approach every other treatment: with honesty, thoroughness, and a genuine focus on long-term outcomes. We don't recommend Invisalign because it's popular — we recommend it when it's genuinely the right fit for a patient's goals and dental anatomy. Dr. Aust has extensive experience with clear aligner treatment and takes a personalized approach to every case. He reviews your bite, your bone structure, your periodontal health, and your goals before building a treatment plan. And because our practice is fee-for-service, there's out-of-network pressure to choose a less appropriate or less thorough approach. We also understand that most adults considering Invisalign have tried to ignore their alignment issues for years — uncomfortable with braces but not sure what else to do. We've helped many patients finally take that step, and we're here to make it simple, comfortable, and effective. Call Advancements in Dental Care at (708) 485-0340, or visit us at 9224 Broadway Ave, Brookfield, IL 60513. Let's talk about whether Invisalign can give you the smile you've been putting off.
Schedule Your Invisalign Consultation →Ready for a Smile That Works?
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