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Orthodontics in Darwin- Faster and More Affordable?
Introducing Inman Aligner
If you have suffered all your life with crowded teeth that are difficult to clean, or you are tired that they just don’t look that appealing, Inman Aligner might be the perfect solution. It’s ideal for straightening minor malocclusions in the front of your mouth and can easily correct relapsed orthodontic treatment faster, easier and more affordably.
If you think that the only way to straighten teeth involves expensive braces, and months or even years of treatment then you would be wrong. There are alternatives!
Inman Aligner is the fastest way to straighten crooked front teeth. In most cases, treatment can be completed in as little as 6 to 16 weeks and results are permanently fixed with a retainer (or optionally, a removable retainer can be provided instead).
The fabrication of the appliance uses state-of-art CAD/CAM technology to redesign your new smile. Initially, we will book you in for a one-hour consultation to discuss your teeth, discuss your concerns about them, take study models, measurements and photos. From there, we send your models and photos to an Inman Aligner certified lab where they will scan your models, digitally re-design your smile and print out the final results in 3D for your approval prior to proceeding.
Once you have approved the results, the lab will construct the appliance and return it to us for insert. We’ll show you how to use it, how long to wear it for, and how to care for it and ask that you wear it for at least 16 hours, but no longer than 20 hours each day.
Results are very fast. Typically, you should notice your teeth moving within a week or two as they start to conform to the arch that has been digitally designed. To help your teeth slide past each other, we will sandpaper around the teeth and see you every two weeks or so to check on your progress and make small adjustments as required. The typical treatment time for each arch is approximately 8 to 10 weeks, but can be done as little as 6 weeks! Upper and lower arches can be completed within about 3 to 4 months provided that you wear the appliance as directed.
As well as being very affordable compared to traditional fixed braces, they are also removable. This enables you to remove them to eat and to clean around, play sports as you always have loved to, or attend those important occassions without the sometimes awkward social stigma associated with braces- ideal for adults!.
Please call us for a consultation to discuss your suitability for this revolutionary treatment!
Frequently Asked Questions
Inman Aligner is a proprietary system of removable orthodontics used to align front teeth quickly, affordably and safely. It is an alternative to metal braces and consists of an appliance made of coils and acrylic bows to gently move teeth into a pre-designed position.
To make an Inman Aligner, we need to take digital impressions and records of your teeth to determine the exact positioning and shape of the bows, springs and coils to be made.
The first appointment consists of approximately an 1-hour appointment for consultation where we will discuss with you your concerns about your teeth and what you want changed. Impressions of your upper and lower teeth are taken as well as photos of your teeth, jaws and facial profile; and a full orthodontic examination is conducted.
We will be able to discuss with you what can or can’t be done with the system and whether or not you would be suitable for treatment.
With this information, we make a set of models and complete a digital treatment plan. We then send this off to the lab for the 3D models to be made and printed and returned to us for you to check that you are happy with the end results.
Once approved, the appliance will be fabricated and returned to us for insert.
Some temporary buttons may be bonded to the teeth to help the appliance grip and move the teeth around. These will be removed in later appointments once the teeth have aligned and may be moved to other teeth until the treatment aims are achieved.
To assist with the teeth sliding across each other, some loosening of the tight spaces between some teeth may be necessary. Hand filing using some fine sandpaper between the teeth can help to achieve this and this may be repeated at subsequent review appointments
The appliance is not invisible, like clear aligner systems such as Invisalign or SmileTru, however, it is not as visible as metal braces. The front bow is clear and there are some metal clasps that help hold the retainer in place which can be very slightly noticeable as well. There are options to make the front bow in different colours as well, such as green, pink or purple, however, these are not as popular!
It is removable though, so it can be removed for socially important occasions and treatment is very fast, typically only weeks instead of months or years.
As with any orthodontic type treatment, the appliance will fit quite snugly and apply a continuous but gentle force on the teeth. Over the first few days, you will typically notice that the teeth are very tender as they are moved into position.
Rarely, some people may need to take mild analgesics such as paracetamol or an anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen for temporary relief from the discomfort, or remove the appliance for a few hours to give the teeth a break.
This is no different to when braces are placed.
Inman Aligner is designed to treat only the front six teeth of each arch, and treat them very quickly. In the majority of cases, these are the teeth which cause the most concern for patients aesthetically.
The ideal patient for this treatment are compliant adults (i.e. patients who wear the retainer as prescribed) who have mild to moderate crowding in the anterior teeth but are not prepared to undergo extensive fixed orthodontic treatment. For more complex cases, such as patients with a large skeletal discrepancy, patients who are still growing or where the movements of teeth are too complex for Inman Aligner, we would offer referral to a specialist orthodontist for more comprehensive treatment, or would recommend clear sequential aligners such as SmileTru or Invisalign.
In all cases, a comprehensive examination, photos and study models would be required prior to undertaking treatment to assess your suitability for treatment.
Treatment usually takes approximately 8 to 10 weeks on average for each arch, but can be done in as little as 6 weeks. This is only a general indication though as treatment times vary depending on the complexity of movement required, compliance and general factors such as age and bone density.
To check out some of the possible cases and the timeframes taken to achieve them, please go to Inman Aligner website.
Most patients report difficulty speaking especially during the first three or four days as they get used to the appliance. This does improve over time. We advise that patients read aloud for 20 minutes each day during the first week to speed up this process.
‘S’ and ‘F’ sounds are affected most, however, most patients find that they are able to put up with this over the relatively short treatment timeframe. The appliance is also removable, which helps for those socially important occassions.
Yes. Once the teeth are aligned, they are retained with a small wire bonded to the back of the teeth. This is called a fixed lingual retainer and is commonly used with traditional braces to align teeth. We recommend this over a passive removable retainer as we believe that retention should be for life to avoid any chance that teeth will move back (relapse) into their previous positions.
The retainer is a braided wire approximately 0.2mm thick bonded to the back of the front teeth. We will usually bond the front 4 teeth in upper teeth and the front 6 for lowers. It does feel a little awkward at first, but becomes quite comfortable after a few hours. The retainer doesn’t affect speech, however, it may be more difficult to floss in between these teeth. This is resolved by using a product called superfloss.
You may need to attend the dentist for a clean at least once yearly to review the retainer and to ensure that it is in an optimal state.
As an alternative to the fixed retainer, we can also provide you with a removable option if you prefer. This is a clear mouthguard type of appliance approximately 1mm thick and worn at night for retention. The biggest advantage of this is that it can removed, however, we find that patients tend to damage or lose them from time to time and therefore risk relapse if it doesn’t get replaced.
Removable retainers will need to be replaced, generally every 18 months to 2 years.
Inman Aligner treatment is generally more affordable than fixed braces or Invisalign. Treatment costs can vary depending if you have one or both arches treated. On average, it costs between $2500 to $3000 per arch. This can vary between patients as some are more compliant with treatment and finish earlier whilst others may take a little longer. Our costs for treatment are capped and includes all consultations fees, study models, photos, case work-up fees, follow up appointments and adjustments as well as the fixed lingual retainer (or removable retainer) on treatment completion. Please call us to get an up to date quote as these prices do change from time to time.
Inman Aligner represents excellent value for money over alternatives such as fixed braces or clear aligners, which sometimes can be twice the cost.
After the consultation, if you are suitable and would like to proceed, we would need to take a deposit of $700 per retainer to cover the cost of the lab fees and the remainder can be paid off via a no-interest, no fee payment plan or at a 5% discount if paid for on treatment completion.
In a lot of cases, this is possible. However, sometimes the upper teeth are positioned where the lower teeth need to move to or vice versa. In these cases, it would not be possible to treat only one arch and both would need to be done.
During the consultation, we would be able to let you know what is or isn’t possible with Inman Aligner.
Yes. We offer payment plans via Zipmoney or with more traditional finance via MacCredit for larger plans to help make treatment more affordable. Please ask us about a payment plan as we would be more than happy to work something out with you.