Woodland, CA Family Orthodontist
Hours: Mon - Thu 8:30am - 5:00pm Fri - By Appointment

Invisalign 101: What You Need to Know About Clear Aligner Treatment

Hi, I’m Dr. Portalupi from Portalupi Orthodontics in downtown Woodland, and today I’d like to talk to you a little bit about Invisalign. First of all, I want to tell you that not all people that provide Invisalign services are orthodontists. There is a big difference between an orthodontist and a general dentist who provides orthodontic services. An orthodontist goes to two or three years of extra schooling after dental school, focusing just on orthodontics. All of our continuing education, or at least most of it, is focused just on orthodontic treatment, and along with that goes Invisalign. I have taken many, many intensive study courses on Invisalign, and we feel very, very comfortable with the results we get, and we’re one of the top providers of Invisalign in the area.

Invisalign Basics

Let’s talk a little bit about what Invisalign really is. It’s a series of aligners – little clear plastic trays that look a little bit like clear retainers or mouthguards. Each set of aligners is slightly different from the others and puts constant gentle pressure on your teeth that will gradually move them into proper alignment. You wear each set of clear aligners for anywhere between three to 14 days before moving on to the next set.

We also have ways to accelerate your clear aligner treatment with various systems that will speed up the cellular action that moves the teeth. It’s called Propel Micro-Osteoperforation or the V-Pro 5 and we can talk about that if you’re interested when you come into the office.

Invisalign Advantages

I also want to talk to you a little bit about some of the advantages of Invisalign. First of all, probably the one that is most appealing to our patients is there’s no “brace faces,” no brackets, no wires that are scratching your gums and your teeth and giving you a lot of irritation. In addition, there are really no food restrictions, you can eat whatever you want during your treatment. With braces, you have to be careful with the foods you eat. If you break your braces, you have to have an extra visit and come into the office.

Since Invisalign clear aligners are removable, it’s also much easier to brush and floss your teeth. With braces, you’ve got to get around the brackets and wires, and it’s much more challenging to floss your teeth. With Invisalign, all you have to do is take your aligners out, brush and floss as normal, and then put the aligners back in.

Teenagers and adults alike love the fact that they can remove their aligners anytime they need to. For teenagers, if you have a hot date or prom, you can take them out for a couple of hours and afterwards put them back in again. If you’re a business person and you have an important business meeting or you have to give a presentation, you can take your aligners out and put them back in right after the meeting.

Invisalign aligners are also generally much more comfortable than braces. So although there is a little bit of discomfort when you’re first getting used to them, when you put each new aligner in you adjust to it very quickly. But the last – and probably the most important – advantage of Invisalign is that we can get excellent results – just as good as braces but with more convenience for you. And in some cases, Invisalign is actually the preferred choice.

So if you would like to make an appointment to see what we can do for you with Invisalign, we invite you to schedule a complimentary consultation. We can either do a virtual appointment online or you can come into our office – whichever is more convenient for you. I’m really excited to see what we can do to help you achieve that beautiful smile you’ve always wanted.


Portalupi Orthodontics proudly serves the Woodland, CA community and surrounding areas with a focus on delivering exceptional results and an amazing patient experience. In addition to Invisalign for teens and adults, Dr. Portalupi also offers a range of braces treatment options. To schedule your complimentary consultation, please call us at (530) 662-9191 or go online. We offer virtual and in-office appointments.

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