Surry Hills Invisalign Guide: Buttons, Attachments & Filing Explained
We explored the exciting Invisalign actual procedure once you start the process in our previous post.
You might be surprised to learn that your treatment could involve tiny attachments, which are often called “buttons” and a bit of space-making between your teeth.
Wondering why your dentist does this and what it’s all for? You’re in the right place.
What is the purpose of the button on Invisalign?
These aren’t just dental bling. Though some people lovingly call them little diamantes, they’re actually made from a tooth-coloured resin (same stuff we use for fillings).
We glue them onto specific teeth to act like handles. Why?
Because your teeth are smooth. And so are your aligners. So if you try to push smooth plastic onto smooth enamel, there’s a lot of slippage and not a lot of grippage (and the movements we can do are very limited).
The purpose of the buttons on Invisalign is to act like handles, giving your aligners something to grip onto so they can apply pressure in the right direction.
These attachments come in all shapes and sizes and help us:
Rotate stubborn teeth
Nudge some teeth up (intrusion) or down (extrusion)
Apply sideway force like torque or tip
Keep your aligners seated properly
They’re painless to place, totally temporary, and polished off at the end. Like they were never there.
Is it necessary to fill teeth gap? Filing (aka IPR, aka Interproximal Reduction)
Filing is kind of like flossing… with sandpaper.
We do this when your teeth are a bit too crowded — think: not enough real estate, so we have to find or create space. Traditionally, we would pull teeth out, but thanks to digital technology, we can more precisely calculate how much space is needed, and where we can ‘gain’ that space from; we rarely have to pull teeth out nowadays. Instead, we gently polish 0.1–0.25mm between select teeth to create space.
If you’ve ever filed your nails, it feels kinda like that. No nerve endings in enamel = no pain. Just a weird noise and a weird feeling.
We do this conservatively and only when needed. But it makes a massive difference in how well your teeth can move into alignment, without extracting anything.
Invisalign Treatment at Surry Hills
Curious if Invisalign is right for you? Book your consultation with our expert dental team in Surry Hills Dental Centre today and take the first step toward your dream smile.
Still with us? Part Six is coming next: How to make Invisalign life easier — real tips from someone who’s lived it.
