Weekend December 9/10, 2000

Clearly Straightening Your Teeth

Brace yourself! There's a new twist in straightening your teeth and the reason this method is catching on, is pretty "clear." We have the scoop in today's RXtra.

The quest to be the best... our bodies, our hair, our relationships, and even our teeth. If you've been held back by heavy metal...the future is clear.

Nicole Sassamans is young and hip. She's the typical baby boomer who wants it all, including straight teeth. But it's visions like the one from the movie Little Shop of Horrors that bring back the nightmare of wearing braces for many.

Nicole says she didn't want to look like a teenager. She had braces when she was younger but says, "Then your teeth move as you get older so I wanted to get them straightened again."

Nicole's just starting out with Los Angeles orthodontist Kathleen Nuckles. Jonathan Reff is just finishing... 16 months of the clear plastic.

Jonathan says he is thrilled, "My teeth look so much better than they did before and it was a nice process."

So how do they work? Computers actually help design a series of tight-fitting removable retainers based on an impression of your teeth. But this isn't for everyone. Children whose jaws and teeth are still moving too much and adults with severely misaligned teeth are both out.

Dr Nuckles say, "The ideal patient is someone with good bite who has some front teeth that are out of alignment… minor tweaking or they have some spaces between their teeth they want closed."

There are some 100 million adults with minor irregularities who wouldn't want the wire but might be tempted to go clear. A huge upside to companies developing these products. You need to know they are more expensive than conventional braces… but who can put a price on looking good?

Here's some free advice… Invisalign will cost between five and eight thousand dollars.