If you are thinking about Invisalign for your orthodontic treatment, you may wonder if the aligners might affect your ability to speak. Here, our Delta dentists offer their top tips for getting used to speaking with your Invisalign aligners in your mouth.
Most dental or orthodontic appliances have the potential to affect your speech, particularly when they add any extra thickness to the roof of your mouth, or to back of your front teeth. This includes Invisalign aligners.
Is Invisalign likely to cause speech impediments?
Not very. Invisalign aligners are made of thin, light weight plastic, making any impact they may have on your speech fairly minor.
Nevertheless, when you first have your Invisalign aligners placed for treatment, you may notice a slight lisp to your speech. The lisp will likely be most obvious when you make “s” or “sh” sounds.
This is will probably only be noticeable to you.
Overall, you probably have nothing to worry about. Studies have shown that 93% of Invisalign patients reported no difficulties with speech while wearing their aligners.
What are some tips to reduce a speech impediment while wearing Invisalign?
If you notice that your Invisalign aligners are causing you to speak with a slight lisp or speech impediment, just remember: practice makes perfect.
Practice the pronunciation and enunciation of the words you are struggling to overcome the problem, and get used to your new dental appliance. Try reading out loud to yourself (or to others), or having conversations with friends or family members that you trust.