Angie Trull, known to hundreds of patients, old and new, for her dazzling smile and delightful personality, is considered by her boss, Raleigh Dentist Steven Andreaus, to be one of his most memorable patients. She is his office manager and patient coordinator.

“About ten years ago, after I completed extensive training, Angie became my first Invisalign® patient,” he recalls. “Because of work I had done earlier in a dental lab, even before I went to dental school, I recognized that Invisalign had a great deal of orthodontic potential. But in truth, the development of this product over the past 10 years has far exceeded those earlier hopes and expectations.”

Invisalign, he notes, “utilizes advances in 3-D imaging technology to create a series of customized plastic aligners. Patients simply wear each aligner for a few weeks, removing it only to eat, brush, and floss. After use of as few as 8 or as many as 48+ nearly invisible aligners, the procedure is done. And the results are consistently wonderful. Patients typically finish the process in 6 to 18 months.”

Angie Trull and her son, Zachary.

Dr. Andreaus

Dr. Andreaus says that Invisalign “has become an invaluable tool in protecting a patient’s natural teeth as it works, over time, to give them a wonderful smile.” He was recognized by the company “as one of a select group of doctors who have achieved the highest level of Invisalign expertise.”

Invisalign, he says, is an excellent cosmetic choice for about 80 percent of the people who could benefit from orthodontic work. “In using orthodontic braces, it’s possible to move a tooth as much as a quarter of a millimeter every two weeks—an adjustment that has to be done by the orthodontist. Invisalign, quite differently, is programmed by computer to make exact incremental movements of a quarter of a millimeter every two weeks.

“Invisalign is very beneficial in my cosmetic and aesthetic work. For some patients, as a result of this new product, we don’t need to restore a tooth. Invisalign allows me to take care of their wishes in an aesthetic fashion even as we’re straightening their teeth orthodontically. The beauty of the procedure, in addition to the fact that it is precise and quick, is that it really is virtually invisible to see.”