It’s almost that time. The time in your child’s life where they begin entering into those preteen years. The years where they seem to cost you the most money! They want cooler clothes, name brand backpacks, shoes, cell phones and suddenly their once adorable crooked front tooth is embarrassing.They’ve even started smiling with their mouth closed. You’ve noticed, but haven’t said anything because the last thing you ever want to do is hurt their feelings. You want to help, but you’re not sure how. Maybe you had braces as a teen and you know how painful and clunky they were. You don’t want them to go through the same pain and suffering you did. Well, guess what? The good news for your teen or preteen is that dental medicine has come a long way since your teen years and they might be a great candidate for Invisalign®.
Invisalign® is an alternative to traditional metal braces. It corrects less extreme crookedness and imperfections in the teeth and bite in a much less invasive and less noticeable way.
Who is a Candidate for Invisalign®?
Children are not good candidates for Invisalign®® because their jawbone is still malleable and forming. Even if all of their adult teeth have come in, their jawbone still has some developing left to do so it’s best to stick with traditional braces for children.
Invisalign® is reserved exclusively for teens and adults whose jaws have finished developing and who only have mild to moderate bite and malocclusion issues. If rubber bands are needed to shift the jaw forward, backward or to either side, invisalign is not a good option for treatment and traditional braces would be the best course of treatment.
For those teens and adults who only need mild bite corrections, invisalign can be a great treatment option!
How Does Invisalign®® Work?
Invisalign® is a less-invasive and more discreet teeth-straightening solution designed for teens and adults with mild to moderate malocclusion or teeth crookedness. This method of treatment uses clear custom-fit trays weekly and biweekly to slightly adjust to fit the location of the teeth and bite until optimum position is achieved. The trays should be worn for 1-2 weeks at a time depending on the timeline of each place in the treatment cycle and then replaced with new adjusted ones each cycle.
If you’re interested in learning more about Invisalign®® or would like a consultation to find out if you or a loved one is a candidate, please give our office a call at 805-205-9299.
