Invisalign Teen

One of the most significant differences between conventional braces and the Invisalign system is that conventional braces are fixed. Invisalign aligners, on the other hand, are removable.  For many patients, this is a great advantage. It means that they can remove their braces to eat or for important social occasions, without necessarily compromising the quality of their treatment.

For some patients, however, being able to remove their braces can disrupt the progress of their treatment. Dentists recommend that Invisalign aligners should be worn for at least 20 hours per day – so while the aligners are ‘removable’, one should not really be removing them very often if he or she wants the appliances to work effectively.

In particular, it can often be difficult for teenagers to monitor their own treatment - especially if they are embarrassed about wearing braces or if they simply forget to put them in from time to time. Yet a failure to wear the aligners for the recommended 20 hours can result in the need to extend the duration of their treatment. Obviously, this is the last thing the embarrassed teenager wants and it can also add to the cost of the treatment – which is the last thing the parents usually want.

The original Invisalign programme already has many advantages for teenagers. The transparent aligners are discrete, so they are less obvious and cause less embarrassment than conventional braces. They also work quickly, so the treatment period is normally shorter than with conventional metal, wire and elastic braces. So it has the makings of good solution for teenagers. They can even carry on playing sports, which most teenagers love – because the braces can be removed.

With this in mind, Invisalign realised that if they could resolve the issue about teenagers removing their aligners at the wrong times, they could develop a product that worked well for teenagers. That idea has turned into Invisalign Teen.

Invisalign Teen utilises the same bespoke technology as the original Invisalign system. Therefore, each set of aligners is designed to suit each individual patient, which means that they can be also be tailored to young adults whose permanent teeth are still growing and forming.  However, Invisalign Teen has an number of important adaptations.

First of all, each set of aligners includes six free replacements, because teenagers have a habit of losing or damaging them. Each aligner also includes colour indicators which fade the more they are worn. This indicates when it is time to change aligner – and can also show parents whether teenagers are keeping up with their treatment!

These slight adaptations have created a version of Invisalign that is perfect for teenagers. It retains all the plus-points of the original Invisalign system. Yet, at the same time, it makes it much easier.

 
- Surrey Invisalign Dentist