Is Invisalign Right for Your Child?

Parents often prefer Invisalign® aligners over traditional braces for correcting their children’s misaligned teeth, because these devices can achieve results without the embarrassment and inconvenience of metal wires and brackets. Children who use Invisalign can maintain a normal appearance during orthodontic treatment. By giving patients the best of both worlds, Invisalign has transformed the smiles of more than 8 million patients of all ages.

The Invisalign system uses a series of customized, clear plastic trays, with one tray for the upper teeth and one tray for the lower teeth. Each tray in the set is produced with a slightly adjusted mold, going from the condition your child’s teeth are currently in to the final alignment.

These customized aligners use gentle pressure to gradually move your child’s teeth into predetermined positions until the teeth look and function normally. Patients change out the aligners on a predetermined schedule. Most patients wear one set of aligners for 1-2 weeks and then switch to a new set. 

Here at the Supertooth Dental Group, our team is filled with Invisalign specialists that have completed Invisalign training to ensure that your child gets healthy, long-term results. Here are some of the benefits of using the Invisalign system.

Removable to maintain oral hygiene

One of the biggest advantages of Invisalign is that the plastic aligners can be removed at any time. The aligners can be kept clean by rinsing them with warm water and brushing them with a toothbrush daily.

Having removable devices can help your child avoid tooth decay, because it can allow them to follow their normal routine of brushing and flossing. You won’t have to worry that bacteria is getting trapped between and behind metal bands or wires. 

While Invisalign aligners offer the convenience of being removable, your child will have to wear them for 20-22 hours per day. If they consistently wear their aligners for fewer than the recommended number of daily hours, their treatment time could take longer.

More discreet than metal braces

Patients of all ages often prefer Invisalign aligners, because they’re virtually invisible, so they deliver treatment discreetly. The aligners will fit snugly against your child’s teeth, because they’ll be created just for your child’s mouth.

The cosmetic benefits of receiving orthodontic treatment discreetly can encourage compliance from tweens and teens who may be concerned about looking different. Furthermore, Invisalign aligners are FDA-approved and manufactured using a thin thermoplastic known as SmartTrack®. SmartTrack is free of BPA, BPS, and gluten, making Invisalign ideal for children with allergies.

Appropriate for virtually any age

Invisalign aligners can correct problems ranging from simple to complex for children as young as age 6. Invisalign can straighten crowded or crooked teeth while simultaneously correcting overbites, underbites, and other jaw issues.

Invisalign® First is a new treatment plan that can correct many problems caused by misaligned teeth in children ages 6-10, even if baby teeth are present. Invisalign First can treat crowding and other conditions even as your child’s smile is developing.

No food restrictions

With Invisalign, your child won’t have to give up hard or sticky foods like they’d have to with metal braces. As long as your child removes their aligners before eating and maintains proper oral hygiene, they’ll be able to enjoy their favorite foods and beverages during Invisalign treatment.

Since the aligners are clear, it could be easy for a child to misplace them when they take them out to eat. So it will be important to help your child establish a system for keeping track of their aligners when they remove them. 

Fewer office visits

Having orthodontic care with metal braces can require many office visits to make adjustments. And if you break a bracket or wire, that would necessitate even more office visits. This isn’t the case with Invisalign.

With Invisalign, you're given a number of aligner sets at the start. And your child replaces one set with another according to the schedule. You’ll only need to bring your child in for occasional visits so your provider can check on their progress. 

To find out more about Invisalign and to see if this unique system can help your child, book an appointment online or over the phone with the Supertooth Dental Group today.