Our Delta dentists use Invisalign® for teens to straighten teens' smiles, and meet the orthodontic treatment needs of today’s busy teenagers. Here's what makes Invisalign® for teens an ideal orthodontic treatment for many young patients.
What is Invisalign®?
Invisalign treatment is a series of removable orthodontic aligners that are convenient and almost completely invisible when worn. Invisalign clear aligners have been designed to correct both simple and complex tooth misalignment issues and bite issues in adults and teens.
How does Invisalign® work?
While undergoing Invisalign treatment, patients wear each set of aligners in their treatment series for approximately two weeks, then switch to the next set of aligners.
Every aligner in the treatment series is shaped slightly differently than the previous aligner, and each is custom-made to precisely control specific and gradual tooth movement. The aligners each play a unique role in achieving a straighter smile.
Invisalign custom aligners are created from a thin clear material called SmartTrack, making Invisalign aligners nearly invisible when worn.
Invisalign clear aligners are also removable, allowing patients to eat, drink and care for their teeth without worrying about damaging their braces. No need to give up favourite foods, or significantly change at-home oral hygiene routines.
What makes Invisalign® for teens different?
Invisalign for teens has all of the convenience and comfort of standard Invisalign but with added features developed with the specific daily needs of teens in mind. Invisalign for teens helps to make it easier for teens to stay on track with their treatment schedule, and accommodate ongoing changes to their developing smiles.
Compliance Indicators
Invisalign clear custom aligners for teens come complete with 'compliance indicators'. These little blue dots on the backs of each aligner fade away after two weeks of full-time wear.
Compliance indicators help teens specifically because on average, teens tend to be less compliant to their prescribed treatment plan than adults.
Meaning that, teens typically take their aligners out more often, and for longer periods of time than prescribed by their dentist. Not complying to prescribed aligner wear can make it difficult for teens to keep track of how much longer they need to wear a given set of aligners.
Invisalign for teens' compliance indicators help teens to keep track of how long they have worn a particular set of aligners because the dots will only disappear after two full weeks of wear.
If the teen gets off track with their treatment, they can easily pick-up where they left off, and know how much longer they need to wear the current set of aligners.
Eruption Tabs
Invisalign for teens also has the addition of eruption tabs. Eruption tabs can be prescribed for younger teens whose adult teeth have not quite finished coming in. This unique feature provides space in the Invisalign aligners to allow newly erupting teeth to grow through, into their desired positions.
Replacement Aligners
Invisalign research has shown that, since teen patients are more likely than adults to remove their aligners, they are also more likely to damage or misplace them. Invisalign for teens comes with 6 replacement aligners so that teen's treatment can continue without skipping a beat.