Between school, making friends, rapid growth spurts, and all of the other changes that come with puberty, teenagers have enough on their minds without having to worry about how they look with metal brackets and wires on their teeth. At City Orthodontics, we work with patients of all ages from North York, Toronto, and the surrounding communities to create perfect smiles with professional treatment and the expertise of our orthodontic team. With teens, we want to make their hectic life a little bit easier by making their orthodontic treatment as smooth as possible, while also catering to their needs with a variety of treatment options.
While traditional metal braces are always an effective option, many teens vie for something a bit more discreet, so they can keep the fact that they’re straightening their teeth to themselves instead of making it publically known whenever they flash a smile. That’s why we offer Invisalign® Teen, which is an alternative to braces that are practically invisible when worn. Over the years, we’ve gotten every question there is about Invisalign® Teen, so to help you out with finding the information you need, we’ve put some of the most frequently asked questions and their answers below.
Invisalign® Teen FAQ
Q. How Is Invisalign® Teen Different From Normal Invisalign®?
A. Invisalign® Teen and Invisalign® for adults are fundamentally the same, but the treatment for teens is different in a small way. For the aligners that we create for Invisalign® Teen, each aligner has a small blue dot near the area where the back molars would be. When your child wears the aligner for the 22 hours per day that is necessary to achieve the desired results, this blue dot will wear away. At the end of the normal two weeks that they should be wearing a single aligner, if you or their orthodontists notice that the blue dot has not faded away, it means that they are not wearing them as they should.
These “compliance indicators” as we call them are a simple measure that we take to ensure that teens get the most out their orthodontic treatment, since we want them to have the perfect smile by the time they’re done, and wearing their aligners is the only way to do that.
Q. How Much Does Invisalign® Teen Cost Compared To Braces?
A. No. Unlike braces, you may eat whatever you like as long as you remove the aligners before eating. Prior to placing the aligners back on, it is important to brush your teeth and the aligners after you eat.
Q. Will wearing the aligners affect my speech?
A. If you think that your child would be a good fit for Invisalign®, just schedule an appointment with us here at our local Toronto orthodontic office. We’ll conduct an initial examination to determine if your child is eligible to receive Invisalign® treatment. In some cases, patients may not always be an ideal fit for getting Invisalign®, but the good news is that there are always other treatment options available to them so they can have the healthy smile they deserve.
Q. How Often Can They Take Out The Aligners?
A. Even though the aligners are removable, doesn’t mean that they can be taken out all the time. Often, teens may be tempted to take their aligners out for a quick snack or a big social event like a school dance. However, for the aligners to effectively move the teeth, it needs to be worn a full 22 hours every day. The aligners should only be taken out for meals and to be cleaned along with a normal brushing, flossing, and rinsing routine before putting them back in.
Q. Are There Diet Restrictions With Invisalign® Teen?
A. Compared to braces that can be damaged by hard or sticky foods, Invisalign® aligners can be removed, which allows your teen to enjoy all of their favorite foods and drinks without restrictions. The aligners should be removed for eating or drinking anything, but drinking a plain glass of water is perfectly fine without removing them. Hot beverages can warp the plastic that the aligners are made from, and can make it so that they no longer fit over the teeth comfortably.
Q. How Do You Clean The Aligners?
A. Keeping the Invisalign® Teen aligners clean is essential to get that perfectly healthy smile, since wearing aligners that have bacteria and food particles stuck in them actually accelerates tooth decay. The last thing your teen wants is to finish treatment only have to deal with a bunch of cavities and rotting teeth. Keeping aligners clean is as simple, as a gentle brushing with some water on a normal toothbrush. The aligners should also be soaked in a cleansing denture solution for a more thorough clean. Just make sure your teen doesn’t forget to brush and floss their own teeth before they put them back in.
Q. How Long Does Invisalign® Teen Treatment Take?
A. Every smile is unique, which is why we create personalized treatment plans for every patient. For teens, we map out the path that their teeth need to take to get to their new ideal position, and that path is not always the same. This makes treatment time for Invisalign® Teen vary on a patient to patient basis and depends on how far the teeth need to move and how many sets of aligners will be necessary to achieve the perfect smile. Typically, the treatment time is either slightly less than or equal to the treatment time for traditional metal braces.
Q. What Happens If An Aligner Is Lost Or Broken?
A. During the busy day of the average teen, an aligner or two are bound to be lost or broken, which is why Invisalign® Teen treatment comes with six replacement aligners. Just make sure to get the replacement as soon as possible so they can continue wearing their aligners and moving their teeth. If you go through the six replacements, any other replacements after will have a cost associated with them.