What is Invisalign Teen?
Many of you will have heard of Invisalign but may not know that we can also use Invisalign for teenagers too. It is slightly different from the Adult version as there are added features specific for the growing mouth.
I have been using Invisalign Teen since my journey with Invisalign began and every time they bring out a new TEEN feature it makes treatment for me more streamlined and time efficient. Wearing braces as a teenager isn’t always wanted by the patient, even if the benefit is great – and in these days of selfies and school proms you can perhaps understand why the “metal mouth” look is not desirable for everyone. As this American Mum explains, her daughter wouldn’t even entertain the idea of train track braces – her orthodontist was able to offer Invisalign Teen as an alternative.
Making bite correction treatment more efficient
One big advance that was launched by Invisalign last year was MANDIBULAR ADVANCEMENT – this incorporates the traditional Functional type of brace (bite correction) treatment which we would normally do with a 2 piece acrylic brace. Patients often find this brace challenging due to its bulk and affect it can have on speech.
Example of a traditional Functional Brace
As you can imagine – it can be a struggle to get them to wear the appliance and there is often only a small window of opportunity to get good compliance, especially in girls. And generally we have to move into a course of treatment with fixed braces afterwards to correct the crooked teeth – so that’s 2 phases of treatment to get the best outcome and potentially 3 years of treatment.
The Invisalign Teen brace with mandibular advancement – As you can see the brace is more discreet and less bulky to wear.
For me using Invisalign Teen with MA makes perfect sense as we are straightening the teeth at the same time as correcting the bite with a removable and comfortable solution. I have to tell you I was really excited to try this on my patients and they are loving it. I get what I need to correct the bite – a patient happy and wearing their braces 22 hours a day – they get straighter teeth and a better bite at the same time with a easier to wear brace that is more discreet and have less speech issues.
Do I still need to convince you?
The video below is an American Teen talking about why they chose Invisalign TEEN treatment.
To find out more about Invisalign Teen and if it would be suitable for your daughter or son, please call Fran on 0118 9411628 to arrange a consultation and tooth scan.