You may be familiar with Invisalign, a brand of clear aligners that straighten teeth without metal or wires. But Invisalign makes a line geared toward teenagers, and today we’d like to highlight a few of the things that make Invisalign Teen different.
Let’s start with a quick explanation of Invisalign itself.
Invisalign is a series of clear, smooth plastic aligners used to straighten teeth. Because they’re transparent, it’s virtually impossible see them when they’re being worn. This is great for adults and teens who are more concerned about the aesthetics of their smiles, for professional or social reasons.
Invisalign aligners come in a series, and each set in the series is switched out every other week or so. This reduces the need for frequent appointments at the orthodontist’s office, as they don’t need to be adjusted. You can just change them out yourself.
And because Invisalign aligners are removable, you can take them out to eat, and to brush and floss your teeth. This of course eliminates the dietary limitations associated with traditional braces, and it mean you can brush and floss just like you normally would, too.
How is Invisalign Teen Different?
There are a few main ways that Invisalign Teen is different than Invisalign for Adults. Invisalign Teen was developed specifically to address the barriers teens were facing when it came to using Invisalign.
Invisalign Teen is essentially the same product, with a few important differences:
Compliance Indicators
Invisalign Teen aligners have small blue dots on them that fade away after 2 weeks of wear. This can be helpful because on average, teens tend to be less compliant, and don’t always wear their aligners as prescribed. The blue dots will only fade when the aligners have been actually worn for a total of two weeks, or 336 hours, allowing the necessary tooth movement to take place.
So, while it’s not recommended, the aligners can be worn part time, until the blue dots fade.
Eruption Tabs
Invisalign teen can been prescribed to teens who still have some baby teeth, or whose adult teeth are still growing in. There are spaces in the Invisalign Teen aligners that allow the adult teeth to erupt through.
6 Sets of Replacement Aligners
Because teens can sometimes be a little irresponsible with their things, their aligners can easily become lost or damaged. Invisalign Teen comes with 6 sets of replacement aligners to help reduce worry over lost or broken aligners, and to help ensure that treatment continues according to plan.