Invisalign straightens your teeth over a period of months via a series of clear aligners. Invisalign has also designed a line to meet the specific needs of teenagers. Our Surrey dentists explain why Invisalign Teen is a great choice for adolescent patients.

The basics: what is Invisalign, and how does it work?

Invisalign is made up of a series of removable, clear plastic aligners that are an aesthetic and convenient alternative to traditional metal braces. During treatment, each aligner in the series is worn for about two weeks and then switched out for the next aligner.

Each aligner is shaped slightly differently from the last, and each is custom made to fit into its position in the lineup. Each aligner is responsible for a small adjustment to the position of your teeth, with the ultimate goal being, of course, to move them into their proper, straightened positions.

Invisalign aligners are made of a clear plastic material, making them almost invisible when worn. For this reason, they are ideal for teenagers and adults who have concerns about aesthetics and don’t like the look of traditional metal braces.

The aligners are also removable, and this means they can be taken out for eating, brushing and flossing, allowing patients to continue these daily routines as they always have, with very few adjustments.

So what makes Invisalign Teen different?

Invisalign Teen has a few add-ons that standard Invisalign does not have. These extra features were developed with the day-to-day needs of the typical teen in mind, with the goal of making it easier for teens to comply with their treatment schedule, and to accommodate their growing smiles.

Compliance Indicators

Invisalign Teen aligners have small blue dots on them that fade away after two weeks of consistent wear.

Invisalign added this feature because, on average, teenage patients tend to be less compliant to their prescribed treatment than adults are. In the context of orthodontic treatment, compliance means that a patient follows his or her dentist's instructions, and takes all the steps necessary to make sure treatment stays on track. Teens then, are less likely stay compliant to treatment. They take their aligners out more often and for longer periods of time than prescribed, compared to their adults counterparts.

Because of this, it can be difficult to keep track of how much longer they need to wear a given set of aligners.

The compliance indicators help solve this problem for teens, because they will only fade after the aligners have been worn for two full weeks required, making it easier for teens to get back on track with their orthodontic treatment.

Eruption Tabs

Invisalign Teen can be prescribed for teens whose adult teeth are not quite finished growing in. This is thanks to the addition of special eruption tabs. These eruption tabs are spaces in the Invisalign Teen aligners that allow the teeth to erupt through.

6 Extra Replacement Aligners

Since they are more likely not to be wearing their aligners, teens are also more likely to misplace or damage them during treatment. For this reason, Invisalign Teen comes with 6 replacement aligners so that treatment can stay on track.