How Invisalign for Teens Improves Smiles

A teenage boy or girl who deals with a crooked smile or uneven bite could be able to use Invisalign® for teens as a corrective treatment. The adolescent and high schools years are often filled with social pressure and a desire for acceptance, and any problems or concerns with a teen’s smile could create self-confidence concerns. Traditional braces can treat problems of alignment or spacing, but these are highly visible solutions that can cause embarrassment. Clear aligners are more low profile but yield positive results with a teen’s smile.

Benefits of a healthy smile

Correcting problems with the way the teeth look or the alignment of the top set over the bottom set does much more than just improving the look of a smile. Even though a smile increases the confidence of one teen’s interactions with another, the way the teeth are positioned or placed can affect a teen’s oral health. Problems with eating and speaking can lead to nutritional deficiencies, discomfort or pain, and social health concerns. A beautiful, straight smile could be the avenue toward a healthier mind and body for a teen.

Uses of Invisalign for teens

A teen’s smile could be marred by several different oral conditions. Some deal with the individual position of teeth while others deal more with the overall position of the top or lower set of teeth. Invisalign can treat a number of these situations to restore optimum function and appearance.

Crooked teeth

Teens may struggle to present a uniform smile because a few teeth are twisted or turned out of line. This positioning does not always impact oral health, but it can cause stress or embarrassment in teens. Invisalign uses the trays to apply consistent but gentle pressure to a row of teeth and move them back into a uniform position. This treatment could take up to a year to achieve results.

Misaligned teeth

In addition to changing the look of the smile, misaligned teeth can impact how well a teen is able to chew or eat. For some teens, the jaw is too small for the teeth. For others, genetics or a habit like thumb-sucking contributed to misalignment. The treatment puts pressure on the teeth that have moved out of place along the jawline and forces them to return to the ideal location. The severity of alignment contributes to the length of the treatment, but teens can expect to wear the aligners for six to 12 months.

Bite correction

There are several bite problems that can keep a teenager from having a brilliant, confident smile, and Invisalign can help with many of them. With an overbite or underbite condition, the placement of the entire row of teeth could overlap on either the top or the bottom. With an open bite or crossbite, the teeth may not properly align when the mouth is closed. Bite problems put uneven pressure on the teeth and cause wear and tear that leads to more painful problems down the road.