
If you think your teenager is like you when you were their age, guess again. While traditional braces with metal brackets and wires were considered “cool” during your day, today’s teens want a solution that keeps their treatment discreet and unnoticeable to their peers. After all, we are living in the days of social media and selfies! If your child needs orthodontic help to straighten their teeth or close unwanted gaps, Invisalign Teen might just be the right solution for their needs. At Ortega Orthodontics, our team can have you and your teen seeing a healthier, more beautiful smile in less time than with regular metal braces. Call our office today to schedule a consultation.
When you and your teenager arrive for your initial consultation, Dr. Holland will evaluate their smile to determine the severity of the problem as well as check for any possible indications that Invisalign Teen may not be the right treatment option. If your child’s gap is too wide or bite is too misaligned, traditional braces might be the only way to achieve desired results; however, in most cases, Invisalign Teen is a great solution for teenagers.
He will then begin to map out a treatment plan and take digital impressions of your teen’s smile. Using the iTero digital scanner, it eliminates the need to capture impressions with cold dental putty that is often quite messy. These digital images create a model that is used to create your smile step-by-step as it moves through treatment. It will also help in the creation of your teen’s clear aligners.
Once we receive the trays in our office, you and your child will return to receive the aligners. Equipped with a small blue indicator toward the back of the aligner, this signals you and our office that it’s time to switch to a new set of trays.
Frequent dental visits will be necessary not only to provide new aligners but to also check on the progress your child’s teeth are making, and should they break or lose one of their trays, we are happy to provide free replacement aligners.
You and your teen can expect to see a new and improved smile anywhere between 6-15 months depending on the severity of the problem at the start of treatment. As long as they wear their aligners the designated amount of time each day, which Dr. Holland will provide, there should be no delays in treatment.
Apart from the fact your teenager won’t have to worry about wearing metal braces to school, here are some additional benefits they will experience by choosing Invisalign Teen: