Invisalign - 16 year old

[lifeturnsonadime]

My son who is 16 and autistic has decided he wants braces. He wants the invisible ones.

I've looked on the internet and this brand keeps coming up. It seems v. expensive.

Has anyone used this for a teen and would you recommend?

Are there any alternatives?

TIA

I wouldn't recommend Invisalign for a teen because his teeth will still be moving and even more so when/if his wisdom teeth come in. Appreciate they may take some out to help with crowding etc. but they're an awful lot of money.

If his teeth are bad can't he get regular braces on the NHS?

Thanks he doesn't want regular braces. That would be my preference.

I think it’s best to see an orthodontist and see which “invisible” brace brand they offer. They’ll be able to tell you if they’re suitable.

At that age I wouldn’t do any of the ones that are purely internet based where you send off moulds of your teeth etc - think he should actually see someone.

It's just a brand, there are plenty of invisible brace brands but they are the biggest advertisers. Your dentist will be able to advise

The invisilign process does not ever end. Once teeth have moved back into the desired position, a tray has to be worn at night to keep them from moving again...forever. The thought might not be appealing to him. You also can't eat or drink while wearing the trays and need to wear them 22 hours a day. No snacking, eating briskly, brushing teeth and getting the trays straight back in. This could easily be an 18 month process. Invisilign is good, but nowhere near as straightforward as it seems.

Oh, and not shown in the adverts are the fixing points, ugly lumps of cement glued to the front to the teeth that the tray clips onto. My first round with Invisilign had about 20 of these points it certainly wasn't an invisible process. I was embarrassed to smile and talk throughout the process. The second round of trays I had only had 4 fixing points though. Much easier.

Check with orthodontist as ours charges the same for traditional braces as Invisalign (USA)

also you have to wear a retainer for life at night after braces, so that aspect shouldn’t put you off Invisalign. My 2 DC also have a glued in wire along the back of the bottom teeth permanently

I’m doing Invisalign at the moment and there’s no way I would recommend it for a teen. You have to be extremely diligent to keep up with the dental hygiene requirements and you can’t really eat or drink in a normal way. IMO traditional braces are much more suitable for young people.

@HerRoyalNotness also you have to wear a retainer for life at night after braces, so that aspect shouldn’t put you off Invisalign. no that's not normal at all just the good old US money making.

My DD did Invisalign at 16, as hers was cosmetic and not physiological (as in no severe correction required) she only had them in for 7 months. Should’ve been 6 but the first month took a bit of getting used to and she wasn’t as diligent as she should have been. It is 22 hours a day which meant snacking became too much of a pain and she got out of the habit.

Cost wise they cost less than the train tracks and we did it all via the local dentist, who took x-rays of her teeth and checked fitting once a month.

They’re fine for teens but only if you have a teen who is diligent about keeping them in. Sensory wise they’re less irritating and uncomfortable than the classic wire ones, but again, it does depend on the severity of the correction.

An orthodontist has recommended Invisalign for dd(14). It's also mainly cosmetic so should be quicker than traditional braces. Upper teeth only. Pricey though [cries]