Tina, thanks for the question and for being our first entry in our new “Ask the Doctor” blog. The answer is: Definitely! Treating children with Invisalign is becoming very common in our practice, as well as many orthodontic practices across the nation. There are so many advantages to using Invisalign with kids; hygiene being the most important in my opinion. Most kids typically struggle with hygiene and braces, causing inflamed gums and sometimes permanent staining of the teeth. With Invisalign, since the trays can be taken out, cleaning in not a problem at all. Kids finish with pristine smiles. Other advantages include the ability to eat anything they want (which can be a constant hassle in growing kids!), ability to remove for sports, instruments, or any other activities, less stigma of having braces on their teeth, and less visits to our office for broken braces or poking wires. The number one concern parents have is if their child will be responsible enough to wear the trays. You would be surprised how motivated kids are if they don’t have to wear braces! We rarely struggle with this issue.
Not every orthodontist who uses Invisalign is qualified to use it on kids though. Children and adults often have different orthodontic issues to fix, and it takes specific training and experience to learn to treat them. Fortunately, we are a Top 1% provider of Invisalign and have the experience to treat kids and adults! So Tina, as you can see, we are big proponents of Invisalign for kids. As a matter of fact, my 12yo is wearing it right now!
Thanks again and please use the comment section below to ask the doctor any other questions you may have.
Dr Bruntz