There are many features that make Invisalign unique compared to traditional metal braces but, the Invisalign team has taken their treatment a step further with Invisalign Teen, a line of aligners designed specifically for teens. Today our orthodontists at SmileTown Orthodontics Braces & Invisalign discuss the features of Invisalign Teen and describe how they fit into the busy lifestyle of this demographic.
Many people that look for orthodontic treatments ( and choose Invisalign) are teenagers and the Invisalign team found a trend of problems that are uniquely specific to this age group. And they developed "Invisalign Teen" to address these problems and make Invisalign more easily accessible to teens.
In the paragraphs below we have breakdown the features that make Invisalign Teen unique for this audience:
Compliance Indicators
Compliance indicators are the first feature that makes Invisalign Teen unique. The indicators are small blue dots on the aligners themselves that fade away when it is time to put in a new set of aligners, which is after two weeks.
The indicators were added because the Invisalign team was noticing that teens were not following their mandatory aligner schedules, where adults are much better at following their set time frames. Teens were either changing their aligners too often or leaving them out too long. This was happening due to either forgetfulness or discomfort.
The Invisalign team understands that it can be hard to remember how long the aligners have to be worn and when to change them. This is why they added the compliance indicators, to help teenagers stay on track. The blue indication dots completely fade away after the aligners have been worn for a total of two weeks, letting Invisalign Teen patients know it's time to change to the next set in the series.
Eruption Tabs
Many teens haven't had all of their adult teeth fully erupt. Eruption tabs are extra space put in the aligners for teens that need to let their teeth fully come in during their orthodontic treatment.
Replacement Aligners
There is a higher risk of teens breaking or losing their aligners because they leave and take out their aligners more often than adults. This is why Invisalign Teen comes with extra replacements. The extra sets allow teens to stay consistent with their treatment without encountering any setbacks or delays if a set happens to become lost or damaged.