Invisalign® clear aligners for teens and adults

Who this is for

Adults who want straighter teeth without visible braces, or whose teeth have shifted since braces years ago.
Teenagers whose adult teeth are mostly through and who will keep the trays in.
Parents of a child around seven asking whether anything needs doing yet, and whether trays would be involved.

Planned around the bite, not shade alone

What we do at our office

Dr. Baruch Tetri practices periodontics, the branch of dentistry that cares for the gums and the bone around the teeth; every plan here starts with teeth, gums and bite diagnosed together. He plans and supervises Invisalign treatment himself, in our office.

Adults

Crowding, spacing, mild protrusion and relapse after earlier braces are the usual reasons; big bite corrections may need braces too.
Gum health comes first, at any age: if there is inflammation or gum disease, Dr. Tetri treats it, and the trays wait.
Existing dental work is planned in: an implant cannot be moved, and crowns or missing teeth change what the result can be.

Teenagers

Trays work only in the mouth: all day and night, out only to eat and brush. A teenager not ready for that does better with braces, and we say so.

Children

The first orthodontic check is around age seven, when the first adult molars and front teeth are in. Most children need nothing yet.
A few have a crossbite (some upper teeth closing inside the lower teeth), a narrow upper jaw or a tooth heading the wrong way, and those are easier to handle while the jaws grow.
Early treatment is for a defined problem, not for every child; for prominent front teeth, one well-timed course usually does as much as two. We tell parents when waiting is right.
When a child does need early treatment, we tell parents whether trays or a different appliance fits the problem.

What happens at the visit

Examination: teeth, gums, bite and, for a teenager or child, how far growth has gone.
Records: photographs and a scan of your teeth, plus an X-ray when there is a reason for one.
The digital plan, reviewed together: what moves, what stays, and where attachments (tooth-colored dots bonded to a few teeth so the tray can push on them) or a little enamel polished from between teeth are needed. The screen shows the plan; your teeth set the pace.
Fitting and instructions. You move to the next tray every 3 to 15 days and keep each one in for all but about two hours a day.
Check-ups every six weeks: is every tray seating, are the gums quiet, is the bite on plan. A lagging tooth means a rescan and a further set of trays, called refinements.
We stop when your teeth are where we agreed, not when the box is empty. A retainer follows.

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Risks and limits

Each new tray feels tight for a day or two; edges can rub at first, and your speech may be off for a few days.
A tray put back over unbrushed teeth holds sugar and plaque against the enamel; decay, white marks and sore gums follow.
Trays do not handle every movement well. Where they fall short we add elastics (small rubber bands hooked between the trays or teeth to pull the bite into line), use braces for part of the treatment, or agree on a compromise first.
A lost or cracked tray costs days until its replacement arrives; the plan drifts meanwhile.

Questions patients ask

How long does it take?

Refinements are part of the plan, not a failure.

Is Invisalign treatment different from other clear aligners?

Invisalign aligners are one brand of clear aligner, made by Align Technology; others exist. The diagnosis, the plan and your wearing hours matter more than the name on the box.

Lost or cracked a tray?

See the clear aligners page: it says what to do, and what not to do, until the replacement arrives.

Sources

Request a visit

Come in, with your teenager if the trays are for them; after one examination you will know whether Invisalign treatment fits, what it involves and what it costs. We are at 16690 Collins Avenue, Suite 701, Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160.