Invisalign vs Regular Braces

I got braces about 2 years ago. I opted for regular braces because it was a little cheaper. But, mostly because I knew that I would not wear the invisalign everyday. I now have a retainer and I am suppose to wear it every night. I usually wear it about 2-3 nights a week. I simply forget. I can't imagine a 12 year old would be anymore responsible. Keep in mind the cost of replacing them when they get lost.

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My daughter started with invisalign for the first year... after a year of fighting with her to keep them clean and keep them in her mouth... we opted to go for regular braces... We still fight over keeping them clean, but as least I know she isn't wasting my money by taking them out of her mouth every chance she gets. Good Luck

I have been in dentistry for 16 years. I would not recommend invisalign for children because you need to be very on top of it in reguards to keeping them in and following all the instructions. It is just too easy to lose them or forget. I would get another opinion.

Does your son have an overbite? I had braces a few years ago (just got them off 6 months back) and my ortho. said that invisalign would not correct them as well as traditional braces. He said he could manipulate my bite more with traditional braces. I would get other opinions from other doctors so you can make a fully informed choice.

Hi L.,

I agree with some of the other posts I would not invest in invisalign for a child/ teen. I am currently wearing them as an adult and it is alot of responsiblity to wear them for 21-22 hours a day as well as keeping them clean and not misplacing them when you are eating and cleaning them. My son will need braces within a few years and I am planning on getting the traditional wire braces for him as to make sure we have no chance of misplacing them or not using them properly. I hope this helps, have a great day!

I can only comment on braces in general. Two of my three daughters had braces...they ar 31 and 28 now, so invisalign wasn't even invented yet. The main thing is that you trust your orthodontist/dentist to be using the braces properly so the end result is good. When my oldest was 5 the dentist said she needed braces...a little early don't you think? Dentist was SELLING us braces! When she was about 9 another dentist ( we moved to a different state) said the same thing but also said she is still going to grow and waiting would be fine. She was and still is very petite. At 11 (moved again) the dentist here in Rochester Hills told us waiting was the best thing we did....it gave her time to grow into the big teeth. She only had the braces for 10 months with minimal discomfort. The dentist I took her to also did braces. He didn't believe in pulling teeth...me neither, if possible. Not that you needed that whole long story LOL! but keep in mind some orthodontists will SELL you something you don't need, like longer more painful treatment. As for the invisalign...I have seen the ads for them. If they are the same price and DO the same thing what does it matter. It's like a car...riding in a beautiful luxury car does you no good if the driver is terrible! Do your homework on the DRIVER!

I have a friend who has invisalign...she's in her 30's and didn't want the he loves them, but her teeth weren't really that bad to begin with. I don't know if they work any differently than the regular kind but if your son doesn't want the metal then invisalign may be a good choice.

However, part of the fun that comes with metal braces is that you can change the color of the brackets. If your son feels like he would like to have different colors in his mouth then metal may be fun for him. My brother was always getting his color changed. He would do red and green for Christmas or Red and White for his favorite hockey team. I was boring and just got clear or silver :-)

If the price is the same and his dentist says they work the same I would let him make the choice for himself.

Good Luck!

Hello,

I am 34 and I had reg braces as a teen. I am currently wearing invisalign right now to fix some crowding from my wisdom teeth. I think they are a pain in the butt!! lol I would not recommend them for teens as you could easily lose the retainers. You need to have them in almost ALL day and its hard because we eat so often. For an adult you lose weight because we don't snack as much, but for a teen they don't care! lol ...and they might leave them out too long which will result in the teeth not moving correctly. Hope this helped! :) For an adult I would recommend them!

I got Invisalign in college and absolutely loved it!!! I obviously never got metal braces, but I've heard bad stories and Invisalign was absolutely wonderful for me. Seems so much cleaner too. If the price is the same, I say definitely go for the Invisalign!!!

My younger sisters (twins) have them- they're 17 yrs old and LOVE them.
When they have them in, you can kind of see them, and you have to make sure you keep them clean (wash them before putting them in so no bacteria can collect and grow), but other than that they've had nothing but a good experience.
I think they're less invasive than "regular" braces because you don't have to anchor them down onto the teeth.

I have two go through braces. My first had the regular braces and the second had the Damon system. They both now where retainers at night. Invisalign is ok. The Damon system was faster and we went through a lot less Tylenol! At 12 make sure his wisdom teeth don't readjust the work you have done. We had that problem at about 14 with one of my children. Don't go cheap on braces.

I worked in a ortho office and the dr. said if you did not need a lot of work you could get them but it you need a lot of movment they weould not work because you can not use bands with them. Also I would not recomend then for a teen cause they are a lot of work you have to make sure you brush and floss every time you are done eatting.( and we know how much teens eat.) I think you should have another appt. and see what they say.

a 12 year old will not wear the aligners, b.c it hurts when your teeth are moving, there's eating, there's sports. There's a million reasons people find not to wear them with delays, and increases the cost of treatment. There's the potential for loss of aligners also. I would seek out a qualified orthodontist. A lot of general dentists are attempting ortho and personally, I would want someone with the experience that comes with going through orthodontic training.