Orthodontic technology has come a long way in the past decade, especially when it comes to pediatric orthodontics. The social death sentence our parents gave us when we had to wear headgear with our braces is now a thing of the past.
The absolute high point of pediatric orthodontic technology is, without a doubt, Invisalign. Parents are choosing Invisalign for their kids now more than ever for a lot of different reasons. We asked a lot of the parents of our patients who chose Invisalign and this is what they had to say:
1) Invisalign is more comfortable
Remember that wax you had to put on the wires of your braces to stop you from getting canker sores? Or that over-the-counter numbing solution you dabbed onto the inside of your lip to stop the pain from the canker sores your braces caused? What about that monthly appointment you had to tighten your braces that basically made it so you could only consume smoothies the rest of the day because anything harder would hurt like crazy? (At least you got different colored rubber bands for your troubles right?)
Invisalign essentially eliminates that problem. The SmartTrack® material that Invisalign is made from is smooth and wont rub on the inside of your child’s cheeks. Patients that use Invisalign also don’t have to worry about that monthly appointment to tighten their braces. That means a lot less mouth and jaw pain.
2) Invisalign Could Mean a Shorter Treatment Window
How long did you wear your braces when you were a kid? 2 years? 3 years? 5 years? (No joke. One of our parents actually had to wear braces for 5 straight years. Insanity!) According to Center for Pediatric Dentistry, the average patient will usually spend anywhere between 18 to 36 months in traditional metal braces.
That time window significantly decreases to 12 to 18 months for patients who use Invisalign. Now, there are always exceptions to every circumstance because not every mouth is the same. But the appeal of a much shorter treatment window alone is enough to make parents give Invisalign a second look.
3) Invisalign usually means fewer office visits
Remember that monthly appointment you had to get your braces tightened? A lot of parent’s like to refer to those appointment as “monthly torture tightening” appointments. Well, patients that use Invisalign generally don’t have to come into the office nearly as often as traditional metal braces patients do.
All that really needs to happen for Invisalign patients on a regular basis is replacing their aligner every two weeks, and they don’t even need to come into the office for that. Our Pediatric Orthodontists do like to have their Invisalign patients come in for a check up every now and then but not nearly as often as their patients who have metal braces.
4) Kids can eat what they want with Invisalign
Raise your hand if your child is a picky eater! The thought of taking away some of our kids favorite foods when they are already picky about what they eat sounds like a nightmare. Remember the list of things you couldn’t eat when you wore traditional metal braces?
- Popcorn
- Caramel candies
- Hard candies
- Chewing gum
- Apples
- Beef Jerky
- Nuts
- Crunchy Vegetables
- Fudge
- Corn on the Cob
If your child gets Invisalign, you can take that whole list and delete it. Since Invisalign aligners are removed before eating, your child doesn’t have to make any changes to their diet. Bring on the candies! (Not too much because you wouldn’t want to disappoint Dr. Shepherd).
5) Dr. Miles is the greatest
Ok, so this one may not be about Invisalign directly but it’s what our parents had to say. Dr. Bowen Miles, one of our in-house pediatric orthodontic specialists here at Pediatric Smiles, is one of the best Pediatric Orthodontists in the mountain west. Dr. Miles started his schooling at BYU, where he got his BA from the Department of Classical and Asian Languages. He then started his pediatric orthodontics training at USC, where he developed many concepts that he still uses today.
One area he is especially wonderful at is consulting with parents on the best treatment path for their child. If you have questions about Invisalign, traditional metal braces or anything pediatric orthodontics related, Dr. Miles is more than happy to consult with you and give you the answers you need. Plus, if you ask him nicely, he might even sing you a song too!
