What Type of Dentist Offers Invisalign for Teens?

A general dentist is often the first to inform parents that a teenage patient needs braces. As an orthodontic option, Invisalign® for teens can produce results in just a few months with minimal discomfort. This process can work to straighten teeth that are out of line, crooked, or twisted, and there may be no need to visit another dental provider for a teen to be treated. A general dentist is able to both recommend and provide Invisalign treatment because of the conditions the treatment addresses.

A cosmetic and orthodontic opportunity

Dental providers often work within a specialty field, typically after going through additional or extensive field-specific training or education. Cosmetic and orthodontic work often fall under specialty services, yet with Invisalign for teens, these corrective services are possible through a general dentist. Invisalign is a product that works with less serious conditions of crooked teeth or malocclusion.

Invisalign will not be able to address every alignment problem. Teens who have mild to moderate crowding, gaps, or crookedness have a higher likelihood of treatment success. Invisalign relies on customized clear trays to apply uniform pressure to the teeth to create the desired outcome of alignment or spacing. The trays are ordered from an Invisalign lab, though the imaging required to customize the tray is done at the dental office. For this reason, a dentist is able to provide a teen with the Invisalign option.

Dental providers offering Invisalign

Not every dentist is able to treat a teen with Invisalign. To offer this orthodontic option, the dentist must be a certified Invisalign provider. This provides the dentist with the training needed to assess patients for the product, conduct the imaging, and administer the treatment to patients. Invisalign is a process that can take several months, and the training a dentist receives covers checking on a patient’s progress and identifying problems that develop as the teeth move. Invisalign also ranks a dentist according to the number of Invisalign cases the dentist has completed. A higher ranking indicates a greater number of patients helped.

Professional assessment

A teen who has low confidence or who prefers not to smile out of embarrassment on account of how the smile looks could be helped by the Invisalign treatment. The benefits of the program include the ability to eat and drink normally, minimal visibility of the trays, and a lack of invasive or uncomfortable procedures. However, each teen who wants this low-profile and effective solution must be evaluated by a dentist before any decisions can be made.

A dentist must confirm that Invisalign can handle the concerns of the teeth. Large gaps, difficult overbites or underbites, and severely crooked teeth may keep a teen from being eligible for this process.