Invisalign Teen · designed for growing smiles
Clear aligners that work around school, sports, and social life
Invisalign Teen includes compliance indicators and eruption tabs — features designed specifically for teenagers and the still-changing teeth that come with them.
Why teens love it
- Nearly invisible — friends, classmates, and yearbook photos won’t notice them.
- No food restrictions — pizza, popcorn, gum, all the things braces ban. Take the aligners out, eat, brush, put them back.
- Easier hygiene — brushing and flossing happen the normal way. No threading floss around brackets.
- No emergency wire pokes — nothing to break, nothing to repair on a Friday night.
- Sports-friendly — take them out, swap in a mouthguard for contact sports.
Two features designed for teens
Compliance indicators. Each aligner has a small blue dot that fades with wear. At every check-in, we can see at a glance whether the 22-hour daily wear is happening. It also gives teens a visible way to track their own progress.
Eruption tabs. Built-in space for permanent teeth still coming in, so the aligner doesn’t prevent normal eruption while treatment is underway.
What parents ask
- Cost compared to braces: usually within a few hundred dollars of traditional braces. Same insurance benefit applies in most cases.
- Treatment time: roughly the same as braces — 12–24 months for most teen cases.
- How disciplined does my teen need to be? Pretty disciplined. The compliance indicators help, but Invisalign only works if the aligners stay in. For teens we’re unsure about, we usually recommend a trial period before committing.
- Pain: mild pressure for a day or two when switching to a new aligner. Much less than tightening braces.
Common questions
Frequently asked
- How is Invisalign Teen different from regular Invisalign?
- Teen aligners include two features adult aligners don’t: blue compliance indicators that fade with wear (so we can confirm 22 hours of daily wear), and eruption tabs that leave space for permanent teeth still coming in. Otherwise the process is the same.
- Is my teen old enough?
- Most teens are good candidates once their permanent teeth are mostly in — usually around age 12–14, sometimes earlier or later depending on individual development. We assess during the consultation.
- Can teens really wear them 22 hours a day?
- Most teens do well with it once they understand how to fit it into their day. The blue compliance indicators help — both for accountability and to motivate teens who can actually see their progress. Parents tell us it’s easier than they expected.
- What about sports?
- Aligners can stay in for most non-contact sports. For contact sports (football, basketball, wrestling, lacrosse), take them out and wear a custom mouthguard instead. We make sport mouthguards in-office that fit over still-aligning teeth.
- What about playing an instrument?
- Brass and woodwind players usually have a brief adjustment period (a few days to a week) but then play normally. Aligners stay in during practice and performance for most students.
- What if my teen loses an aligner?
- Don’t panic. Put the previous set back in immediately and call us. Replacement aligners ship in a few days. Lost aligners happen — they’re easier to misplace than braces could ever be — and there’s a clear process for handling it.
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