Can a 14 y/o REALLY handle Invisalign Clear Aligners?

My teen received complimentary Invisalign® treatment in exchange for me sharing my honest opinion about the treatment experience.

If you have been a reader here at Kids Activities Blog for awhile, you have known that I was lucky enough to work with Invisalign® brand as a sponsor for my own treatment.  My front teeth were beginning to cross and the last thing I wanted to do in my 40s was get metal braces!  Invisalign treatment was amazing.  I was able to LOOK and ACT like an adult while straightening my teeth.  My treatment is now over and I am wearing the retainers at night.

My middle son, Reid, quietly watched my progress and decided Invisalign treatment was what he wanted to do as well.  He saw the difference between what I went through and what his older brother was enduring with traditional braces (extra trips to the orthodontist, broken brackets on weekends, etc.).  I have to admit to being a little worried.  Reid is an amazing kid, but tends to overlook details, shun schedules and forget things…a lot of things.

Could a 14 y/o boy REALLY do the 22 hours a day of wearing Invisalign clear aligners?

{My inside voice is screaming…NO!}

Reid got his wish.  In June he was evaluated by Dr. Athar at Monarch Dental who said he would be a great candidate for Invisalign.  In fact, speaking with Dr. Athar was fascinating because he is finding that more and more people are good candidates because of the flexibility Invisalign treatment allows Orthodontists to customize a patient's treatment plan.

At the June visit, Dr. Athar and his staff did a scan that showed exactly where Reid's teeth are now.

And where they will be after treatment.

The difference is crazy cool!

The next step according to Dr. A thar is that he locks himself in his office to go over the scans and the projected changes.  Once he has adjusted what he recommends, then the scans are sent on to Invisalign system's lab to be created.  This usually takes 2-4 weeks.

We returned in mid-July for the fitting of the first set of clear aligners.  Dr. Athar placed four attachments on Reid's teeth.  Attachments are little clear bumps that feel like a large grain of sand.  These attachments are instrumental in rotating teeth in the direction they need to move within the clear aligners.

Reid will also eventually get rubber bands to move his bite.  Those are attached with either the clear aligners themselves through a slit in the aligner or a metal button that is attached to a tooth for the right leverage.

We went home with a box of 11 sets of clear aligners and instructions to change them out every 7 days.  Reid will wear them all the time except for when he eats or drinks anything beside water.  Then before he puts the aligners back in he has to brush his teeth.

The true test…

The true test started the following week.  We had a family trip to London for 10 days.  Plane rides, taxi rides, hotel living, sight-seeing, eating out, a day trip to Paris, riding the train…

Something amazing happened!  Reid did great.  He simply had a little zipper bag with his aligner container, tooth brush and toothpaste in his backpack.  On days he didn't wear his backpack, he would give it to me to put in my purse.  He was able to fully participate in everything we did, wear his aligners and brush his teeth when necessary.

In fact, I saw that he was much more faithful to wearing the clear aligners more than 22 hours a day than I was!

Once we are home this has continued.

When he started school, he added his zipper pack to his school backpack.

He is on his 12th tray right now and we can already see a big change in his smile.  I wish I had a good picture of it…but did I mention he is a 14 y/o boy?  

The other night he was sitting beside me as we played a board game and I kept staring at him.  I couldn't see the aligners at all.  In a motherly way, I opened his mouth and tapped on his teeth to make sure.  He did!  And I received a well-deserved eye-roll and a "moooooooom!"  I asked him if his friends had noticed he had Invisalign and he said no one had said anything.  I seriously can't even tell he has them in.

Reid has proven me wrong.  I am so proud of how he has taken on this responsibility.  I haven't even had to remind him once.

Now if only I could translate this to picking up the clothes off his bedroom floor…

Find out how Invisalign treatment is great for your teen by clicking here.

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