9 Benefits of Clear Aligners for Teens

At any given time, around 4 million North American teens are wearing braces.

Having straight teeth is important for your teen’s self-confidence during an overwhelming time in life. They’re also important for oral health and hygiene. Misaligned teeth are harder to clean, which can lead to many dental issues, including tooth decay and gum disease.

The result of braces will make your teen healthier and happier, but the 1-3 years of having a metal concoction in their mouth can be torturous. For that reason, we’ll be discussing some of the benefits of clear aligners for teens.

Clear aligners use transparent plastic to straighten your child’s teeth. There are obvious cosmetic benefits to them over metal braces, but keep reading and you’ll see that there are numerous other advantages as well.

1. Discreet

The biggest benefit of clear aligners for most teens is that they’re more discreet than traditional braces. Having obvious braces can hurt a teenager’s self-confidence, which may make them less socially active and embarrassed about the way they look.

Clear aligners are as undetectable as a dental appliance can be. Your teen will feel more confident with them and, at the end of the treatment, their teeth will look far better than at the start.

2. More Comfort

When you decide to get aligners, the dentist plans the case using a 3-D image of your mouth so that the aligners are perfectly fitted. Having aligners that are meant for your mouth, but that you can take out from time to time, is so much more comfortable than having metal wires and elastic bands in your mouth.

Braces tend to create a lot of discomfort in the mouth, from the metal poking into your gums to the pressure of having your teeth forced into position. Many of these discomforts are reduced with clear aligner options. Once you get used to the feeling of the aligners, you likely won’t notice them at all.

3. Easier to Maintain Oral Hygiene

The simple fact that clear aligners are removable means that your teen can still care for their oral hygiene. It can be extremely difficult to give your teeth and gums a proper clean when you have metal braces in. They simply take up a lot of real estate in the mouth.

Teenagers don’t need any excuses to skip their daily brushing and flossing routine. Getting them clear aligners will make sure that they keep their teeth clean and stave off things like gingivitis and gum disease.

4. No Dietary Changes

Many people with braces report difficulty with eating a normal diet. This is mainly because it’s easy for certain types of food to get stuck in the braces. When this happens, the food can start to create unwanted bacteria, which will give your teen bad breath and make them vulnerable to gum disease.

Dislodging morsels of food from braces isn’t always the easiest thing to do. For that reason, you may have to alter your teen’s diet to ensure they’re not eating foods that are easily wedged into the metal.

Fortunately, with clear aligners, your teen can just remove them while they’re eating. They can then floss to make sure no food is stuck in their teeth, and then put the aligners back in. No dietary changes are necessary.

5. Custom Made

We mentioned earlier that clear aligners are made from a 3-D image of the patient’s teeth to give a custom fit. The way that the process works is that you visit the dentist for X-rays of your mouth, and then they’ll do a fitting to get the perfect set of aligner trays.

You’ll be sent home with the aligners, which you’re supposed to change every 1-2 weeks as the teeth gradually shift.

6. Affordable

There’s a misconception out there that because clear aligners offer so many advantages they’re far more expensive than traditional braces. This isn’t true; many times, aligners cost the same amount as metal braces.

7. Faster Treatment

Many teens are forced to wear braces for 2-3 years to fix their crooked teeth. You’d think that clear aligner treatment, because it’s more comfortable and less invasive, would take a lot longer than braces, but it’s not true either.

Clear aligner treatment is almost always complete in under a year. Of course, some more severe cases will present complications that make the treatment last longer.

8. Fewer Unforeseen Dentist Trips

Unless something goes wrong, you won’t need to see your dentist for any aligner issues outside of scheduled checkups. Teens who wear metal braces often have to make emergency trips to the dentist to deal with broken wires, elastics, and brackets.

These unforeseen issues can complicate matters for your teen, lengthening their treatment. For aligners, they won’t need to see the dentist unless they break or lose their aligner tray.

9. Protects Teeth

With traditional braces, you can still damage your teeth by grinding at night or clenching during the day. These types of activities can wear down your teen’s tooth enamel, which is a long-term issue that braces won’t solve.

While your child is using aligners, they have to keep them in for 20-22 hours per day. Because the aligner trays go over the teeth, they protect against clenching and grinding. Their teeth will be preserved for the duration of the treatment.

Getting Clear Aligners for Teens in Erie, CO

Now that you know why you should avoid braces and get clear aligners for teens, it’s time to tell you where to find them in Erie, CO. Modern Mint Dental Care offers cutting-edge dental for the entire family in Erie, Colorado.

Our dentists care about you, your smile, and your oral health. It’s important that your teen feels comfortable during their consultation for clear aligners, which is why we strive to give every patient a positive experience.