Most parents approach the idea of braces and Invisalign as a medical or health issue. And while straighter does mean a healthier mouth, most teens are more concerned with how straight their teeth are, rather than whether or not straight teen make it easier to clean those teeth.
The teen years can be difficult and even teens that are surrounded by good friends and have supportive parents might struggle with self-esteem. It’s becoming an epidemic, but Invisalign Teens can help. Here’s how:
1. Straighter teeth mean a more beautiful smile.
If your teen avoids smiling with his teeth because he does not like how those teeth look, if they are crooked, out of alignment, or uneven, he may try to hide them. When they have been straightened, your teen probably will not feel that way anymore. Instead of trying to hide his smile, he will be proud of it. Something that once was a burden on his self-esteem can become something that he loves and wants to show off.
2. Straighter teeth means fewer dental health issues.
If teeth are crowded, spaced too far apart, or are simply crooked, it can be difficult to keep those teeth clean and therefore difficult to keep those teeth white and shiny, which, again, might make it so that your teen does not want to show off her smile. If she is self-conscious about her smile, straighter teeth that are easier to clean and result in healthier gums and whiter teeth can eliminate that point of pain in her self-esteem.
3. Smiling boosts confidence.
Not only does a smile display confidence, it can actually help to boost your confidence. Studies have been done about how body language affects not just other people, but the person herself. If your teen has low self-esteem, and especially if that self-esteem is tied to her appearance, providing your teen with a smile that she loves to show off could actually help her build that confidence. Smiling is a great way to show others that you are confident, but it is also a good way to make yourself feel more confident.
4. Invisalign Teen provides your teens with a responsibility.
Giving your teenager a responsibility that they are completely in charge of on their own and watching them fulfill that responsibility faithfully will help to build their self-esteem. While you can nag them and check up on them when it comes to their treatment, it is ultimately down the teenager whether or not they are going to comply with their treatment and benefit from it. When they do, when they take responsibility for their actions and actually do what they are told to do by their orthodontist, they can take pride in the results, knowing they had a real hand in achieving them.
5. Invisalign Teen straightens teeth almost invisibly.
Nothing can be more demoralizing to a teenager who might already be struggling with self-esteem than to slap metal braces onto their teeth. Most teens believe that these metal braces will only attract attention to them, as if they were wearing huge metal arrows that point to their crooked teeth. Despite the fact that just about every teenager will, at some point, be wearing braces during their time in high school, many teens fear being teased about their own braces. Invisalign Teen provides the same service, in clear plastic aligners that are almost invisible.
6. The aligners are more comfortable than metal braces.
A huge part of the anxiety related to straightening teeth is the discomfort and sometimes even pain involved in the process. Not only will they be worrying about how they look, they simply will not feel their best, because they are having to deal with pain in their teeth, gums, and jaw. Because Invisalign is more comfortable, teens won’t have to worry about the appearance of the metal braces or how they feel.
7. There is no danger of having food stuck in your braces.
One of the most annoying things about having metal braces was not the adjustments or the discomfort, but the fact that no matter what I ate, no matter how rigorously I followed my orthodontist’s instructions about what I could and couldn’t eat, I’d get food stuck in my braces. It was embarrassing, on top of the already perceived embarrassment of having metal braces. This simply doesn’t happen when you have Invisalign. Teens won’t have to worry about trying to clean food particles off of their brackets.
8. They aren’t blocked from doing their favorite activities.
It can be extremely demoralizing to have to relearn how to play an instrument or to have to adjust how you play a sport just because you have gotten metal braces. With Invisalign, they will not have to completely adjust their life in order to accommodate metal braces.
9. They don’t fear a visit to the orthodontist.
When a teen has metal braces, they might do everything in their power to avoid visiting the orthodontist, because they know that there is only discomfort to follow. The same cannot be said for a teen who has Invisalign. A trip to the orthodontist is not scary. Instead, they can walk in with confidence, knowing that they are going to be praised for keeping up with their treatment.
10. Invisalign removes a social impediment.
Many teenagers worry constantly about their teeth and how they look. They might avoid talking to people, participating in activities, and even giving presentations in class simply because they do not want people to see what their teeth look like. If this is an issue for your teen, Invisalign can completely remove it!
