10 Invisalign myths we hear every week

1. "Invisalign only works for minor cases." Modern aligner planning corrects crowding, spacing, many overbites, underbites, crossbites and open bites, including in children. The limits are specific movements, not severity in general.
2. "Invisalign is faster than braces." For simple cases, yes. For comparable comprehensive cases the timelines are similar. Advertising quotes the short end.
3. "You can take it out whenever you want." You can, which is the problem. Below 20 hours a day the plan drifts. The removability is for eating and brushing, not convenience.
4. "Invisalign is invisible." Nearly. Attachments, the small tooth-coloured bumps on many teeth, are faintly visible up close, and aligners that are not cleaned go cloudy.
5. "You do not need retainers afterward." You do, for life, the same as after braces.
6. "Any dentist can do Invisalign the same way." The plastic is the same everywhere; the planning is not. A certified specialist plans tooth movements all day. Many dentists do good work on straightforward cases; the difference shows in complex ones.
7. "Invisalign is more expensive than braces." Not at most specialist offices for comparable cases.
8. "It does not hurt." Pressure for a day or two with each new aligner. Less than braces overall, not zero.
9. "Mail-order aligners are the same thing, cheaper." No x-ray, no bite assessment, no attachments, no one to see when it goes wrong. See clear aligners.
10. "Invisalign is not for kids." Invisalign First is used from about age 7 in selected children, and Invisalign Teen from about 11 to 13.

What is true

Aligners are a good tool in a good plan with a compliant patient. Whether all three are present is what the evaluation decides. See how Invisalign works.