Can Invisalign Fix a Misalignment?

Posted by writeradmin

I wanted to get my teeth straightened but did not want to do metal braces. I asked my dentist about Invisalign and he said that it doesn’t work for misaligned teeth. In order to fix that I would have to go the traditional route. Is there some other option for me? I’m 37 years old and don’t really want a mouth full of metal.

Caty

Dear Caty,

I’m not sure why your dentist said that Invisalign will not work for misalignment. That is exactly what it was designed to do.  I see three possibilities here:

First, the skeptical thought that comes to mind is that he doesn’t do Invisalign. However, he doesn’t want to risk you going to another dentist who does and then liking them so much that you switch completely.  I know. It is rotten of me to think that but the possibility did cross my mind.

Second, he just does not understand the Invisalign procedure. This is less skeptical, but equally disconcerting to me. It is important you have a dentist who is keeping up in their field. Each state should have a certain number of hours a dentist is required to do continuing education. Some only do the bare minimum that is required. Rarely, is that enough to truly keep up with all the amazing advances going on in the dental field, though.

Third, you may have an unusual misalignment case and he legitimately thinks it will not work for you. When Invisalign was first developed, it could only handle the ideal cases. These days, however, it can tackle pretty much anything except for some unusually difficult ones.

The simplest thing for you to do is to get a second opinion from an Invisalign Dentist. They’ll need to see you, though. While I can tell you online that you may still be able to use Invisalign to straighten your teeth, you’ll need to get confirmation by a dentist who can examine your bite.

This blog is brought to you by Arnold, MD Dentist Dr. Meredith Esposito.