By Caitlin McDevitt
More parents are buying into the notion that even adolescents shouldn’t be stuck in unsightly orthodontia. But are the prettier (and pricier) alternatives to braces better? Most orthodontists say no. This summer, Align Technology—the company that lured adults back to the dentist with clear retainers in 1999—launched Invisalign Teen. Though kids might be thrilled to avoid a mouthful of metal, Manhattan orthodontist Jan Linhart warns that the removable devices ($4,500 to $7,800) are a big responsibility. “You have to wear them in order for them to work,” he says. According to patient Jenny Cook, 17, of Los Angeles, “It’s really easy to get lazy putting it back in.” Neal Kravitz, an orthodontist in Chantilly, Va., says that most adolescent cases are too severe for Invisalign anyway. (The company says its retainers fix crowding, spacing issues and overbites.)
That doesn’t mean all kids with crooked teeth have to be Ugly Bettys. They can get iBraces—customized brackets attached to the back of the teeth. “I have a lot of patients driving from afar for them,” says Beverly Hills orthodontist Atoosa Nikaeen. Offered by only 18 percent of orthodontists, iBraces move teeth like regular braces but are harder to put on and can cost twice as much ($8,000 to $14,000). Some parents will pay to spare their children the teasing, but it might be better to just stick with what the parents wore in their schooldays. Even orthodontists who specialize in cosmetic options say that conventional braces ($3,000 to $7,000) are still the best. “They’re the most efficient and the easiest,” says Linhart. Luckily, there is another option for the tinsel-toothed: for only a few bucks, they can have their braces PhotoShopped out of the yearbook.
