DC had crossbite at nearly 10, had to wear expander then brace for 2.5 years ( with rubber band on & off at school, it’s manageable after practice), removed brace and continued with invisalign. You can’t correct crossbite with invisalign, it’s just not strong enough.

Our ortho makes his patients wait until 16 for Invisalign because he says that it’s too problematic when they’re younger than that.

My DS did Invisalign starting at 16 and did great. He never lost a try and wore them religiously. It was a way better experience for him than braces, but he really didn’t want braces and so he was committed. He is a very responsible kid and probably would have been fine starting at 14 or 15. I don’t think he would have done as well at 12 or 13, though.

My middle schooler had Invisalign and said she wished she had gotten traditional braces. And that was a very appearance conscious 7th grade girl. It was inconvenient and annoying to take them in and out as others have said.

I had braces again as an adult and then had Invisalign like retainers to wear a few months after and they were annoying.

I’m on Invisalign’s now, but I’m 40. I don’t think I’d recommend them for a tween/teen. Kids eat and snack a lot and you can’t eat anything with them in and are only supposed to drink basically water or beverages without any kinds of dyes/coloring (so no coffee or soda). Think back to your own time in school … your friend would take out their retainer to eat, put it in a napkin at lunch, forget the napkin or throw it away and then everyone was going through the trash looking for Katie’s retainer. I think traditional braces are better for that age range. If they need additional treatment once they hit the post-college years, maybe then Invisalign.

My oldest got invasion and had issues (she didn’t use it consistently enough for it to work so ended up with years of lost time) so my younger one chose braces. That was a much quicker fix but she had a lot of issues with the braces cutting up her gums or brackets breaking (there was a learning curve on both of those) and now has had cavity issues even though she was very careful about brushing and using the water pick — the dentist says it’s really hard to clean under the braces so cavities are common. So they each have their drawbacks for sure.
If you get invasqlign go with a provider that uses the app to measure progress at home so you know sooner if it’s not correcting enough.

My son did Invisalign in 7th grade and it was fine. He took them in and out to eat and managed it. I don’t think his hygiene was what I would have done but he didn’t get a cavity during this time period. He never lost one but one did break once. He ended up having them less time than what the doctor had predicted.

They cost the same as braces so we gave him the option.

I wouldn't let mine get Invisalign - I even told the staff at the ortho office to please not even mention it as an option.

There was NO way she'd keep them in, NO WAY she'd keep from losing them.

I had Invisalign as an adult. Did not pick that option for my kids - way too much trouble.

Nope, we got regular braces next easier to deal with

My daughter played soccer and saw two teammates get braces hooked on their cheeks when a ball hit them, it was gruesome. She did Invisiline and had no issues!

They never wash their hands, I think it's gross to do that so we went traditional braces. No more reasons to bring flu or norovirus home more than my kids already do.

My son has them. Teens eat a lot, so the Invisalign has to be removed frequently. He has lost two trays in about a year.

I know you have your reasons for not choosing traditional braces, so I’m likely not going to be helpful.

Everyone’s favorite orthodontist in Vienna recommended traditional braces for my 7th grader. We were all prepared for Invisalign at the time. It’s a rite if of passage and 40% of his friends all had braces at the same time. It was cheaper and it was fun to choose the rubber bands colors each month. Also, for my son was playing sports and was just getting the hang of his personal hygiene so we didn’t want to introduce another routine. He did great with the braces and with his retainer since. And his teeth look awesome 6 years later!

We made the same choice for my daughter 2 years later - although she was more mature and we were confident that she could have handled either.

Why would you put that responsibility on a middle schooler? There’s no reason to choose Invisalign over traditional braces for a child.

My kid is 12 with an overbite and cross bite. We're thinking about Invisalign instead of traditional braces for lots of reasons. How does your kid handle this at school? We're prepared to lose a tray or two - I mean who doesn't. But I'm concerned that popping them in and out and setting them and putting the elastics back in will cause some stress that he doesn't need during the school day.