Invisalign for Crowded Teeth

Hi I have crowded teeth, and I want to keep all my teeth (no removing) can i use invisalign ? Any suggestion is good.

Doctor Answers 7

It all depends, you need an in-person evaluation to determine that....

Ultimately, your teeth will effect the profile of your face; hence, orthodontists frequently take a side head film, called a cephalogram, to measure the angulation of your teeth within your jaw bones, and the drape of your soft tissue over these structures. This information, along with the health of your tissues (i.e. gum recession) will determine whether or not you can "fit" all the teeth without extraction. One of the beauties of Invisalign, however, is that if the case is borderline, the orthodontist will have a working model of the teeth and can plan in removal of some tooth structure (without pulling teeth) by shaving away increments of enamel, which is safe and painless if done properly, to create enough space for your teeth to all become straight.

Saint Louis Orthodontist

Crowding can be fixed by Invisalign without Extractions

I can see from your photos that the reason the teeth are so crowded is due to the narrow upper and lower arches of you jaw.  Expansion of your jaws or widening of the arches will allow room for all of the teeth to be aligned without extractions.  Invisalign does expand the arches a bit, but in some cases like yours another phase of treatment must be done prior to Invisalign.  Wearing a functional retainer with expansion screws for 6-8 months prior should provide enough room for all of your teeth.  Once that phase is done Invisalign can finish the process of aligning the teeth predictably.

Jimmy C. Wu, DDS
San Diego Dentist

Invisalign can help with crowded teeth

Often the Invisalign "trays" can expand the arches a bit, and if the teeth are slenderized they can be put in alignment.  Functional orthopedics in combination with Invisalign likely will give the best results, as Invisalign alone does have its limitations.

Crowding and invisalign

Almost every patient can be treated without extractions...the better question is "should they be?"  Sometimes extractions are necessary, other times space can be gained by expansion or slenderizing the teeth.  There is seldom an "ideal" solution to crowding, each way has it's own pros and to get a few opinions!

Robert Waxler, DMD, MS
Saint Louis Orthodontist

Invisalign after Functional Facial Orthopedics can best solve crowding and narrow jaws

I have answered a similar question before so I will repeat my answer with slight alterations to better answer your question.  It is evident from seeing your photos that your problem started with a constricted upper jaw.  This is the most common cause of crowded teeth and overbites, which are the two most common reasons people seek orthodontic treatment.  Constricted arches are best handled with Functional Facial Orthopedics (FFO) to expand your upper jaw to ideal, then Invisalign or braces can finish the process and give you a full beautiful "movie star" smile without the removal of any permanent teeth. Although many orthodontists are not versed in these FFO procedures, skipping the FFO phase and going directly into Invisalign can still  straighten teeth, but not give as full of a smile as possible.  Good luck to you.

Invisalign for crowded teeth

It looks like you would be a great case for Invisalign! Although you have a lot of crowding the aligners will be able to slowly fix your crowding. Before you know it you will have that smile you've always wanted.

Rod Strober, DDS
San Diego Dentist

Invisalign for Crowded Teeth?

Crowding of teeth is the most common orthodontic problem. There are basically three solutions for solving a crowding problem: 1) remove teeth, 2) expand the dental arch or 3) slenderize teeth. Invisalign commonly utilizes tooth slenderizing. This is basically taking a small amount of enamel from multiple teeth. In adults, extracting teeth often leaves excess space, expanding arches is often unstable so tooth slenderization (or interproximal reduction) is a common method for creating needed space. I hope this helps.

Good luck!
