Clinical Limitations of Invisalign

Adult patients seeking orthodontic treatment are increasingly motivated by esthetic considerations. The majority of these patients reject wearing labial fixed appliances and are looking instead to more esthetic treatment options, including lingual orthodontics and Invisalign appliances. Since Align Technology introduced the Invisalign appliance in 1999 in an extensive public campaign, the appliance has gained tremendous attention from adult patients and dental professionals. The transparency of the Invisalign appliance enhances its esthetic appeal for those adult patients who are averse to wearing conventional labial fixed orthodontic appliances. Although guidelines about the types of malocclusions that this technique can treat exist, few clinical studies have assessed the effectiveness of the appliance. A few recent studies have outlined some of the limitations associated with this technique that clinicians should recognize early before choosing treatment options.