If your teenager needs to get braces, they probably aren't going to want to have braces that anyone can see. Teenagers can have a hard enough time with their self-confidence and the way that they look without having to wear braces and feel like they are being singled out. Luckily, there are other choices that you and your teenager can take advantage of so that other people don't have to know that they are straightening their teeth.

Invisible Aligners

One thing that you can choose is to use invisible aligner trays. These trays just slip over the teeth and adjust the teeth over time. Each tray will be molded so that the teeth gradually move into a proper position. The trays have the spaces for the teeth moved just a little bit and the teeth will move into the correct place. After your teenager's teeth have moved to the place that the tray is supposed to move them to, then you go see your dentist and your teenager will get new trays, still based on molds of their teeth, so that the new trays can start to move their teeth again.

Since they are removable, your teenager will take them out when they are eating, but all the rest of the time, they should wear them. 

Lingual Braces

While most braces go on the outside of the teeth, lingual braces go on the inside, in between the tongue and the teeth. They act just like other braces in that they have brackets that are cemented to the teeth, wires that pull the teeth into the proper alignment, and rubber bands that need to be used; they are just on the inside of the teeth so no one will know that they are there.

There are a few things that your teenager is going to have to worry about if they decide to go with lingual braces. One is that it is going to be harder for them to make sure that they get all the food and such cleaned out from around the brackets because it's going to be harder to see them. Another is that they can end up with cuts and sores on their tongue while they are getting used to their braces 

If your teenager doesn't want everyone to know that they have braces, there are some choices open to you and them so that they can keep their braces hidden.