Can Invisalign Expand Your Palate?

You probably know that Invisalign can straighten misaligned teeth and create a more appealing smile. Straighter teeth will give you the confidence to smile wide. However, can this treatment widen your smile? Can it move your teeth enough to expand your palate and broaden your smile?

Smile Widening

The smile-widening process aims to move the teeth or change the shape of the mouth to create a broader smile. Sometimes, this can be as simple as moving overcrowded teeth to a more natural position. Other times, it can be more complicated. 

Narrow Smile

You have a little smile if only a few of your front teeth are visible when you smile. Your smile is narrow if fewer than six teeth are visible when smiling. In most cases, this problem does not cause any medical issues. However, most people would prefer to have broader and more appealing smiles. In rare cases, a little smile can lead to more significant problems.

What Causes Narrow Smiles?

The width and alignment of your teeth can cause a narrow arch. Also, missing teeth can cause the smile to look narrow. Narrow smiles often lead to the thinning of lips, causing people to look older. A misshapen maxillary arch often causes a narrow smile. 

The maxillary arch should have a U shape. That allows your teeth to grow in a curved pattern. If your maxillary arch starts to taper or take more of a V shape, the opening of your mouth will be narrow. Your teeth will then tilt inward, and you will end up with extra space between your cheeks and teeth. Consequently, your jawline will be narrower. 

In severe cases, narrow smiles can lead to dental problems like crossbite, underbite, or overbite. If your jaw alignment is off, you could suffer from difficulty breathing or develop a speech impairment.

Can You Fix a Narrow Smile?

You can have a narrow smile fixed. Depending on the severity of the narrowness, less invasive procedures like Invisalign or traditional metal braces or surgery can fix it. For pediatric patients, orthodontists typically use a palate expander to widen the maxillary arch while it is still malleable. 

However, the maxillary arch is no longer malleable after age 13. Adults with an overly narrow arch require surgery to expand the palate to the proper width.

How Can Invisalign Widen Your Smile?

If your arch is not narrow enough to require an expander, you can straighten your teeth using Invisalign to make your smile appear wider. Invisalign trays gradually and gently shift teeth in the desired direction. The goal is to create better teeth alignment and make the smile appear wider.

Does Invisalign Widen the Palate?

Widening your smile with Invisalign does not actually widen the bone. So, you cannot use this treatment to expand your palate. Invisalign can slightly widen your alveolar bone and dental arch by one to two millimeters. If you want to expand your palate, there are other more efficient ways.

Like braces, Invisalign aligners correct issues like misaligned teeth. However, they constrict the teeth, meaning there will be little or no palate expansion. However, Invisalign will help you get a more attractive, slightly wider smile.

For more on Invisalign, visit Align Dental at our Boston, Massachusetts office. Call (617) 340-5300 to schedule an appointment today.