Invisalign

[AlmiraGulch]

Anybody have experience with it? I'm particularly interested if you've had it as an adult, but any feedback is welcome.

 

I'm sitting here waiting for my consultation as I type this.

[Liz CA]

My ortho offered it. The only reason I did not take it was cost and I needed only a minor adjustment (less than 6 months) after having had braces as a kid. Orthodontist said it worked well and adults were happier because it was less obvious.

[Sandragood1]

My brother is doing this. It is more $ than regular braces. It really doesn't show at all except you have to remove them to eat or to drink anything other than water.

 

I looked into it a bit. Another option which is cheaper in my area is to use clear traditional braces on your top teeth and the metal traditional braces on the bottom. This cuts cost but reduces the visibility of the braces and you don't have to remove them all day long.

 

I hope you find an option you like,

[Momof3littles]

I did it as an adult.  I knew going in there was a chance I'd need traditional braces, as one of my teeth was rotated, and invisalign is not great for that (or at least it wasn't when I did it maybe 8-9 years ago).  So I went a while in invisalign, then eventually had to switch to traditional braces. My cost was laid out up front, so it really didn't matter that I had to switch into traditional braces.  That was all accounted for pretty much from the beginning, or it wasn't that much of a difference.  That's why I was willing to see how far I could get with the invisalign to start.

 

DH did his treatment all in invisalign, and the last trays serve as his retainers.

 

I think I wore invisalign plus braces for close to 18 months total, but I can't even remember. I did ceramic brackets.  My other option was Damon, but the ortho didn't really talk to me about it until I was in the chair about to get them on.  I knew a bit about them, but hadn't had a chance to research enough, and wasn't sure I could deal with the all metal brackets (yes, vain, and ceramic is still pretty noticeable).  Since I felt under the gun, I went with the ceramic vs. Damon.  If I had it to do over, I might have looked into the Damon more.

 

 

[msrift]

I had invisalign as an adult. My dentist had to widen a gap due to a congenitally missing tooth, so it was a relatively minor correction. I would absolutely do it again.

The fact that you have to take them out to eat made me very mindful of my eating. (Lost a ton of weight that year!)

Be aware that the trays do get gunky over time, especially overnight. You might have some very funky morning breath. Be sure you are brushing the trays and your teeth very well during treatment.

[AlmiraGulch]

Thanks for all the info!

 

I've decided to go for it.  I do not want traditional braces, and although these do cost more than traditional, it's still less than what I paid for my daughter's braces a few years ago (different provider).  I guess I just expected them to cast more than they will.

 

It's looking like 18 months of treatment, give or take.  I'm excited to start!

 

 

[livetoread]

My daughter has them now. She has some rotation so she has a few cement dots on her teeth that help the trays grip. The dots are a little more visible than just the trays (which are very hard to see). For her, Invisalign was the same price as traditional braces and that was true for all three estimates we got.

 

She says her teeth hurt, especially after a new tray, but her mouth isn't torn up by all the metal. FYI though, she did have some roughness with one tray set and had to get some fine sandpaper and sand the edges of the tray down. She said she was getting sores in her mouth, but the sanding took care of it.

 

So far she is glad she got them. She likes bring able to eat what she wants, and she likes that they aren't noticeable (except for the dots).

[Momof3littles]

Yes I had the speed bump dots :) I forgot about that. I did still have to do traditional braces for my rotation though. It was too much for invisalign.

[AlmiraGulch]

My daughter has them now. She has some rotation so she has a few cement dots on her teeth that help the trays grip. The dots are a little more visible than just the trays (which are very hard to see). For her, Invisalign was the same price as traditional braces and that was true for all three estimates we got.

 

She says her teeth hurt, especially after a new tray, but her mouth isn't torn up by all the metal. FYI though, she did have some roughness with one tray set and had to get some fine sandpaper and sand the edges of the tray down. She said she was getting sores in her mouth, but the sanding took care of it.

 

So far she is glad she got them. She likes bring able to eat what she wants, and she likes that they aren't noticeable (except for the dots).

 

They told me about the dot-things so I'm prepared for those.  Do they bug her, though?  I can picture them getting on my nerves and constantly playing with them with my tongue.  

 

I asked about gum/mouth irritation, and they said they actually give you a what amounts to an emery board but has some fancy tool name to file them down when needed.  Sounds like your daughter's sand paper did the same thing!

 

I'm prepared for some pain.  I guess no matter the appliance type, your teeth are still moving.  

 

Glad to hear they're working out for her!

[Catwoman]

I don't have any advice or info for you, but I wanted to wish you good luck with them!

[Guest]

My dd had them. It was great for her. Her correction was not that severe, so it was ideal. The full cost was not much more expensive overall. I think it was a few additional hundred dollars. (Not that that's chump change, just that considering the costs/benefits, it was acceptable.) At first, it was difficult and painful. Not agony and probably comparable to metal braces, but she reports it did make her jaw and teeth ache. Also, it was super-hard to remove them at first. She learned a little spoon trick to pry them off with a spoon; after that, it was okay. But there were tears at first.

 

To keep them fresh, she soaked them in denture cleaner every night. She still does this with the last tray, which she wears at night as a retainer.

 

Removing them to eat, while a bit inconvenient, was actually better in that she took fastidious care of her teeth. After lunch at school, she would brush, floss and put the tray back in.

[AlmiraGulch]

My dd had them. It was great for her. Her correction was not that severe, so it was ideal. The full cost was not much more expensive overall. I think it was a few additional hundred dollars. (Not that that's chump change, just that considering the costs/benefits, it was acceptable.) At first, it was difficult and painful. Not agony and probably comparable to metal braces, but she reports it did make her jaw and teeth ache. Also, it was super-hard to remove them at first. She learned a little spoon trick to pry them off with a spoon; after that, it was okay. But there were tears at first.

 

To keep them fresh, she soaked them in denture cleaner every night. She still does this with the last tray, which she wears at night as a retainer.

 

Removing them to eat, while a bit inconvenient, was actually better in that she took fastidious care of her teeth. After lunch at school, she would brush, floss and put the tray back in.

 

Spoon trick?  Is this common knowledge or something she'd be willing to share?

[Guest smil3y]

Before getting any treatment, always do your research!! I find blogs particulary useful, because then you can read about different people's experience or find allthe information you need to know in one place, like in Dr Tinklers Invisalign Doctor blog (http://www.invisaligndoctor.co.uk/blog/) Good Luck with your treatments and I hope it gives you the results you've longed for :)

[Guest]

Spoon trick? Is this common knowledge or something she'd be willing to share?

I could ask her later how, specifically, she used the spoon, but I think she took a spoon, set the curved back against her gums, then used the spoon as a lever to detach them from the tooth anchors.

[mrs.m]

They told me about the dot-things so I'm prepared for those.  Do they bug her, though?  I can picture them getting on my nerves and constantly playing with them with my tongue.  

 

I asked about gum/mouth irritation, and they said they actually give you a what amounts to an emery board but has some fancy tool name to file them down when needed.  Sounds like your daughter's sand paper did the same thing!

 

I'm prepared for some pain.  I guess no matter the appliance type, your teeth are still moving.  

 

Glad to hear they're working out for her!

 

I used invisalign and I'm happy with the results. The new trays made my mouth hurt for the first couple days and were sometimes felt impossible to remove from being so tight, but I figured out where to grab them to unhook from those dots.

 

The dots will only bother you when you take them out to eat and even then I got used to them. They are on the front of the teeth. You won't feel them with the trays in because the trays are very smooth.

 

I only had one tray that needed filing. I don't remember a lot of irritation but at first the trays were just annoying. And then at some point, I felt weird without them and had to get used to being without them when I was finished.

 

They say not to drink with them. I did especially if I was at a party and was just sipping on a glass of white wine. That's probably the time it felt the most awkward and I hated to have to remove them and then head back to the bathroom to put them back in.  

 

I also soaked them in the morning during my shower in denture cleaner and then brushed them with my toothbrush. That seems to take off the coloring from my tea drinking.

[Tap]

Dh and I both did it 8 or 10 years ago.  It worked ok but we knew it wouldn't fix all of our problems.  The trays can tip the teeth, but don't really move the roots as much as traditional braces so you can't solve some problems with it.  

 

DH kept up on using his last tray as a retainer and his teeth still look good.  I stopped wearing them due to an unidentified irritant to my mouth that was causing sores.  It turned out to not be the invisalign, but figured out it was a food allergy instead.  By then my teeth had shifted too much to go back.  I would have to start over, and I am not willing to do that.  Some of the correction stuck, though so my teeth are definitely straighter than they were before!

 

 

The experience wasn't bad.  The pain was manageable. The effects were good (within realistic expectations).  If it were free, I would do it again.  I am just not willing to pay for it right now.  We paid less than a $1000 each the first time due to double coverage on our insurance. My current insurance doesn't pay for adult braces, so it would be all out of pocket.

[Tap]

They told me about the dot-things so I'm prepared for those.  Do they bug her, though?  I can picture them getting on my nerves and constantly playing with them with my tongue.  

 

I asked about gum/mouth irritation, and they said they actually give you a what amounts to an emery board but has some fancy tool name to file them down when needed.  Sounds like your daughter's sand paper did the same thing!

 

I'm prepared for some pain.  I guess no matter the appliance type, your teeth are still moving.  

 

Glad to hear they're working out for her!

We called our dots our Lego teeth.  You get used to them really fast and they aren't too intrusive to cause a problem.

[AlmiraGulch]

I've had them for nearly two weeks now.

 

I have to say that the first week or so was much harder than I'd anticipated.  I had a constant headache, and low level nausea.  All the time.  Plus, my tongue was sore from the plastic on the bottom tray.

 

It's much better now. No real issues at all from this tray, and it does feel a bit strange to have the trays out now that I'm used to them being there.

 

Also, and I know this may sound strange, but one of my top front two teeth overlaps the one next to it quite a bit, but the overlap is already noticeably less.  Not perfect, but you can definitely already see a difference.  

 

i get the Lego bumps added at my next appointment on Thursday, so we'll see how bad I think that part is.  

[AlmiraGulch]

The doctor said the main thing he can't address with Invisalign is when the bit doesn't match up top to bottom in the back of the mouth.  Other than that, he said there isn't much that can't be done with Invisalign anymore, and that the technology has come such a long way it amazes even him.  They said to think of those bump things that they're going to add as doing the same thing that the rubber bands do on metal braces, so I guess that's the answer.  

 

They took digital impressions of my teeth and not the classic plaster mold that they used to take, and that is still used for traditional braces.  The prescription that he can generate is then so specific it takes less time than it used to, because it's just so accurate.  I was amazed by the process.  

 

 

[6packofun]

Thank you so much for this thread!  My dd17 is debating what to do about her teeth and it is helping her weigh pros and cons.  Another update would be great, too!  :)

[Amber in SJ]

DD #2 had them starting @ 14yo and was all done by 16yo.  Our ortho did a deal  so the cost was within $200 of the traditional braces.  She needed pretty extensive corrections. 

 

At one point the ortho needed to use rubber bands to pull one tooth on the bottom up.  They cut the back off the top aligner and slapped two anchor brackets to the back two teeth nearest the one that needed to be pulled up.  They put a bracket on the bottom tooth that needed to be pulled up and punched a hole for that tooth in her bottom aligner.  She snapped in both aligners then used a rubber band to attach the bottom tooth to the top teeth. 

 

We were very happy with them.  It helped that she was older and very committed to wearing them.  Never lost them, never had to be reminded the little indicator dot was always gone.  She was meticulous about her tooth care.  No decay during treatment at all.

 

My oldest dd had traditional braces and the next one has sensory issues.  I don't know that she will do well with things that bother her that she can remove.

 

I would jump at the chance to have them now if we could afford it.  I had braces back in the 80's and was told to wear my retainer for 6 months after they were off.  D'oh!

 

Amber in SJ

 

 

[Guest]

The most obvious problem with dd's teeth before invisalign was a lower front tooth that was turning gradually; it was almost completely sideways. Her teeth are sooooooo pretty now, post-invisalign!