s/o Braces--those clear ones you take out?

[Chris in VA]

Ds had a palate expander when he was 8. They also straightened (via regular braces) a turned front tooth. It was Stage One of a two stage process.

When we moved, however, we were no longer covered for orthodontia, so we couldn't complete anything.

His teeth are a mess.

He didn't want braces, and we couldn't spend the $ on them, anyway.

 

Now he says he will, at some point, try those "removeable, clear braces."

 

Are these Invisilign? Do they work? I'd love to be able to do this for him--maybe if I work next year. But I'd need to know if it would even work--I know an ortho can tell me, just wanted to know your experiences.

[Starr]

He might be thinking of the plastic retainers everyone wears when their braces come off. If you can talk him into it I think he'd find having braces is not a social problem. The orthodontist could tell him how many adults he sees.

[Pretty in Pink]

I think your son is talking about Invisalign. A certified Invisalign provider is the best person to advise you; they work well for some minor issues but not everyone is a candidate. If your son's teeth are really 'a mess' he may need to go with traditional braces. Also, Invisalign are comprable in cost to traditional braces I believe. FWIW many dentists are using self-ligating braces now with tooth-colored brackets. These braces are faster than the ones I had when I was a kid.

[dirty ethel rackham]

According to my ortho - Invisalign is not for everyone. I happened to be in the waiting room when the Invisalign sales rep came in. I overheard the conversation and the subsequent conversations among the staff after he left. BTW, my ortho is very into latest technology so he is very open to new things.

 

Although the sales reps will push them and promote the daylights out of them, the actual situations where they will work is somewhat limited. Also, from what I hear around here, they are not cheaper than regular braces. If your mouth fits the range of situations it treats well, then great. Otherwise, other options will work better.

[Pretty in Pink]

According to my ortho - Invisalign is not for everyone. I happened to be in the waiting room when the Invisalign sales rep came in. I overheard the conversation and the subsequent conversations among the staff after he left. BTW, my ortho is very into latest technology so he is very open to new things.

 

Although the sales reps will push them and promote the daylights out of them, the actual situations where they will work is somewhat limited. Also, from what I hear around here, they are not cheaper than regular braces. If your mouth fits the range of situations it treats well, then great. Otherwise, other options will work better.

 

Right. My ortho is a certied Invisalign provider but he was very straightforward with me that I was not a candidate.

[Mejane]

nm

Edited March 29, 2010 by Mejane
need to read other responses, so I don't repeat!

[Suzanne in ABQ]

 

Are these Invisilign? Do they work? I'd love to be able to do this for him--maybe if I work next year. But I'd need to know if it would even work--I know an ortho can tell me, just wanted to know your experiences.

 

 

I just finished my Invisalign treatment. It was wonderful for me because I just had some minor crowding on the bottom, and some very minor rotation on my lower canines. I have been extremely satisfied with my results. I'm in retainers now.

 

My orthodontist made it clear, though, that they don't work for all problems. Invisalign trays only tip the teeth, or rotate them slightly. They don't move them. If your son has extensive problems, Invisialign may not work very well.

 

Invisalign usually costs more than conventional braces.

 

Also, they have to be worn 22 hours a day to be fully effective. 18 hours a day is not enough. If you leave them out for more than an hour, your teeth start to move back. This causes unnecessary pain when you put the trays back in. If you leave them out for more than 4-6 hours, forcing the trays on can even chip your teeth. This is a concern for young people because they generally don't have the resolve to keep them in despite the discomfort.

 

Oh, and the discomforts are many. My mouth was always extremely dry with my trays in. My ortho said that some people have the opposite problem -- excessive saliva all the time. Also, the trays get VERY smelly, especially overnight. They're disgusting in the morning. They have to be cleaned several times a day to keep them fresh. Not all kids are going to want to deal with this.

 

Oh, two other things about Invisalign that you might not know: 1) if the teeth are crowded, they use strips of sandpaper-like material to file between the teeth, making them slimmer, so that they will fit in the mouth better. And, 2) if any rotation is needed, the ortho will create little buttons on the teeth that fit into notches in the Invisalign tray, allowing the tray to grab the tooth and twist it. These can be bothersome to some folks, and they make the trays more difficult to put in and remove.

 

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. If you go to an orthodontist for their free consultation, and they offer Invisalign, they will gladly give you quotes for both Invisalign and conventional braces.

 

A word of advice (aka. warning): Only get Invisalign from an orthodontist, not a regular dentist. Dentists take a few seminars or classes to learn how to use Invisalign, but orthodontists go through years of school to understand how teeth move, what's possible, and what's not. I've heard and read too many horror stories of people with serious problems who were poorly treated by dentists with Invisalign. An orthodontist will know the best treatment for your son's specific problems.

[SonshineLearner]

Did you see the ones that were on the thread the other day? They were "texas fast braces" or something like that. I looked it up and we have an office that does them here, too. (They are considerably less expensive)

 

:)

[AngieW in Texas]

I've read many horror stories about how painful Invisalign is. Braces hurt, but generally for just a few days after getting them initially and when getting adjustments. Pain that lasts just 2-4 days and only occurs every 6-8 weeks isn't as bad as constant, never-ending pain for the entire time that you have braces.

 

I was in braces for over 2 years. It really wasn't that bad.

 

My 11yo dd is a major drama queen, but even she didn't end up with too much pain. When she first got her braces in December, it was 4 days before she even ate soft foods, but she was eating popcorn and chewing gum by day 7. She got a new wire back in February. She had a few days of pain, but was completely back to normal by day 4. She goes back again in three days.

 

She has Damon fast braces.

[Tap]

Both dh and I had Invisalign about 5 years ago. We loved them. They did cost the same as regular braces and they couldn't fix all my issues but it was worth it to have the freedom to remove them at will. Like someone else said they move the teeth by holding on to the top edge of the teeth, not the bottom. They can twist teeth slightly but not make major corrections. So, while they can straighten teeth, they don't move them around in the same way conventional braces do. They can use the buttons (or Legos nubs as we called them) to grab the teeth better, but Invisalign still has its limitations. One of my issues is that I have a tooth that is a quarter turn off. They can't fix that with Invisalign, but they could with regular braces. I didn't really care as you can't see it and it wasn't affecting my bite.

 

I am very, very happy we did them. We both look so different with straighter teeth! This may sound odd, but I am actually glad it didn't leave us with perfect teeth. I like that they aren't soo perfect that they scream 'I had braces', they look like naturally straight teeth.

 

The patient still has to wear a retainer every night (we just use our last Invisalign tray-but we need to go get new ones soon). I don't think the pain was any worse from what I hear people with traditional braces complaining about. I would put my new trays in at night (new trays every 2-3 weeks) and when I woke in the morning, they no longer hurt. The buttons took me a week or so to get used to but after that I didn't notice any more. They didn't hurt, it was just like loosing a tooth when you're a kid and can't leave the hole alone with your tongue. To clean my trays I soak them in a bit of peroxide water after brushing them in the am. We never had an odor issue other than what I would consider normal breath. We just brushed them when we brushed our teeth, after snacks and meals.

 

I loved being able to take them in and out when ever I wanted. I can't imagine if dh and I both had metal braces....:lol:

[Julie]

Carrie,

 

I was the one who posted the question about Fast Braces the guy who "invented" these is out of Texas, but they have offices in several states, more in Texas. I can't find any info on the internet about if this method has been successful or if this guy is a quack.

 

I reall would like to give these a go, but I 'd like to hear some success stories other than their web site. The Fast Braces dentist here quoted me $2400, as oppose to the traditional ortho at $4950.

 

Th Fast Braces doc told me they fix smaller bite problems and cosmetic issues, rather than more major ortho work.

[Chris in VA]

Thanks so much! I can see that Invisalign won't work for ds.

Sigh. REALLY wish we could have done braces. Now he notices how bad his teeth are compared to all the kids around us, most of whom have beautiful, straight teeth. The last thing he needs is another self esteem issue.