invisalign braces?

[KristinCB]

Has anyone here had these instead of the regular braces?

[DreamBig]

Ooh, good question!
And I am actually getting braces for the second time in my life, in a couple weeks. My bite has gone wonkey and "back in the day" they told us we didn't need to wear our retainer forever. So, my teeth moved and now I am going back into a metal mouth. :/
My orthodontist does Invisalign, and I asked about it. But because we need to pull my teeth back "together" and fix my bite with rubber bands and such, Invisalign would not be the best fix for me. Because the plastic retainer part is between my teeth, it doesn't pull the teeth together.
Is that as clear as mud?
But, I know others have had excellent results with them. Especially if they just need a straightening.

[eranslow]

I was going to get this done - but then we decided to get pregnant lol

They add little notches to a few of your teeth so the trays stay in place. Once you've used all your trays, you'll go in and get the notches removed. They mail you all the trays and the schedule to follow. Sounds super easy!

[KristinCB]

Yea I def need to do something - the dentist suggested invisalign but I just don't know. I like the fact that you can't see a metal mouth.. but looking into it more wow it sounds SO painful and a lot of people struggle with it (i have read up and so many mention that you really are in pain for a lot of the time and you can end up with mouth sores) People seem to lose weight on them too.. you have to clean the trays/brush every single time you have something to eat. I had braces when I was 11/12 but my teeth have continued to move.

[angiepangie]

I've just had normal braces but I have friends who have used Invisalign. Yep, you'll probably lose weight while wearing them. You're supposed to remove the aligners/trays before eating, as they are easy to damage. Most of the time my friends couldn't be bothered doing it (especially if they were out and about), so they'd just skip snacking. Ditto with drinking - they could only drink water with the aligners in, so they'd skip drinking everything else as it wasn't worth the effort of removing the aligners. There's definitely more upkeep than braces and my friends would often complain about 'invisalign breath'. ;) In the end, a couple of my friends preferred Invisalign while a couple preferred regular braces - it definitely depended on their lifestyles/mindframes.

My bite has gone wonkey and "back in the day" they told us we didn't need to wear our retainer forever. So, my teeth moved and now I am going back into a metal mouth. :/

That's what they told me too. Thankfully I had a permanent retainer put on my top teeth (a long piece of metal glued to the back of my top teeth), but I'm crossing all of my fingers that my bottom teeth don't start moving eventually, as I no longer have my retainer. :(

[britaneejean]

The key with Invisalign is to actually wear them. Like said above, they send you all of the appliances at once and you follow a schedule. You have to be dedicated which is hard. When you're in pain, you can take them out. Most do. So most adults I know have gotten the ceramic brackets and clear bands so you only see a little metal from the wire. Then it's not as long and not as expensive.


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[eranslow]

According to my dentist it's the same price no matter which method - but I didn't see a orthodontist so maybe they were just telling me that so I would go thru them. I still hope to someday get a nice straight smile!

[britaneejean]

According to my dentist it's the same price no matter which method - but I didn't see a orthodontist so maybe they were just telling me that so I would go thru them. I still hope to someday get a nice straight smile!


That's nice! The handful of orthodontists we referred to all had Invisalign as more expensive.


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[KristinCB]

Are ceramic braces and clear bands a lot pricier usually

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[britaneejean]

Are ceramic braces and clear bands a lot pricier usually

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In our area they're cheaper than Invisalign so that's why most adults do that. And they can make more changes at once so the patient wears them for less time. They're more expensive than the metal brackets so kids don't usually get them.

This is our area though and that could easily change depending on where you live.


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[KristinCB]

thanks britanee!! I'll have to go in and ask. When I went in the last time he said it would have been approx the same cost for either metal braces or invisalign.

[kim21673]

I was actually going in on my birthday to have this done....and then the flu hit! My appointment is on Monday the 29th!!!!! I am super excited!

[KristinCB]

ooh please let me know how it goes!

[kim21673]

I will add that Invisalign is cheaper than it was for my DS to get braces 14 years ago...about thousand dollars cheaper. It is going to cost about $4500 for Invisalign, with my out of pocket being about $2750. My dentist has been trying to get my to this for years and we just weren't in a place financially to have it done. Well, I have ONE tooth has almost turned 45+ degrees and it's affecting my bite so it's time.

[kim21673]

ooh please let me know how it goes!

I will! I am super excited about finally doing this! I was so bummed when I had to cancel twice last week because of the darn flu!

[KristinCB]

that does suck :( ALTHOUGH! Better to have dealt with the flu beforehand rather than after when your mouth would have been sore?? :O

[britaneejean]

I'm totally jealous of those where it's the same cost!


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[britaneejean]

And Kim, that's so exciting!!


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[luckyme]

Stupid question here... What makes teeth move as an adult? Or does it only happen if you had braces as a teen first?


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[britaneejean]

Stupid question here... What makes teeth move as an adult? Or does it only happen if you had braces as a teen first?


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So we were taught it's because your jaw keeps growing but it's also from your bite. If you have a tooth taken out, your teeth can shift and your bite will change. Same goes for getting a cavity filled and if your bite is slightly off, it can affect teeth movement.

I'm sure there's other reasons but that's what I remember from school and working.


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[KristinCB]

I had 4 teeth pulled before I had braces as a child and now i have the BIGGEST gaps where those teeth would have been. It's really frustrating and it's gotten to be uncomfortable. I so don't want to have braces but I figure it's probably better to get the problem sorted now vs when i'm older. My dad wants to get work done on his teeth but YOWZERS the cost involved would be insane!

[icindi]

I wanted to look into braces and invisalign. We have put 3 kids through braces and one declined them. But I feel so guilty spending the money on me! I never had braces as a kid. My teeth aren't awful, but they embarrass me and I'd love to fix them! So glad to hear others' experiences!

[angiepangie]

Stupid question here... What makes teeth move as an adult? Or does it only happen if you had braces as a teen first?

It can happen if you have braces as an adult too, unfortunately. :( I had braces in my 20s and I had a permanent retainer put on afterward because they were worried a couple of particular teeth would want to move back to their "natural" positions. But I had pretty extreme work done, including removing half of the roof of my mouth to get to a tooth which was lying horizontally up there. I also had another tooth at a 90 degree angle. So some of my top teeth are currently eally- far from their original positions, which I've been told makes them very prone to movement.

I wanted to look into braces and invisalign. We have put 3 kids through braces and one declined them. But I feel so guilty spending the money on me! I never had braces as a kid. My teeth aren't awful, but they embarrass me and I'd love to fix them! So glad to hear others' experiences!

That's really awesome that you gave your boys the choice. :) My parents did the same for me and it made me so much more comfortable getting them at a time of my choosing when I was older.

[meagan43]

I have braces now myself. I couldn't use invisalign or even the clear braces for what I needed myself. Luckily, I only needed the bottom and you can't really see them anyway.

[kim21673]

I have braces now myself. I couldn't use invisalign or even the clear braces for what I needed myself. Luckily, I only needed the bottom and you can't really see them anyway.

Mine is on the bottom too, which is why I have never done anything until now. I never had braces as a child...my top teeth are perfectly straight....it's just that one darn tooth!

[Julie Billingsley]

When my oldest son was getting braces, they told us the cost was the same for metal or invisalign. I didn't feel Jacob had the determination to keep with invisalign, so we went metal. He is allergic to nickle, so had to get full titanium braces. (ugh, those weren't the same cost!) After he was done with braces, he got an invisalign retainer... which he refused to wear. He hated the feel of the plastic. Now 7 years later his teeth are back to needing braces. :/

Logan is needing braces now, and not just for the straightening, but for his thumb-sucker overbite. I am going to insist on metal for him. I just don't want to pay all that money again and it go to waste like it did for my oldest.

Anyway, it's awesome you are thinking of doing this for yourself!

[anelia]

Let me tell you about my experience with BRACES (those original, metal ones, not the invisibles), I have no experience with invisalign but they seem quite inconvenient and uncomfy.
So, my upper front teeth and jaw were too forward than the lower teeth and jaw.
When I was like 12 or 13 yo, my mom suggested I got braces. I was against it, we had long fights but at the end of the day I said ok.
We went to a very good orthodontist who I asked for invisible braces but she said no. The reason why? The invisible braces were pricier and NOT as good. She explained to me that as long as the looks are concerned - yes, the invisible braces were better but as long as the job they will do, we should go with the metal. I was deeply disappointed but obviously had no choice. They took out two of my teeth and then put the braces on my upper teeth.
I wore them for like...let's say a year and a half and they added braces to my lower teeth as well (because the upper had to go backwards and the lower - a bit forward).
So I wore the braces for like total of 3 years (I remember I was in 5th grade when I started with them and theeeen...8th grade when I removed them).
To be honest I didn't really like my metal-chained mouth (because I had braces everywhere lol) but now I have a STRAIGHT and beautiful smile and a perfect bite. Was it worth it? TOTALLY! I don't have anything in my mouth anymore (after they removed the braces, I wore some tiny elastic things for a very short time and that was it). I'm almost 32 now so that makes...16 or 17 years since I'm braceless and my teeth are perfect. They haven't moved to their original state...they haven't moved at all.
I clearly remember the orthodontist back then explained that the metal braces give the best and the most permanent results. Also, it depends on how long you wear them. Since I wore them enough long for my teeth to get fixed, I now have no problems. Because, you know, the teeth start to look great after a while but if you remove the braces sooner (like when you see your teeth are ok), then the teeth might move back to their *almost* original state. The thing with the braces is to be patient and try not to think about your looks so much. Back in the day those braces were like super new here and no one had seen such metal things but now they're popular and people won't even notice.
I had a high school teacher (she was like 36 yo back then with awfully crooked teeth) who put metal braces back then and her teeth went perfect in a few months. But she made a huge mistake by removing them sooner and her teeth moved back to a certain extend.
Another example is my cousin who got the invisible braces and wore them for a year and a half. Well, her teeth seemed fixed but they told her she should have some restrainers or whatever that was behind her teeth for the rest of her life!!! AAAnd, to be honest, her teeth moved again a bit. They're not nearly as perfect as mine are (sorry but that's the truth). And to start with - she had better teeth which required less fixing than mine.
So, Kristin and the others - it's GREAT that you want to make something good for your teeth and smile. I totally recommend you do it but before that - please make your research and consider the best option because those things cost A LOT of money and patience and the results should be worth it.

(sorry for the long post).

[emmasmommy]

my best friend just finished with invisalign. She has NOTHING but good things to say about it. Sure, it was painful when she changed the molds but, I'd imagine regular braces would be the same way

[KristinCB]

I had braces for 2 years and then a retainer for I'm not sure how long....sigh I don't know what to do. Braces the tightening is uncomfortable but only for a day when you go in.

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[emmasmommy]

yes. she said it only really bothered her the first day or two after changing.


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[DreamBig]

I can tell you about my experience with an adjustable holly hock retainer I just finished with...(the middle spreads out to spread out the roof of your mouth.)
http://www.delucalab.com/content-doctors/product_photos/Gen%20Orthodontics/orthodontics0001.JPG
We had to spread out the roof of my mouth, because I have terrible tongue thrust at night and I had pushed my upper and lower teeth forward, which caused the roof of my mouth to curve forward. Anyway, we put on an adjustable hollyhock for the last 6+ months. Here is my experience with all day retainers...
Yes, I lost weight because like others said, I didn't want to have to eat a snack, then brush my teeth and put my retainer in. It was a hassle. I stopped drinking all soda and juice , because of the same reason...
But after a few months, it was REALLY hard. I started leaving it out sometimes after a meal, because I thought I wanted a snack soon. Or I would want to sip on a lemonade. Then I would forget to put it back in. Then at night my teeth would hurt awful again, like after a tightening.
The retainer would smell bad if I didn't wash it with retainer cleaner every day. - BUT, it totally did the job. It straightened my top teeth pretty well, while spreading out the roof of my mouth. Honestly, I think the pain is the same whether you are doing it with a retainer or braces. I mean, you are moving teeth. It's gonna hurt. But not forever. I would just need to eat slower and smaller bites for the first 3 days. I didn't need pain killers.
My dentist said no matter how you do it, it takes about 6 months to straighten teeth, then another year for those teeth to settle. So, 18 months is VERY normal amount of time to move and straighten teeth. Longer if you have major issues.
If you go with invislign, make sure you wear the retainers for a year after to help those teeth settle.

[Julie Billingsley]

oh jumping back on this again, sorry Kristin. Does anyone have experience with braces and playing instruments? My oldest had a terrible time with his metal braces and playing the trumpet, so he dropped out of band. Now my youngest plays clarinet and I wonder if it will also cause him issues. Anyone know?

[KristinCB]

I'm pretty sure I still had my braces in 7th grade and that is when I started clarinet but I can't remember any issues!

[Nettio]

oh jumping back on this again, sorry Kristin. Does anyone have experience with braces and playing instruments? My oldest had a terrible time with his metal braces and playing the trumpet, so he dropped out of band. Now my youngest plays clarinet and I wonder if it will also cause him issues. Anyone know?

My little sister had braces and played the clarinet without issues. I can see how a trumpet might be different though.

[icindi]

What is retainer cleaner?! My son has a retainer and we were told we could use effordent once a week.
We only let my youngest son choose whether to have braces. He has a lot of medical issues,feeding tube and daily injections, so we decided that he has enough to deal with and if he didn't want braces we'd let him make the decision.
I will say braces were extremely painful (for us) for my son with autism. He bit off so many brackets. Sigh. But we survived!


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[angiepangie]

We only let my youngest son choose whether to have braces. He has a lot of medical issues,feeding tube and daily injections, so we decided that he has enough to deal with and if he didn't want braces we'd let him make the decision.

I remember talking about his medical condition last year via e-mail. :) Pain medication doesn't work on me due to my genetic condition, so I was always thankful that my Mum took that in to consideration and gave me the choice, especially as I had to go through really painful surgery when I had part of my mouth removed. It's awesome when Mums understand! :)

[icindi]

I remember talking about his medical condition last year via e-mail. :) Pain medication doesn't work on me due to my genetic condition, so I was always thankful that my Mum took that in to consideration and gave me the choice, especially as I had to go through really painful surgery when I had part of my mouth removed. It's awesome when Mums understand! :)

And I remember talking about your medical struggles. OUCH! Yes, you have bigger issues to deal with than straight teeth!

[Julie Billingsley]

thanks for the opinions on clarinets with braces! :)

[DreamBig]

What is retainer cleaner?! My son has a retainer and we were told we could use effordent once a week.

I use something called "Retainer Brite". It works pretty well and I bought a big case of it from Amazon.

[icindi]

Will have to look for retainer brite Cheri! Thanks for the recommendation!
I did it! I went for an invisalign consult today! I am thinking I want to do it!! Any improvement is better than what I have now, even if they are not perfect. I can live with slightly imperfect. :)

[DreamBig]

Cindi, did they tell you a price? Or a price compared to braces? and how long you would have to wear them for?

[ellasspace]

Following this ... Lots of great advice in this thread! Our dentist wants our youngest in Invisaline but our orthodontist wants him and metal braces. I'm trying to research both. His dentist prefers Invisaline and Orthodontist prefers the metal for a better result. It's frustrating trying to figure out which would be best for him. Good luck to those going with them, let us know how things go.

[craftytam]

I had regular braces at the age of 40. I couldn't do Invisalign because mine was a fairly extreme case - I had to have my palette broken and expanded, wore braces for 2 years, then had jaw surgery (I was on a liquid diet afterwards and lost 40 pounds! ...all gained back now). I really didn't mind having "metal mouth."
My ortho said that I would have to wear my retainer every night or my teeth would go back to where they were. My retainer is similar to the Invisalign trays - it's a clear piece that fits over my teeth. I don't mind wearing it every night and I really do notice movement in my teeth if I forget a night.
As far as cleaning my retainer, plain white vinegar works the best. I just soak it for an hour and it takes away the calcium build up.

[KristinCB]

Following this ... Lots of great advice in this thread! Our dentist wants our youngest in Invisaline but our orthodontist wants him and metal braces. I'm trying to research both. His dentist prefers Invisaline and Orthodontist prefers the metal for a better result. It's frustrating trying to figure out which would be best for him. Good luck to those going with them, let us know how things go.

If it was invisalign would it be the dentist doing it? I can't help but wonder if the dentist want's him to do it because he'd be getting the $$$.. I think i'd be trusting an orthodontists opinion over a dentist .

[YepBrook]

If it was invisalign would it be the dentist doing it? I can't help but wonder if the dentist want's him to do it because he'd be getting the $$$.. I think i'd be trusting an orthodontists opinion over a dentist .

I agree with this. Trust the orthodontist, this is their area of expertise.

[ellasspace]

If it was invisalign would it be the dentist doing it? I can't help but wonder if the dentist want's him to do it because he'd be getting the $$$.. I think i'd be trusting an orthodontists opinion over a dentist .
No he would send us to another Ortho...and sadly I think its about $$ for both :(

[icindi]

They are sending the imaging to Invisalign who will come back with a plan. They said it would probably be full treatment, which is $5700. It could potentially be less. And would take 12-18 mos. (will know more exact treatment specifics soon). That is pretty much exactly what we paid for our last son's metal braces last year. I am allergic to nickel and approaching 50 so the plastic seems perfect for me.



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[kim21673]

I finally had my appointment on Monday. I got all he molds done and they sent it off!! I should hear something early next week!!

[DreamBig]

Yea! We are all going to have straight teeth in a couple years!

I get my metal mouth on next Tues. Mine is costing $4700. But thank goodness we have ortho insurance that will pay $2000 of it.

[icindi]

Good to not be alone with braces! Yay! Excited for everyone!

[KristinCB]

For future needs.... haha https://www.sweetshoppedesigns.com/sweetshoppe/product.php?productid=23887&cat=&page=1

[anelia]

Oh, this is such a cool kit! I'd totally use it if I had photos for it.
You know, when I had the braces on, I never took photos of myself smiling with my teeth showing up. It took me quite some time to get used to show my teeth after I had the braces removed. But, my cousin had no problems smiling like the Cheshire cat with her braces :D so I guess times change :D

[icindi]

My middle son got his braces off inNovember and refuses to show us his teeth. I have a couple pics from the orthodontist but I'm not happy. I paid $5000 to see those teeth!!


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[anelia]

Cindi, don't worry, he'll get used to showing his teeth and will eventually be proud of his smile. It's only natural that he doesn't show them yet because he's used to hiding them. It was the same with me...took me quite some time to "learn" to smile properly! I remember the orthodontist warmed me about that phenomenon and I remember when they took the braces off and gave me a mirror to see my "new" teeth, I was like "WHAT??? Those are not mine, I don't even like them, give me back my braces".

[icindi]

I hope so Anelia!!! I thought 3 months was enough time to get used to the braces being off!

[KristinCB]

I get kinda grumpy because when my daughter smiles now I see the white spots that she got for not properly brushing when she had her braces. She was younger when she had them (grade 4 & 5? I think)

[meagan43]

I have started a tradition with myself and now with my daughter of taking a photo after every adjustment appointment.
First of all, it is really cool to see the changes and it is great to watch the progression. In 1-2 years, I will have quite the journey documented

[AmieN1]

So I'm mostly a lurker here in the forums- but since my 'real' job is a dental hygienist- I wanted to comment here :)

1. Invisalign is a GREAT option for adults. But yes- you MUST wear them 23 hrs a day- I have quite a few patient's who are in or have finished invisalign with outstanding results. Most- as a side effect of wearing the aligners all day- lost weight too! And- they had FAR better checkups both decay & periodontal (gum tissue) wise- SO much easier to keep clean compared to traditional bracket/wire braces.

2. USUALLY invisalign is more expensive because of the lab fees associated that the dr. passes onto the pt. Most general drs. don't have the equipment or time to do traditional braces, but with Invisalign, you just need the impression/molding material (it all gets sent out to a lab)- so the Invisalign company has been heavy on marketing toward general dr's to offer it to their patients (easier for the pt to stay in their 'dental home' than be reffered, etc). I've worked for drs who do it, and they didn't charge more than the orthodontist in town and we had quite a bit of patients utilize it in our office. The dr. I currently work for doesn't- he's happy to refer just about anything ;)

3. Invisalign has come a long way since it was first out on the market & can almost always get the same results at traditional braces!

:) Thanks for listening to my paragraph now! ;) lol

[icindi]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience Amie! I appreciate it!

[kim21673]

I wanted to bump this post to give an update.

I am almost TWO years in. My top teeth have been done since March 2017. They are perfect. My one problem tooth on the bottom has been a bit of a problem and I had to start over TWICE because it stopped tracking.

The first time I got to tray #17/26 and started over.

The second time I was on Tray #10/? and started over.

I am currently on Tray #10/16 and everything is going great this time around. I just had a check up today.

The top are in "holder" trays until the bottom is done. I can't wait for this to be over!

The first year I was by the book and then when I had to start over the second time, I got a bit lazy, especially during the summer when we were out and about.

I'm getting SO close to being done!!!!!

[KristinCB]

hahaha omg can you believe i've STILL been putting this off? i actually have another referral on march 3 where i need to really decide what.i'm.doing! haha! i think i'm going to go with full on braces because I don't think i have the determination/drive to do all the work invisalign entails.

with starting over does that mean you had to pay the full price all over again?? :O

[adi&co.]

thanks for digging this back up! I"ve been lucky and have perfectly straight teeth (sorry!) but Jamesen does not and has a front tooth coming in almost completely sideways. He's still got quite a few baby teeth to lose which will change how is teeth look, but we're preparing for braces! It's nice reading about everyone's experiences before we need to go in!

[icindi]

I was surprised to see this and posts from 2 years ago. Since then I went through invisalign and am finished! They were not that difficult, I got used to them pretty quickly. I'm now supposed to wear retainers at night but admittedly I don't always remember to....

[ellasspace]

We ended up putting Eli in Invisalign’s teen, he’s doung great. They cause him very little pain and we have seen awesome progress in his teeth movement. The only downside at first was he kept having trays break. Thankfully Invisalign’s teen replaces all trays for no extra cost, it’s just a nucence because it sets you back in progress. We are seeing less trays break now that he’s farther into the process and I love not having to go to the ortho as often as we did with the girls traditional braces. So far we are happy with our choice.

[kim21673]

hahaha omg can you believe i've STILL been putting this off? i actually have another referral on march 3 where i need to really decide what.i'm.doing! haha! i think i'm going to go with full on braces because I don't think i have the determination/drive to do all the work invisalign entails.

with starting over does that mean you had to pay the full price all over again?? :O

Nope! I would have quit if I had to pay again! Everything is included in the original cost!

[DawnMarch]

My son had metal braces and hated them. He is a trombone player and the metal braces affected his playing and chewed up his lips. So, we switched him to invisalign. It is more expensive but he likes it much much better. It will probably be a longer road with him because he doesn't wear them as much as he should but we are seeing progress. The ortho recommended metal braces to resolve a misalignment of his jaw so we tried them but he just was never going to be "compliant" as they say, so we finally took the path he could live with.