[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).