Thinking about getting my teeth straightened - again.

Haven’t had braces for over 40 years, and haven’t worn a retainer in about that long, so my teeth are not so straight anymore. Considering Invisalign. Anyone with experience?

Also, what’s the time and cost associated?

If it seems to good to be true. It is.
Ask a professional and you will have your answer.

I'm probably going to do it soon. I think it's about $5k and two years. My dentist says they'll finance it interest-free. But my biggest hangup is the commitment of having to remove the retainer for anything I eat .... for TWO YEARS.

I know a gal ... ... she's been at it for two years or maybe a hair longer. Her teeth look great. She said it was something she always wanted to do, her whole life. Her mid-life improvement?

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
If it seems to good to be true. It is.
Ask a professional and you will have your answer.

My teeth were HORRIBLE. Massive spacing. At 23 I spent $6,000 on Invisalign. 32sets at 2+ weeks each.

Absolute success. It takes determination, but it works. I still wear retainers at night, and have a permanent wire on the bottom. Had one on the top too, but after about 8 years I had it removed. Teeth are better than I would have ever believed.

My wife used them and they worked perfectly. She still wears the retainer at night.

My wife too used it with good success.

Invisalign veteran here.

A few years ago I needed a tooth extracted because the gum around it has receded and made it a health risk. As a result, I would have had a gap in my lower teeth. I was OK with that prospect, but my dentist informed me that the gap would cause a change in the shape of my jaw, which would lead to eating difficulties and other potential health problems. The answer was to go to an orthodontist.

When I was a kid, the dental experts recommended braces -- the kind with a neck attachment. I said no, thanks. And thus spent sixty years of my life with a bit of overbite and some crooked teeth. Enter Invisalign. The orthodontist and I spent 26 months wearing an ever-changing array of appliances that were far easier to deal with than an around-the-neck robo-device!

I now have a nicely arranged mouth and set of teeth. There's no evidence that I had a tooth extracted, and my orthodontist (who was a bit of a perfectionist) made sure I had a perfectly shaped jaw ("U" shaped, not a "V" like before). I wear a nightly retainer still, a good 2 - 3 years since, as teeth and jaws can move still, and the nightly "refresher" helps keep everything aligned.

I recommend them.

I have not used Invisalign as a patient, but have treated many cases as an orthodontist.

It definitely can work with proper case selection. The best applications are minor crowding/misalignment, mild-moderate spacing, or touch ups of previously treated cases that have had some movement (like OP).

The system has evolved and improved since it was introduced. The plastics are much more resilient and do a better job of moving the teeth. The attachment points where the aligners apply pressure to the teeth are now shaped more precisely. One of the biggest improvements has been the switch to digital scanning instead of impressions. The fit of the aligners is MUCH better from the digital scans.

There certainly are cases that are not well suited for Invisalign and are better treated with braces. Any orthodontist will know the limitations and recommend what is best. Cost and treatment time are very similar to braces in comparable cases.

Please note: I am specifically referring to my experience with actual Invisalign brand clear aligners. There are a bunch of knock offs out there. Some of them have you take impressions yourself and send them in. I wouldn't recommend those.

^^^^

Just curious MNSIG what part of MN you live in ? St. Cloud here but spend most of my weekends in Crosslake. I'm an Optometrist.

Sorry to hijack.

MDS

^^^^^^^

Ahhhh......the anonymity of user names. We practice in the same town and have known each other for years.


The shooting glasses you made for me are working great!

LOL

Got it.

MDS

Does it make it difficult to eat, or effect your speech in some way? I assume it restricts the movement of your jaw to some degree.

quote:

Originally posted by Rawny:
Does it make it difficult to eat, or effect your speech in some way? I assume it restricts the movement of your jaw to some degree.

You take them out to eat and there is no connection between the upper and lower aligners to restrict jaw movement.

I have a friend/boss that used these and thought very highly of the system.

Really worked for him.

I just finished a 6 month stint with Invisalign. Yes my case was pretty simple. I had braces 35 years ago as a teenager and one of my lower teeth flared out. It was either orthodontics or that tooth was going to crash and chip or fracture on my bite.

My experience has been very good.

Keep in mind yes you need to remove them anytime to eat, but you also need to brush or at least rinse to remove food before reinstall.
I felt like I had a minor lisp when speaking some letters, but most people could never tell I was wearing anything.
You also need to be aware that you can't drink Hot drinks with the aligners in as the heat will change the shape and not allow them to function properly.

My choice was braces or Invisalign for $4k.
Seems the going rate here. I got lucky and did not pay that, but that's another story.

Cheers~

quote:

Originally posted by craigcpa:
Thinking about getting my teeth straightened - again.

Haven’t had braces for over 40 years, and haven’t worn a retainer in about that long, so my teeth are not so straight anymore. Considering Invisalign. Anyone with experience?

Also, what’s the time and cost associated?

My wife did it. It was a six month or so process. Every few weeks you get a new device as your teeth shift into place
.
The cost was about $6K or so I believe. It worked as advertised.

You just have to actually wear the devices as directed, which is not practical for some people. You are supposed to wear them a certain amount of time each day and take them off for eating and sleeping. Then clean your teeth before putting the device back in.

My wife and I had traditional braces. Two of my three kids had traditional braces. Our oldest son had a two stage orthodontic treatment (age 9 or 10 and again at 14 ish).

My wife's teeth got a little screwy with the pregnancies and teeth were misaligned again. A local orthodontic quoted $5500 for Invisalign. She found a Groupon for $2700 and they accepted our HSA monies.

She had a great experience with Invisalign and that was about 5-6 years ago.

I know of 2 people that have used it and were very happy with the results. God Bless

quote:

Originally posted by Russ59:
My wife and I had traditional braces. Two of my three kids had traditional braces. Our oldest son had a two stage orthodontic treatment (age 9 or 10 and again at 14 ish).

My wife's teeth got a little screwy with the pregnancies and teeth were misaligned again. A local orthodontic quoted $5500 for Invisalign. She found a Groupon for $2700 and they accepted our HSA monies.

She had a great experience with Invisalign and that was about 5-6 years ago.

I’m glad you mentioned Groupon. Looks like this may be what I’m looking.

Thanks all!