Clear braces

[EasterEggs]

I’m getting my first Invisalign trays on Monday mentally bracing myself for the pain!! Any tips?!

 

[xx3221]

Did you all shop around different orthodontists and providers when you looked to get yours? My normal dentist is extremely expensive using Invisalign. I've looked at others local to me who all use different providers (Smile Align, Clear Smile, HDL Aligners etc) and its hard to know what to do. Should I get quotes from them all?

I didnt shop around but maybe I should've, however I got pretty lucky. They bonded 6 of my teeth for free (usually £250-300 per tooth) which made the price of the invisalign feel a bit better. I know a few people that have good experiences with the online companies though, but I do think they include a lot of hidden costs

 

[it’s not been changed?!]

Ok, now I’m worried as mine has been pain free. I think week 5 I felt a pulling sensation, but had gone by the next day (I put new ones in on the evening) but apart from that, it hasn’t hurt do I have soft teeth if it isn’t hurting?!

 

[givemethenight]

Can someone please tell me what would class as a complex case?

I’m not too sure - your orthodontist will be able to advise if you go for a consultation.

 

[it’s not been changed?!]

Oh my goodness. Exactly the same thing has happened to me. I had Invisalign probably 4 years ago, finished just before Covid. I’ve always had great gums, but I now have gum recession on one of my teeth - upper not lower, only had my top teeth done.
My dentist has prescribed me fluoride toothpaste for the pain which has done the job but I am convinced the gum is still receding. I’d never considered it might have been related but now I am

Jesus. Just re read my post and the amount of typos in it
It was my nhs dentist that pointed out the recession, though it’s very obvious when you pull my bottom lip down and i wasn’t sure whether to be concerned or not I had bonding on my lower teeth and you see where the bonding stops and where my gum has receded and the root of my tooth. I spoke to the dentist where I got the Invisalign treatment (I went elsewhere as my nhs one didn’t do it) and he didn’t say very much. Just to monitor it and don’t brush too hard. I have nightmares about my tooth popping out!

 

[Mooordgirl]

Yes I was going to forgo curry but what about things like spag bol, chilli con carne?
And what about coffee? I was thinking I could let it cook a bit and maybe drink it through a straw ?

They were all fine for me! I think its tumeric in the curry that stains. Drank a fair bit of diet coke too with no issue

 

[Peakyblinders]

Can someone please tell me what would class as a complex case?

 

[greenvelvet]

Does everyone have to wear the retainer afterwards? Hope it soon feels okay.

Yes, you have to wear it every night at first even if they bond a permanent one to the back of your teeth. Eventually you can cut down to once every two days, then three and so on, but it’s better to be in the habit of wearing them every night

If I skip wearing mine a few days my teeth start to shift back and I’ve had my braces off for over a year. The good news is wearing the retainer sorts it. It just aches a bit more when you wear it after not having done so for a few nights

 

[Nfylt]

Tldr: I've had such a bizarre invisalign experience and now I think I might have to pay for a rescan when I shouldn't have to, as I expressed I was unhappy with the "result" before I was scanned for retainers.

Long story/rant: idk how many orthos and dentists work at the practice but I must've seen most of them.

I saw Olivia for my first appointment, a guy whose name I dont know for a hygient appointment, then Daniel for the majority of my aligners and refinements. Back to Olivia randomly, then to another guy whose name I don't know for another hygiene appointment.

Off to Pamela for final aligners, who next appointment said I needed a fixed wire, which I was fine with. I mentioned I wasn't happy with my teeth as although the initial issue had been fixed, they're now uneven at the bottom. I explained this made me really self conscious and Pamela said that wasn't something that invisalign could fix, that my teeth are just wonky like that and I could either have the lower ones built up or the higher ones shaved down, but needed retainers first. So, fine.

Off I go to Paulo, who scans me for retainers. I ask if this is the appointment where I get a fixed wire, he says no.

Pamela is fuming when I go back to her for retainers and don't have a wire fitted, asks if I changed my mind. I say well no, I did ask about them because you told me I had to have them, but Paulo said that wasn't the appointment to do them. Pamela gives me my retainers and makes an appointment for me to come back and get the wire fitted and rescanned - I'm unavailable on this date so have to rearrange for today with Paulo.

Now Paulo may be the nicest one and the most competent one I've met, as it turns out. He doesn't understand why I'm there so I tell him and he dxplains that if I want, I can have a wire, but if I'm quite good about wearing my retainers (which I am), I might not need to bother. I say fine, and ask about the tooth addition/shaving down- he's not comfortable doing this because get this, he thinks he can do it with aligners!!!! After Pamela telling me that invisalign can't fix this!!!!

So now I'm back in in a few weeks to pick up more bottom aligners, and wearing my retainers in the meantime. But now I'm worried I'll have to pay again for a retainer scan once these are done. I expressed to Pamela that I wasn't happy with the bottom teeth BEFORE I got scanned initially. Do you think I have grounds to contest paying again if they ask me to?

*not real names, just chosen off vibes

What a horrible experience for you. I’d think you’d have grounds not to pay! You haven’t had the service you’ve paid for!
If you’re in the UK, the dental complaints service are really helpful!

 

[orange club biscuit]

I’ve just started my clear aligners today! I’m doing one which is similar to Invisalign, my dentist said I am a complex case I had braces as a teenager and I naively thought they’d be like my retainer which I could click in and out of place with my tongue they are sooo tight and I can barely get them off!

I hope they loosen up otherwise no Christmas snacking for me

 

[hashbrown123]

I considered Invisalign, but my Orthodontist said in my case it would take much longer, be more expensive and not give a best result. The alternative they gave me was a fixed, ceramic brace which is much clearer compared to a traditional train-track brace. With the ceramic he said it would take slightly less time (circa 18 months), be cheaper (I think a £700 difference) and give a much better and tailored result.

I opted for a ceramic fixed brace instead and not going to lie, my mouth is SO sore. I have these extended brackets which feel like razers in my mouth and have led to a cut in my mouth. I'm not sure if they can file them down as it's not the actual wire. I'm only on the first week, but so far haven't been able to bite into food so my dinner has been consisting of soup, cottage cheese (which I have to fish out from my brace) and water.

I know if I was wearing Invisalign - I would have already removed them due to the pain. At least in this way, while it is uncomfortable and YES I have cried a lot today - they are on my teeth and I can't be tempted to take them out.

However saying all this, I do wish I had chosen to get braces at the start of the year as I'd already be half-way through my brace journey - but oh well!

It’ll be worth it. And it will certainly get more bearable for you. I’m sure you already are but are you keeping dosed up on pain relief? As Lola said try some dental wax which you can put on any sharp bits and then when you get to the dentist next ask them about it. You can do this!! X

 

[Deeznutslol]

Whenever i went out, I'd just take them out before i left the house. Made no difference to how long my invisalign has taken. Id say aim for 18-20 hours a day, you don't NEED to have them in ALL the time, just wear them as much as humanly possible, but don't allow them to take over your life etc

I agree, at first I was very stressed about wearing them all the time but realistically if every time you change your trays they fit on without much of a struggle, then you know you’re wearing them enough.

 

[TwooTwooTwitTwitTwoo]

I’ve had mine for about 4 months now, they are still really annoying but I am used to it. For transparency this is my treatment plan and cost. I am complex case too

Before I had the aligners fitted i needed to have a root canal re-done and a bottom tooth at the front removed. So that was about 1k before I even started the aligners.
I have 26 trays (more than likely will need more) and change them every week.
When my teeth are straight / in the position he wants them to be in, I need a veneer on my front tooth replacing (same one as root canal) and my other front tooth will need filing down as for some reason it’s extra long. Because I have some teeth missing (you can’t tell because they would be over crowded with them) I am also having composite bonding to even them out.
On top of that, I might just get my old fillings replaced with white ones because they will really annoy me otherwise.

Total cost will be circa 7k ….

Gosh that is a lot. How are you feeling about it all?
I have similar teeth issues to you. I've had a bottom front one removed for Invisalign treatment, my top front tooth is a veneer that may come loose and need replacing once treatment has finished and one of my canines is a bridge due to a childhood dental issue (which may also need replacing after treatment). I also have fewer teeth on top than on the bottom but like you, you can't tell because with them my teeth would be really overcrowded.

You're a few months ahead of me so I'd be interested in hearing how you're getting on as your treatment progresses .

 

[Dianne]

I had to check when I first posted my original comment and February, wow!!!
Thank you for asking though

Treatment wise, very pleased to say that once my composite crowns went on my 2 front teeth (permanents next year) visually it’s made a world of difference to not only the appearance of my teeth but as my front teeth have been lengthened too now it’s actually reduced the issue of my teeth poking out a little bit and sort of brought my teeth back in a bit.

My dentist was actually the first one to say to me she didn’t even think we’d need it anymore and actually it would be very little difference which is great, this also speaks volumes about their care and ethics with regards to treatment, so that really helped with my decision to not opt for Invisalign in the end.

I’m now currently waiting for my appointment to a dental implant specialist to discuss options and have scans etc for the bone grafting if I am suitable for an implant which sorts out the old bridge (which was attached to one of said front teeth above) but if not I also have a totally different type of bridge option.

thanks for your reply! Interesting how advanced cosmic dentistry is nowadays! Glad everything has been going well, and good luck for the rest of your treatment. X

 

[TwooTwooTwitTwitTwoo]

Has anyone completed their treatment and found that their face shape has changed? I'm worried about getting them now as my face is so long and thin as it is and I don't want to look even worse (but with good teeth haha)

I've just finished mine and my face shape has changed (for the better). It's far more like it was originally, before I had the initial dental treatment that led to the need for Invisalign.

‐----------
I had my attachments off and moulds taken for the permanent metal retainers last week. There's just a bit of bonding that needs doing to fill in a gap now.

Overall I'm extremely happy. My bite isn't like it was for most of my life but it's improved so much from the horror I was left with after the implant fiasco. I can bring my teeth together comfortably now and they are straight! They just don't quite meet at the back on the one side, although my dentist says that will resolve itself. Most importantly though I can smile again and don't feel utterly tormented how my teeth look anymore. I'm really pleased I was able to go ahead with it.

 

[Alexaj]

Yes, the dry lips are terrible! And dry mouth too. I have 6 more weeks of trays then I’ll collect another 3 for the top but 6 for the bottom. So I’ll have them on the bottom for three weeks which I think will feel really odd. It’s even more strange because the bottom ones are fine, it’s the top ones I got the aligners for in the first place. I’ve already HV had a train track k brace on my bottom ones when I was a teenager.

I only have bottom trays left so I queried it. I've been told to use the final retainer for my top teeth until the bottom teeth 'catch up'.

 

[Snowjoke]

How many trays do you both have for your invisalign? mine is short term too (I think) And i will have a fixed retainer. I would definitely push for one

10 trays in total

 

[EasterEggs]

I’ve had 2 Invisalign consultations over the last couple of years and have a third on Friday. All 3 initial meetings have been free but it’s very much a general chat and show you what your teeth could look like, then if you choose to go with them the next consultations where they give you an actual cost and timescale you have to pay for.

How long has everyone’s Invisalign’s taken? My top and bottom teeth are pretty bad so I’m thinking 9 months/a year?!

I’ve been swithering for years but decided I’m actually going to go for it on Friday, it’s got to the point where I don’t want to smile now so to have some confidence back will be worth it. Bye bye money

 

[it’s not been changed?!]

I’ve been told I don’t need a fixed retainer (the wire) and just a normal retainer that I wear to sleep in will be fine for me. Anyone else in the same situation?

 

[Snowjoke]

I got my invisalign fitted yesterday. They are mostly ok, but the pain of taking them off is horrific. Please tell me it gets better

I got mine today!! They are grand when they are on but oh my word taking them off I will 100% be loosing weight will defo cut down my snacking lol