How visible are lingual braces??? Got rid of invisalign!!

[mikeloop]

Hey guys, in a nut shell I had Invisalign braces for about 3-4 days before I decided to get rid of them. They were NOT invisable at all. Waste of money but oh well, my confidence is most important.

I want to get upper lingual braces. Will they be noticeable at all? That is my main question.

I know the speech problems go away quick, but how visible are they? I was told no one would ever know that they were there. BUT, they said that with invisalign too, and that was FALSE!!

[Volare]

They are not visible at all. But if you have to get elastics to correct issues, those are very visible.

[White Fang]

I have linguals on the uppers and regular on the lowers. Can't see the linguals at all (although I don't have any elastics... yet.) The metal does come around to the "bite" surface of the teeth so someone could presumably see metal if you opened your mouth REALLY wide... but otherwise, not visible at all.

[maxhammer]

They're not visible at all.

Cons: you'll be in treatment longer, and for things like widening the arch they're not as effective as outer braces. I moved my linguals to standard 8 months into treatment.
I also had a hard time adjusting to speech. Never was quite right.

[mikeloop]

[quote="Volare"]They are not visible at all. But if you have to get elastics to correct issues, those are very visible.[/quote]

Mine case is VERY mild, what kind of cases are the elastics for? I just have some slight rotation on the two teeth beside each of the front 2 teeth (sorry not sure of the exact name)

[mikeloop]

Bump

[Volare]

I think elastics are used in cases where the bite between the top and bottom teeth need to be aligned after the teeth are straightened. It is very common to need elastics during a comprehensive treatment.

[mikeloop]

[quote="Volare"]I think elastics are used in cases where the bite between the top and bottom teeth need to be aligned after the teeth are straightened. It is very common to need elastics during a comprehensive treatment.[/quote]

What if I am only getting the lingual braces on the top teeth? Where would they attach to?

[Volare]

Are you getting braces on the bottom at all? If not, you don't have to worry about elastics. Without archwires (stiff ones at that) you can't really do eastics.

[ahe123]

I've had mine for a year, full set on top and bottom, and about once a week I STILL have a coworker or friend notice for the first time. You can't see them at all.

[Lani64]

I just got my lingual braces a week ago today They are not visible at all. I have to open my mouth and look up/down to show people. Then they usually comment that they thought my speech sounded different (lisp) I am now talking slower and that has helped get rid of the lisp sounds.

[betterlate]

A friend of mine has lingual braces and you really can't see them although it does affect her speech - for me this would be a worry too.

I am still considering them though although the fact they may be less effective and/or take longer does bother me.

[coconutqueen]

They are no less effective than 'regular' braces and treatment time is not necessarily any longer either. Certainly linguals will affect speech to a degree, but nothing that can't be worked through with a bit of effort.

[instigatelove]

I am a teacher of 10 year olds and I did have a student notice the first day I came in with them. I only have them on the top, but she was sitting down while I was standing up near her. She probably noticed only because she was below me. When you are face to face with someone, they won't notice the top braces because they will be hidden by your teeth.

[Elegra]

Braces on the top can't be seen unless as previous poster states, someone is looking up into your mouth! Or if you have gaps between your teeth and then if someone was looking really hard they might notice the wire between your teeith - but really, how often do you study other people's teeth?

I have them on top and bottom and people are always surprised when I tell them I have braces. I was told the even the slightly more visible bottom ones, just look like fillings (again because people just get a glimpse of the wires/brackets, not actually studying what's there).

Yes, it does affect your speech but speak lots for a week and you will really quickly adapt and soon be speaking pretty normally (or normal enough for people to not notice).