Decisions Decisions

[Smileop]

Good Afternoon,

Sorry for posting this in 2 different sections. New and still getting the hang of this and was unable to delete my other post but new to the board and looking to get what most people are here for as well. A beautiful worthy smile

A little background I'm 24 with relatively straight teeth but has really affected my self confidence. Just have a minor gap between my two front teeth and 2 pushed slightly back up top and very minor crowding on the bottom. Figured it's going to drive me nuts until I get it fixed and would take the plunge now. Better sooner than later right?

So the 3 options I looked into were Braces, Invisalign, as well as the Inman aligner due to it primarily being my front teeth that have the issues. I went to a few different consultations and came up with a few different options.

Option 1 was braces. Was told either regular metal or ceramic on top with the metal on the bottom. Went to 2 different orthos where one had stated about 6-8 months treatment time and the other about 10 months to a year. Both had the same options available with relatively the same price.

Option 2 was Invisalign. Was told I was a good candidate for it and was explained the process. I am aware of the attachments and would probably be my biggest turn off from it. Ortho told me a rough treatment time between 6-9 months and that they change slingers every week now which is new. Major concern like I said would be the attachments and since my front teeth are the main concern I fear I'll end up with attachments on those teeth. Price was quoted about $1000 more than braces

Option 3 was the Inman and was told it's possible but would advise against it due to it focusing strictly on the front 4 teeth and unable to do both arches at the same time.

Ultimately I want the work done. I'm nervous about how they will look and am already a little self conscience to begin with so nervous about how each would look. While my case isn't very extreme I'm nervous about the results being what I can imagine. Also tough not knowing which teeth attachments will be bonded to for Invisalign as well and how they will look. I've heard and read many mixed emotions. All in all I want to do it for me and figure do it now for a lifetime of smiles. Any input or opinions would be greatly appreciated :)

[Tyrantblade]

A big thing with invisalign is that you have more responsibility because you can take them out yourself; so you have to make sure you are wearing the Invisalign trays long enough, and it's still not 100% "invisible" .

And then with ceramic brackets treatment time may be longer (because they can break in the same way a coffee cup can, metal brackets can handle a stronger force) and they seem to usually be bigger than metal brackets.

But they are also less obvious than metal braces.

And as far as metal braces go, nobody really cares if an adult has braces and most people don't even say anything , even if they do notice.

If you go for ceramic, it should be strictly for you, not because of a fear of people finding out and saying anything.

Just some input, I personally went for full Metal Damon Braces, and I can count on one hand the number of people that even said anything, and most of them only cared to say anything because they had braces before.

[Khaleesi]

I had a similar choice (except for the Inman) and personally I went for ceramic brackets on top, metal on the bottom. It was cheaper, and I was told that it would probably give a better and quicker result (since I had quite a lot of vertical misalignment, as well as horizontal, and he said intrusion was harder with Invisalign). Then again, my treatment time is 18 months so it sounds as though my case is more severe than yours.

Ultimately I think it's a very individual decision. Some of the things that swung it for me was the fact that it was cheaper, that I wouldn't have to keep track of aligners (I travel a lot) and wouldn't have to take things out when I wanted a cup of tea (which is quite often) and would be done faster. But one of my good friends went for Invisalign, based on the fact that it was really important to her that people at work couldn't see her braces and she didn't mind the extra cost. What factors are likely to be important to you?

[braceasaurus]

This is really just echoing the others here, but my experience with having braces on so far has been really positive - and I was so nervous about showing them for the first time at work. What I've found is that they very quickly become just another part of your face, and people who you deal with on a regular basis stop noticing them as they're just another aspect of 'you'.

One thing that helped me get used to the idea of braces was to look all over the internet for photos of people in braces - blogs, reddit, that sort of thing. I found that it really 'normalised' braces for me because I could see so many people wearing them, of all ages, and looking just fine.

As you say, I'd also be a bit nervous with Invisalign and the attachments. I could almost see that being worse, because you'd get people squinting at your teeth wondering what on earth they are. With braces, it's all out in the open. Just some food for thought.

[Smileop]

Thanks for the input!

I just wish you knew the attachments beforehand and what not. Price isn't so much a make or break for me. I feel the self conscience aspect is the biggest. My friend just recently got Invisalign and she walked out with attachments on the front 6 teeth and immediately regretted it so that's my big concern. Just trying to figure out what bullet to bite and the effects to come with each

[Tyrantblade]

Thanks for the input!

I just wish you knew the attachments beforehand and what not. Price isn't so much a make or break for me. I feel the self conscience aspect is the biggest. My friend just recently got Invisalign and she walked out with attachments on the front 6 teeth and immediately regretted it so that's my big concern. Just trying to figure out what bullet to bite and the effects to come with each

Well, you can certainly ask the Orthodontist questions before committing to treatment with them, while they can't completely predict everything in your treatment, they can tell you what you would start off with after a consultation and whatever records may be needed.

[sevenn]

I never really considered metal or ceramic braces except as a last resort if Invisalign wasn't available, so I wasn't quite in your position. But I can offer a bit of advice if you are interested in going the Invisalign route!

If you're concerned about attachments - which I absolutely was too - it may reassure you to know that my ortho had a policy of never putting attachments on the 2 front teeth. In fact I don't think he usually puts them on any of the 4 front teeth, but my upper crowding was "severe" so he warned me that he would have to. Even then, visibility depends on the type of attachment. The small round ones can barely be seen, while the larger rectangles can definitely be seen from a couple feet away. I would ask upfront whether they will put attachments on your front teeth. Even my larger attachments near the front were, IMO, far less visible than any ceramic braces I've seen. If I ever felt self-conscious about a situation where I might be really up close and personal with someone, I would just take off the aligners and then the tooth-colored attachments became almost completely invisible. The other important thing to make them as unnoticeable as possible is a really good fit. The office I went to had one of the iTero scanning machines, and the aligners fit like a glove - before I got attachments they were pretty much literally invisible.

I think the most important thing of all is to make sure you find a great and experienced provider. I was incredibly pleased with the process and outcome - and I had a MUCH more complicated case than yours - but that's not true for everybody. Mine was a Top 1% Provider and I'm sure it made a big difference. Oh, and the worst thing about Invisalign is DEFINITELY having to remove the trays every time you eat! That is a real pain in the you-know-what. Depending on your personal options and preferences, it may make sense to go with braces instead. Good luck!

[Dayja]

It kinda sounds like you are trying to steer away from the metal ones but let me assure you, they don't look strange on a adult and they are not so bad once they are on. I'm no expert but, usually you get the best result from the regular metal braces and plus a year of treatment time is relatively short.

It's mainly your choice. Very few people seem to be a candidate for the invisibles so you are honestly lucky to have that as an option.

[verso]

It's up to you and how well you know yourself. Me? I liked the idea of invisalign, but I knew full well that I wouldn't be able to keep them in for 22 hours each day. I just wouldn't. And, ultimately, that would mean money down the drain. So I opted instead for the ceramic top/metal bottom. Glad I did although I think I'd get metal on top instead of ceramic if I could do it over again. The clear ligatures just stain way, way too easily and it sort of defeats the purpose of ceramic braces if you've got brightly stained ligs.

[Smileop]

Thanks for all replies. Went to a second consult today and am in between Invisalign and the ceramic braces. Was nervous about the final results with Invisalign and he said if your not happy with the final results we can end it with braces to fine tune the results to make them perfect which is nice. So kinda leaning towards the Invisalign route with the exception of the attachments and hoping to convince myself to keep them in for the whole day which I'm nervous about. I know myself and my past expire once with retainers so will be weighing it out and hopefully either braced up next week or getting my scans done!

[istase2000]

Was in the same situation as you and ultimately decided against invisalign because it would take a bit longer than braces and the results were not as predictable. I guess if your ortho agreed to finish off with braces if you're not happy with the result, then go for it!

[cocomacd]

I'm in partly the same boat as you, but invisalign was not an option for me. I go for bonding this coming Tuesday.
I was all prepped and ready for metal and then the orthodontist suggested I go with clear. I hadn't even thought about that at ALL. Now I'm completely confused. I still think I'm going to go with metal, I don't want any options of staining (though they said they would not stain because they are self-ligating)...but honestly, the clear almost seem more noticeable than the metal. It seems like people are looking more to figure out what is on her teeth??? LOL....Good luck!

[Smileop]

Yeah I can understand all that. So I ended up opting for for invisalign. I was dead set on just going with the ceramic and getting it over with and just couldn't pull the trigger. So I got my scans and we will see what happens here in a few weeks when they come in. Not sure what to really expect so should be a surprise

[Tyrantblade]

Yeah I can understand all that. So I ended up opting for for invisalign. I was dead set on just going with the ceramic and getting it over with and just couldn't pull the trigger. So I got my scans and we will see what happens here in a few weeks when they come in. Not sure what to really expect so should be a surprise

Well, the biggest thing about Invisalign is you are supposed to wear the trays at least 22 hours a day, so if you slack off it won't work.

[Smileop]

[quote="Tyrantblade"][quote="Smileop"]Yeah I can understand all that. So I ended up opting for for invisalign. I was dead set on just going with the ceramic and getting it over with and just couldn't pull the trigger. So I got my scans and we will see what happens here in a few weeks when they come in. Not sure what to really expect so should be a surprise[/quote]

Well, the biggest thing about Invisalign is you are supposed to wear the trays at least 22 hours a day, so if you slack off it won't work.[/quote]

Yeah that's gonna be my biggest problem. I'm thinking when I think of the price tag it will be my motivation to wear them the required amount