Why did you get regular braces instead of Invisalign?

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#1 Post by **tsmurfenator** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 4:28 pm

When you look at Invisalign marketing, on paper and in theory, it seems like it has so many advantages over regular braces, you can take them out (to eat / floss / brush), they do not irritate your lips, they do not show, … and on and on.

So why in the world would anybody choose regular braces in this day and age when this other solution is available?

I want to know. So what is the main reason you got regular braces instead of Invisalign?

1. Cost of Invisalign, Insurance wouldn't pay, etc.
2. Evaluated Invisalign but it didn't work for my particular case
3. Invsialign not available in my locality
4. Personal Preference of regular braces over Invsialign
5. Did invisalign but not successful, so switched
6. Technical issue with Invisalign (speech, maintenance, etc..)
7. Other

(I couldn't figure out how make this an actual poll, so I guess you have to reply if you want to answer)

#2 Post by **tsmurfenator** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 4:29 pm

To answer my own question

My answer is #4… but slightly more complicated.

Actually I did do Invisalign for almost a year. My case is not that complicated and I was textbook perfect candidate. As soon as that product came out I was very interested because the only reason I did not get braces up until that point was because I was self-conscious about they looked, and Invisalign was the perfect solution.

I got them; however, I was very undisciplined … for a few months I was excited about them and wore them religiously, then started wearing them only a few hours a day (problem was/is that I drink soda all day long which just does not work with Invisalign). And eventually I just quit totally.

My current dentist does not do Invisalign and when I told her I did Invisalign before but it did not work, and she agreed that Invisalign does not work for the exact reason. Regular braces are fixed and you cannot take them off, thus forcing you to make them work.

Having gotten to know myself better because of that experience, I knew I needed something which forced me to be more disciplined, which regular braces would do because they are not easy to take out.
Plus I reached a point in my life where I was not so self-conscious of having braces, and wanted to resolve that also. I thought it would be fun and would be a good experience, so I voted #4, although I could have also voted #5 or #6. I am very happy with regular braces and am less self-conscious of them than Invisalign (because for those I never wanted anybody to see, and was also nervous someone would notice them) and regular braces also probably hurt a bit less I suppose.

Interestingly nobody has ever asked me this so far, "Why didn't you just get Invisalgn?"
Although one or two people have hinted at it when I asked them why they do not get braces. Do others ever get this question?

#3 Post by **Jewles** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 5:58 pm

I am number 2 and 4. My ortho said invisalign would work in my case, but it would take longer and the result wouldnt be as good. I personally didnt want it because its almost impossible to be dedicated enough to wear them all the time, I struggle enough with elastics! I wanted something permanent with guaranteed results

#4 Post by **kilikena311** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 6:07 pm

I'm #7. I went to the consult and Invisalign wasn't even brought up as an option. All in all my treatment is going well and have almost made it to the one year mark of an 18 month sentence.

#5 Post by **amy** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:06 pm

#2. I was so disheartened when I went to the ortho only to learn that Invisalign just wasn't going to work for me. I saw two different orthos and they both agreed I just wouldn't have straight teeth at the end. One offered to put them on but warned that after two years I was likely to have to get metal braces anyway for six months.

I get braced tomorrow with clear on top and metal on the bottom and I'm not as worried about the looks as I thought I would be. I'm more worried about the discomfort. This has been an interesting time to learn I have very sensitive teeth.

#6 Post by **Bracedmom32** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:09 pm

#2 - I wasn't a candidate for Invisalign because I have two baby teeth that need to be extracted and then have the adult teeth pulled down...i went to two consults hoping to get invisalign but both orthos agreed it would not work in my case...so now I have ceramic upper and lowers and are very happy with them so far...

#7 Post by **BracketRacket** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:28 pm

I'm having SARPE/Lefort I prior and would have had to wait a lot longer to begin treatment after the surgery (as it is, I have to wait 3 months). It also would not have been ideal for my case and the results would not have been as good.

And all things considered, it just doesn't appeal to me for whatever reason. I have a friend who was unhappy with the results, plus it seems they have their own set of issues -- ill-fitting, needing to be filed, having issues if you need a filling or other work done, being unhappy with the attachments, etc.

#8 Post by **Bekah** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 5:23 am

I would have to say #7. My insurance doesn't cover orthodontics for anyone over 18 so the cost made no difference to me!

I was told by my dentist that I would be a "great candidate" for invisilign, but went to a consult with my daughter's orthodontist and he said "invisilign would work to straighten my teeth and then I would have to do two years in braces after that!"

I decided to just do the braces.

#9 Post by **Steph in Sac** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 7:10 am

#2 and #4

I only wanted to fix lower crowding--not keen on fixing every last detail of my mouth. My ortho said I could do Invisalign only on the lower but would have to pay for the whole set and might as well do upper as well. I could've gone to my previous dentist who offered to do only lower Invisalign, but decided on ceramic braces instead. I was afraid if left to me to be disciplined, I may slip and the process would take longer. I want these braces on and off quickly.

#10 Post by **Pattyb** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 9:30 am

At first, I was told that I would be able to get Invisalign so that was the direction I was headed to when, at my final consultation, my ortho said that after looking at my xrays, etc., that ~maybe~ Invisalign might not be a good option after all, but I still could have it if I really wanted. Yikes!

This got me pretty nervous about what he was saying--might have to go through multiple sets, might not do such a good job, would take longer, etc. By this time, I was pretty convinced that maybe the metal ones would be best for me.

My problems are a lot of overcrowding and a deep bite. I personally didn't care about looking funny in the traditional metal at my age, so looks wasn't a concern for me. I would have gone the Invisalign route if the ortho had been more convincing that it was the right thing for me.

#11 Post by **Margie** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 12:18 pm

I would have to go with #2.

I really really wanted Invisalign, I went on two consults for it and the first ortho wouldn't do the Invisalign and only offered braces and the second one said that he would do the Invisalign but that the results wouldn't be perfect, that my midline would probably be off and that I might still want braces after.

I decided that if I was going to be paying that much money and going through the process then I might as well do what would work the best. I also had to talk myself out of wanting Invisalign, I realized that there is a chance I wouldn't be as disciplined, and that I do drink a lot of soda and stuff like that, so braces were the best option at the end of it. Plus I think I would have had the Invisalign on for longer than the braces; but I don't know that for sure.

#12 Post by **evilnel** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 4:11 pm

My ortho seemed to think I would have better results with traditional braces. She said I could get 'good' results with invisalign, but they could get them 'nearly perfect' with traditional. Considering how much more expensive invisalign is, I decided to go with the cheaper option for better results! I don't regret it at all.

#13 Post by **daffodil** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 2:46 pm

Everyone agreed that I am not a candidate for Invisalign, so I guess I never had much of a choice! I recently met someone who had given up on Invisalign for traditional braces because they found it too hard to comply with keeping the trays in. I thought this was interesting and I think it would be a good reason for me to get regular braces instead of Invisalign if I did have a choice. At least with the braces on, they'll do their work without requiring much from me besides showing up at orthodontist appointments and brushing!

#14 Post by **loradora** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 3:58 pm

My ortho didn't recommend it and said that if it didn't work, I'd end up getting regular braces in the end. I only have braces on my lower teeth.

#15 Post by **Meemoo** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 4:46 pm

I wanted Invisalign to start with but I'd have to have regular braces for three to six months afterwards anyway, so I figured that I may as well just get the regular braces right from the start.