How many attachments before you wish you had normal braces

[Greenman]

Most of us chose Invisalign due to the fact that they are much harder to see.

Some people have stated that they have alot of attachments and are self conscious of them. It looks like the teeth haven't been brushed in days and have gunk on them. They feel the need to explain to people what they are all the time.

It's not like we know when we sign up for Invisalign how many attachments we will get, or their location on our teeth...or even that we will get them in the first place!

So here's my question: How many attachments before you wish you had traditional braces instead of Invisalign?

For me, if I get them on the front teeth, then I figure that I may as well have braces.

Thoughts?

[braceface46]

I have the regular metal braces, but the clear braces on the top. No invisalyn. I guess the grass is always greener, because I spent the evening reading about invisalign wishing I"d have gotten them instead. These started off uncomfortable, and now that has resolved I just feel awkward, obsessed, and self conscious. So I think either way both invisalign or however you spell it or metal braces are all a pain in the neck and you'll always second guess yourself. I know I will anyway.

[smilingproud]

Funny... I was JUST thinking this. I feel the exact same way. Invisalign just makes your teeth look weird... whereas with regular braces at least everyone knows what they are and aren't thinking your attachments are weird deformed teeth.

I get that both are very uncomfortable... but yeah, at least with regular braces it's more well-known and not considered strange.

[MIKE82]

that's a very good point


if you have attachments on your front teeth then you may as well get normal braces and save alot of money



am waiting on my refinements and I've got a feeling that I'll have to have some attachments on the front teeth. Not looking forward to it. With my original plan they were only at the back and one on the lower front.


Only one person noticed it though

[thatchick]

I have 8 attachments and they are making feel shy about talking, so when I smile I try not to smile with all by teeth like my bicuspids, because I have attachments on them. I agree that with normal metal braces it is no big deal,because they look like braces. With invisalign it just looks like you have weird looking teeth. I have had metal braces before i was just thinking it would have been better to get them again. Since these attachments just look weird and at least with metal braces people know what they are and it would have been less time of ortho treatment.

[hotsteve]

I actually considered this myself before going for Invisalign, as I had seen some horrible examples of attachments in photos (where they did not even match the tooth colour). When I got my attachments, I just thought "at least with regular braces, people would know I have braces.... now people think I just have weird looking teeth!".

And to be honest.... I still stand by that comment! I have a fair few (odd-shaped!) attachments, and a couple on my front few teeth as well. But for cosmetic reasons, I couldn't go with the metal ones... even if my teeth look a little weird, invisalign attachments are still way more discreet than metal braces.

But there are so many more benefits to invisalign generally, that the attachments really are no big deal at all!

My advice? If anyone ever gets down about their attachments or feels like hiding them when they talk.... just do the complete opposite!!! Honestly, I have become a lot more confident since getting braces, I actively smile more and always talk with a wide mouth.... people are more attracted to a super confident 'you' who wears braces, than they would be to an un-confident 'you' without them. And you can always just tell them what the attachments are anyway

[wildcat03]

I'm only getting 7, and none on my first 4 teeth (top or bottom). I do have a fairly wide smile, though. I think that those of us with adult braces probably stare at everyone else's teeth a lot more than anyone stares at ours. I went to work on my first day with invisalign and sort of assumed that everyone could tell, as I felt like I was lisping like crazy. I am frequently VERY close to colleagues as we hover over sick patients trying to get everything done at once. When I sit down to chart, it's at a computer that is no more than 18 inches from the next one. We sit at the computers and discuss plans for patients, etc. - so very close talking. Almost no one has noticed so far. I have a week and a half before I get my attachments on, so it'll be interesting to see how I feel after that.

[sweetcynic]

Invisibility was one reason I chose invisalign over braces, but a bigger one was comfort. I have a bunch of attachments, though the only visible ones are on my canines. Front tooth attachments are in my future though, judging by the bumps on my aligners, but those will be on the lingual side.

[Valiere]

I just got my attachments today. I have a severe case, so I have attachments all across my visible top teeth. They are certainly noticeable, particularly when the aligners are on.

Honestly though? I still wouldn't go back to braces, not even if you paid me. My attachments resemble very clear braces in the way they line up, but they're far less visible than my ceramic braces were during the week I had them on. And there are none visible on my lower teeth, vs. a full set of train tracks on the bottom when I was using Empower Clear.

We'll see if the attachments cause any mouth irritation, but even if they do, I highly doubt it will be anywhere near as bad as it was with braces. I can take my aligners off to eat and not worry about food getting hideously caught in any crevices. Cleaning them really hasn't been that bad either.

This forum is kind of weirdly anti-Invisalign in my opinion. My experience so far has been really good, and I've got a really bad case that involves a ton of attachments.

[Oveda]

I honestly don't feel self conscious about my attachments. I was very concerned after reading multiple comments about their visibility. I have 17 attachments primarily on my front teeth and to date nobody has noticed them. My dentist did an excellent job matching my tooth color. My only concern with them is difficulty my trays with the attachments.

[arciedee]

I am on tray 1 and will get my attachments with tray 3. The orthodontic assistant gave up on counting the number I'll have. Yup, it's that bad. Nearly every tooth (including the incisors) will have attachments. Not happy about that, but hoping for the best! In the meantime I'm appreciating that the first tray is truly not noticeable. I'll enjoy it while it lasts, I suppose!

[Lalaloo]

I was on invisalign a few years ago. They were very-very noticeable - that's why I was taking them off very often and so i wasn't able to complete my treatment. Today i am on stb (linguals) and i am much happier.

[hannahxx]

I would rather have attachments on every single tooth than braces.

I don't really care if people look at my teeth weird and try and figure out what's going on because I'm generally hyper and crazy and people stare anyway, plus I've known people who have had them on almost every tooth (in the front) including their front teeth and honestly I don't think it looks all that bad.

For me I chose invisalign because it was going to give me a better result than braces, the less obvious look of them was just a bonus and it was going to take a slightly shorter amount of time (with less hassle) than fixed braces and cost exactly the same.

[k80]

I have 15. I think I'd have as many as it took. I really got Invisalign for the fewer appointments I would have to go to, having a full-time job and all. But I'd definitely be more self-conscious if I had some on my two front teeth! I do have them on the neighboring teeth, but they're fairly small and get bigger as they go back in my mouth. I knew someone that had 18, and you couldn't even see most of them. Attachments aren't a big deal to me. Just get my teeth straight!

[arciedee]

Replying again now that attachments have actually gone on my teeth. I will ultimately end up with them on nearly every tooth, though I found out yesterday that my front teeth will be spared until nearly the end of treatment (hurrah!). Knowing that I'd have so many attachments I was really questioning whether I should have just gone for traditional braces.

Well, now that I have 18 of the attachments on I can safely say... I'm glad I went with Invisalign. Seriously. They are not that bad. Other than the two on my (already prominent) upper canines, they are barely visible. They are tiny, low-profiled bumps and I had to practically smash my face up against the mirror to be able to count all of them. If you're that close to me, you deserve to see whatever you see! When my trays are on I can barely feel the difference. I was worried they might hurt my mouth when I took them off to eat, but so far that hasn't been a problem, either. It's an adjustment, but overall a fairly minor one. Knowing that I can still eat, brush, and floss normally and that most people don't even notice that there's anything going on makes it worth it to me.