Alright, there are probably a thousand similar posts, but somehow they are not turning up on the search.
I have an 8 mm overbite and had not really intended to do anything about it since I'm fine with it cosmetically.
But then, ta-daaah! Suddenly it turns out I need braces now (I'm 34) or in twenty years my lower teeth will have separated me from my upper front teeth.
Let me start off by saying that I live on the edge of the world so my orthodontic choices are somewhat limited. So far I've seen three different orthodontic doctors. Let me list them in order:
1. Had been trained to use the Invisalign system, but claimed my overbite was to severe to be treated with that. Does not know
2. talked to me about several different options, including jaw surgery, the titan screw in the roof of the mouth (yieks!!!) and three years of rails. He also quoted me a fairly high price. But the the real thumbs down was simply not clicking with him on a level of speaking as two adults discussing treatment options. Does not know Invisalign, but does do lingual.
3. Insists I have jaw surgery for her to treat me. Does not know Invisalign, but does do lingual. I'm leaning towards her treating me.
Now here is my dilemma: should I see yet a fourth doctor about getting the Invisalign?
Are there any Invisalign patients out there with an overbite my size?
Are there any orthodontic doctors reading this that might have an opinion?
8 mm overbite
Moderator: bbsadmin
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Kittysopretty
- Posts: 140
- Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 6:56 pm
My close friend got Invisalign (she has an overbite). It did NOT correct the bite at all. She regrets it SO BAD. She went into braces afterwards. talk about $ and time wasted.
She told me that with Invisalign it was so hard to pop it in and out of your mouth (the pressure that is needed to move the teeth is pretty serious obviously) Her teeth would hurt and she would remove it for a few minutes to eat, then it would be excruciating to snap it back in.
She said people stared at her teeth trying to figure out what was over them and she was always asked 'What is on your teeth?" I saw her wear it and it is not as subtle as you think. It looked like she was walking around with a Crest Whitestrip on.
She told me that with Invisalign it was so hard to pop it in and out of your mouth (the pressure that is needed to move the teeth is pretty serious obviously) Her teeth would hurt and she would remove it for a few minutes to eat, then it would be excruciating to snap it back in.
She said people stared at her teeth trying to figure out what was over them and she was always asked 'What is on your teeth?" I saw her wear it and it is not as subtle as you think. It looked like she was walking around with a Crest Whitestrip on.
icy,
I can tell you from my personal experience that the Invisalign trays are practically invisible. I've been in them for 8 weeks now, and literally NO ONE has noticed them. Even when I've told a few people (family) I'm wearing them, they often can't notice them. They have to get right up to my choppers to see them. I do some teaching/training in my line of work, so I was worried about my speech, but that has also been a non-issue.
And after a couple of days, it's a piece of cake to pop them in and out. I can do it in a matter of seconds now without a mirror. The first few days of each set of aligners make your teeth pretty sore when you eat and brush. But that's the necessary pressure and force moving things. Just take some Tylenol for these first couple days, and in my experience, I can't even notice I'm wearing them for the remainder of the 2 weeks.
The real question for you is whether or not Invisalign will be effective in your case. I've got a narrow arch and moderate crowding, so I'm supposed to be a good candidate. And I'm going to a "premier provider" who has treated hundreds of patients with Invisalign. Your case might be a lot more severe, it sounds like it anyway since they're talking about surgery as an option.
Good luck with what you decide!
Eric
I can tell you from my personal experience that the Invisalign trays are practically invisible. I've been in them for 8 weeks now, and literally NO ONE has noticed them. Even when I've told a few people (family) I'm wearing them, they often can't notice them. They have to get right up to my choppers to see them. I do some teaching/training in my line of work, so I was worried about my speech, but that has also been a non-issue.
And after a couple of days, it's a piece of cake to pop them in and out. I can do it in a matter of seconds now without a mirror. The first few days of each set of aligners make your teeth pretty sore when you eat and brush. But that's the necessary pressure and force moving things. Just take some Tylenol for these first couple days, and in my experience, I can't even notice I'm wearing them for the remainder of the 2 weeks.
The real question for you is whether or not Invisalign will be effective in your case. I've got a narrow arch and moderate crowding, so I'm supposed to be a good candidate. And I'm going to a "premier provider" who has treated hundreds of patients with Invisalign. Your case might be a lot more severe, it sounds like it anyway since they're talking about surgery as an option.
Good luck with what you decide!
Eric
Yeah, like I said, I'm not worried about the way it looks on a daily basis.
Just trying to gain some perspective in this jungle of information and completely opposite opinions! Such as #1 telling me my skull and bone structure does not warrant surgery, #2 suggesting surgery and #3 insisting on surgery!
eeek.
Just trying to gain some perspective in this jungle of information and completely opposite opinions! Such as #1 telling me my skull and bone structure does not warrant surgery, #2 suggesting surgery and #3 insisting on surgery!
eeek.
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waiting2smile
- Posts: 105
- Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2005 7:04 pm
Hi Icy,
I have a similar case to yours ( perhaps worse), and after long hours of thought a zillions of discussions with my dentist I've decided to go with Invisalign over traditional braces.
According to Invisalign I am a "severe case" but apparently not in such bad shape that they cant treat me to some extent. I have hated my teeth for years and am conscious of my overbite every second of the day so finally at 28 I decided to do something about it. I choose Invisalign for a variety of reason. 1st the vanity aspect, I'm already self conscious enough about my teeth I didn't want metal to make them any more noticeable. 2nd I'm a cavity phobe and I like the idea of being able to take them out and brush and floss after meals and not have to spend hours trying to get food out of my braces. I also have friends who have permanent damage to their teeth after metal braces and I wanted to avoid that if at all possible.
So when I finally decide to go for it and write that big check my dentist and I sat down to discuss what it can do for me and what I can expect. The clin-check shows an amazing almost too good to be true transformation once treatment is complete. We both agreed that that would be the best case scenario and I decided that if I could get a 50% improvement it would be worth it to me. My dentist thinks we can expect 75% improvement so so far things are looking good. I had 12 aligners on the bottom and 52 on top (yes I think I win the prize for most aligners on this site ). The bottom finished beautifully and the top are about half way there.
The most frustrating part is that the back teeth move first ( in may case the back teeth are moving back and out to widen my arch some and make room for my front teeth to move back, reducing my overjet). Today I'm on aligner 21 and my front teeth still look the same to me but I do know there's something going on because I have spaces on the side that look like missing teeth, very attractive
( not to mention the pain !ouch! but no pain no gain right! 
The point for rambling on is this: Get some different opinions ( which you've done it seems) and decide what you want to accomplish and how much your willing to go though to get there. Don't let any of the negative comments scare you. Everyone's mouth and teeth are different so someone like you may have a totally different out come from the same treatment.
I choose Invisalign because to me anything would be an improvement and I didn't want to deal with tradition braces. I do have my days when I wonder if Id have been better off but so far my treatment is going great and both I and my dentist are very happy. My original plan was to not finish with braces afterwards because I'm going for improvement not perfection but who knows, perhaps my views will change and maybe one day I'll be posting about my braces - time will tell. Good Luck with whatever treatment you choose and keep us posted.
Do you have penguins running across your front yard? That would be great!
I have a similar case to yours ( perhaps worse), and after long hours of thought a zillions of discussions with my dentist I've decided to go with Invisalign over traditional braces.
According to Invisalign I am a "severe case" but apparently not in such bad shape that they cant treat me to some extent. I have hated my teeth for years and am conscious of my overbite every second of the day so finally at 28 I decided to do something about it. I choose Invisalign for a variety of reason. 1st the vanity aspect, I'm already self conscious enough about my teeth I didn't want metal to make them any more noticeable. 2nd I'm a cavity phobe and I like the idea of being able to take them out and brush and floss after meals and not have to spend hours trying to get food out of my braces. I also have friends who have permanent damage to their teeth after metal braces and I wanted to avoid that if at all possible.
So when I finally decide to go for it and write that big check my dentist and I sat down to discuss what it can do for me and what I can expect. The clin-check shows an amazing almost too good to be true transformation once treatment is complete. We both agreed that that would be the best case scenario and I decided that if I could get a 50% improvement it would be worth it to me. My dentist thinks we can expect 75% improvement so so far things are looking good. I had 12 aligners on the bottom and 52 on top (yes I think I win the prize for most aligners on this site ). The bottom finished beautifully and the top are about half way there.
The most frustrating part is that the back teeth move first ( in may case the back teeth are moving back and out to widen my arch some and make room for my front teeth to move back, reducing my overjet). Today I'm on aligner 21 and my front teeth still look the same to me but I do know there's something going on because I have spaces on the side that look like missing teeth, very attractive
( not to mention the pain !ouch! but no pain no gain right! The point for rambling on is this: Get some different opinions ( which you've done it seems) and decide what you want to accomplish and how much your willing to go though to get there. Don't let any of the negative comments scare you. Everyone's mouth and teeth are different so someone like you may have a totally different out come from the same treatment. I choose Invisalign because to me anything would be an improvement and I didn't want to deal with tradition braces. I do have my days when I wonder if Id have been better off but so far my treatment is going great and both I and my dentist are very happy. My original plan was to not finish with braces afterwards because I'm going for improvement not perfection but who knows, perhaps my views will change and maybe one day I'll be posting about my braces - time will tell. Good Luck with whatever treatment you choose and keep us posted.
Do you have penguins running across your front yard? That would be great!
There is a post in here that talks about a friend telling a friend how much it hurts to take invisilign trays off.
Newbies - dont be afraid - I think this friend exagerated for sympathy. Trays dont hurt too much to take off, especially after about 2 days. And I have never had them hurt putting them on.
My husband who has metal braces is in more pain than I am with my invisalign.
Metal braces = cuts, tightning, rubberbands.
Invisalign = mild/moderate pain for the first two days of new trays. NO BIG DEAL!!
My husband has his teeth tighten the same days that I switch my trays and he is in a lot more pain than I.
I recommend invisalign over metal braces any day!
Newbies - dont be afraid - I think this friend exagerated for sympathy. Trays dont hurt too much to take off, especially after about 2 days. And I have never had them hurt putting them on.
My husband who has metal braces is in more pain than I am with my invisalign.
Metal braces = cuts, tightning, rubberbands.
Invisalign = mild/moderate pain for the first two days of new trays. NO BIG DEAL!!
My husband has his teeth tighten the same days that I switch my trays and he is in a lot more pain than I.
I recommend invisalign over metal braces any day!