Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi guys!

Well, I have been mulling over the idea of braces for the past two years, and it has just about driven me insane. I just turned 20 the other day....and I would really, truly prefer to have an invisible orthodontic treatment. I'm a super self-conscious girl as it is, and I really believe that metal braces would heighten this. My best friend has braces and is constantly complaining about how irritating they are to her mouth. I also like the idea that Invisalign is hygiene-friendly....so I can floss and brush just the same as usual. I also am a bit of a teeth-clencher, and I have heard that the Invisalign would act as a kind of Bruxism device for me. So, no more little chips in my teeth!

Here's the rundown of my diagnosis. I have some crowding in the bottom front teeth. It's getting annoying because I can feel the crowded teeth with my tongue and I just don't like the feeling of it. I also have a deep-bite. My upper front teeth cover a fair bit of my bottom front two teeth, so there are less teeth showing. My bite feels really "tight" sometimes. Finally, I have a tiny, tiny bit of crowding in the top.

I have visited about three different dentists, and one orthodontist, just to get a wide variety of opinions. I have heard mixed things:

One of the dentists said that the Invisalign would fix my crowding, but not the deep bite.
Another dentist said Invisalign would fix the deep bite somewhat, by pushing the bottom teeth down and the top teeth up. However, it would be more effective for the crowding.
The next dentist said that the Invisalign would work like normal braces but take longer.

Finally I went to an actual orthodontist, and she said that I am just on the border and she could probably do a good job with it. She said that the Invisalign may need to include some buttons or some shavings and that can sometimes be a draw-back for certain patients. I had that consultation a year ago......I ALMOST went for traditional braces with clear brackets, but I couldn't do it.

Does anyone know if Invisalign has been effective in treating Deep Bites? I have seen before and after photos which look considerably much like my case, and they turned out great. But I have read some horror stories and I really don't want to make a stupid decision.

Also....what is this I hear about Invisalign making people's bites worse than before?!

Thanks,

LT

Sorry, I can't comment on the deep bite question, but I can comment from my own personal experience on "making the bite worse". I found that during my treatment, my bite really shifted around all over the show.
Hardly surprising really when your teeth are in the process of being repositioned. There have been times when my teeth only touch on one side, and not the other. But then they move again with the next tray.

I am nearly at the end of my treatment now, and the bite still feels a bit uneven when I take my trays out, but after about 2 minutes, the teeth seem to settle into a more natural spot. I guess this is how it will be when I am done too.

I did ask my ortho about the bite issue earlier on in my treatment, and she said that although she wasn't expecting any issues with my bite, if anything was out of line, she would trim down a tooth here and there to ease it into place. Now that I'm near the end, I doubt she will even have to do that.