Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi!

I'm ready to start my invisalign adventure...or at least I think so...I'm currently waiting for my clincheck to come in...When I started researching and visiting ortho's I was really excited to get the show on the road. I had metal braces in the past, but some relapse occurred, due to a bonded retainer that was putting pressure on the teeth. (long story)
So I decided to fix it. Invisalign was a good way to go, and I'm a candidate for the " lite program". (max. 14 aligners)
I think that made me start to rethink....Am I crazy to spend so much money for closing a few gaps? Also, my family really doesn't understand that I want this...very little support.

Also, now that I'm getting further in the whole process, I'm getting nervous about the aligners themselves...Will they make me talk funny? Will they look weird? I'm going back and forth between " let's just do the YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE COME HERE YOU SHOULD GO TO THE COTTAGE DOROTHY! OH SUGAR BARBARA STANWYCK thing and get it over with" and " okay, this was a stupid idea and I will lose 1200, but let's just not...

Any one else experienced this? I think I need some encouragement...
Thanx for reading!

Braces are something that you do for yourself. It would be nice to have family support, but ultimately it is you going through the pain, and you who are going to enjoy the results.

Will they make you talk funny? Perhaps. But probably only for a few days, and it will likely be far more noticable to you than to anyone else.

Will they look wierd? Some people didn't even notice I had anything different until I'd had them a month already. In general people aren't really very observant - and invisalign are designed to be discrete.

It took me 2 years of dithering between deciding I probably needed work done and finally going for my first consult. After that I spent days worrying about all the things you are worrying about, and even after paying a deposit I was tempted to abandon the whole thing.

In the end, none of it turned out anywhere near as bad as I imagined. Yes its painful sometimes, yes its inconvenient having to change my eating habits. And yes, some people have the 'what for?' attitude when I tell them what I'm doing. But overall, it is manageable. You just get used to it.

Don't worry about what your family think. They are your teeth, you get to decide what you want to do with them

Hi Olivia, just thought I'd let you know that I thought about getting Invisalign for ages, finally just went for it and are now on tray 9. Wished I'd went for it before as I'd be finished by now!
The only person to notice I've got them is my wife, I live my normal social life, travel and sports and work meetings, and nothing is different. No-one has noticed a thing. Sure, a few minor changes to eating on the go and getting mineral water instead of coffee when everyone is having Starbucks, but I just say I'm cutting back on coffee and no-one even mentions it again. I recommend going for it. The discomfort for me is non-existant ( OK first couple of days to get used to them ) no speech problems and generally very happy about it all. Starting to see some big changes happening now about a third of the way through. I have a great dentist here in London and I think that makes a difference if you trust the professional you're with.
Good luck.