Metal Mouth Message Board

okay, im 15 and i want Invisalign. is that okay?

does it really work? ive read, it works for some, and could not work for others.

My teeth arent that messed up, theyre crooked, but not horrible.
would it be better to juss get braces? i've read a lot about Invisalign on here, and theres a lot saying that they are pissed, because its been so long already, and nothing has changed. i really want it, but ive read so much "bad" stuff about it, im having 2nd thoughts.

If it doesnt work, you DONT get any refund at all? Right?

also can u juss give me the pros and cons, and different opinions.

thanks

Only your orthodontist can tell you if you're a good candidate for Invisalign. I highly recommend going to a couple of orthodontists for initial consultations, to get a couple of opinions. If one is willing but two aren't, it might say something to you. One thing I can say though, if you have any bite problems get traditional braces, no matter what the ortho says. Invisalign does not seem to work well for bite problems.

With any orthodontic treatment, you won't get a refund if it doesn't work. You sign a waiver saying the treatment might not work. You might get lucky and have an ortho who is willing to do braces for free or at a discount if Invisalign doesn't work.

So first, the cons of Invisalgin.

1. Invisalign takes a lot of commitment. Most orthodontists won't do Invisalign for children or teenagers because they know kids and teens won't wear the retainers as much as they should. They know from first hand experience from all the teens that had braces who refuse to wear, or just forget to wear, their retainers and end up back in braces 10 years later. You have to wear your aligners as much as possible, at least 20 hours a day. You can't take them out because they hurt, because the pain means they're moving.

2. It's not a proven technology like braces. It works for some people but not others. And it doesn't always work completely. Seems they do best for people with minor spacing or minor crowding. Anything beyond that and they don't work well.

3. They take longer. No matter what, something happens and you have to wear your aligner a little longer than normal.

4. Speedbumps. Lots of people freak out about these things, so they're kind of a con, but they're a little bump of tooth colored cement that goes on some of your teeth to help grip the teeth and turn them better. Really, they're next to invisable so they shouldn't be on here.

5. The cost. They cost more, seems like an average of $1000-2000 more.

6. They're easier to loose or break than traditional braces. Obviously you can't loose your braces, but you can loose your aligners. If you're a tooth grinder, don't get Invisalgin. You'll crack the aligners quickly and hinder your treatment.

6. You can take them out. This is both a pro and a con. So you can take them out to eat, brush and floss. But you also run a high risk of loosing them, and when you change aligners, taking them out and putting them back in hurts quite a bit, which can deter you from putting them back in at all.

7. They can cause speech problems. Mostly lisping, but this usually goes away within a week to a month. To me it was worse than braces because the aligner covers the inside of your teeth, which means your tongue has to relearn a little more how to pronounce certain words. However, I could whistle with Invisalign and I can't with braces, so it goes both ways.


Now for the pros:
1. They're invisable. Seriously, I worked in a restaurant and only got one comment from customers that they could see them. And only one comment from a coworker who noticed them. Other than that, when I switched jobs no one knew I had them until they saw me taking them out before lunch.

2. You can take them out to eat, brush and floss. Makes keeping your teeth clean easier.

3. They hurt less than traditional braces. This is mainly because you can take them out to eat, so on the days that you're really sore, your teeth get a 30 minute or so break. Minutes after you take them out the pain goes away, so you can eat almost anything you want. Really hard foods still hurt a bit, but it's nothing like braces. Not many people with Invisalign go on a soft diet anytime during their treatment. They also don't tear up your mouth like braces do.

4. You generally visit the ortho less often. Every 6 weeks rather than 4 weeks, though I've heard some braces patients go in every 6-8 weeks.

5. No chance (generally) of rubber bands, headgear, powerchains, or anything else that can be painfull and annoying to deal with.

6. They don't stain. Well, they can, but you'd never notice it. I smoked with mine, and they got slightly yellow by the end of two weeks, but nothing that I couldn't brush out. I did take some cherry NyQuil with them in one time and woke up to pinkish tinged aligners, but that mostly brushed out and was pretty unnoticable.

I'm sure I'll think of some more, so I'll edit this when I think of them.

rooroo did a good job summing everything up so I'll just add my 2 cents. My ortho does do invisalign with teenagers but it seems that it is harder to do as a teen because you run out of time at lunch to put them back in, etc. It seems most of the teens that he treats end up wearing the aligners 3 weeks instead of 2 to make up for the lack of hours or breakage of an aligner.

That being said if my ortho thought that teens couldn't handle it or got more subpar results he would of stopped offering it a long time ago and there are always new teens in the office getting their molds done so it must be o.k. I guess as long as you know what your in for and are o.k. with it, even if it takes a little longer to complete, then go for it.

As for the issue with people (of which I am one) getting tired of the whole thing, it happens regardless which path you choose so don't let that deter you.

invisagirl wrote:As for the issue with people (of which I am one) getting tired of the whole thing, it happens regardless which path you choose so don't let that deter you.

How true!!

rooroo, thanx.
so did u have Braces and Invisalign?? if so, which did u like better? and what was the cause of having both??

also, like you said,

It works for some people but not others.

that juss depend on that person right??

also, lets say two identical twins, with identical messed up teeth, and they were both elidable for Braces and Invisalign. one takes Braces and the other takes Invisalign. whod have the better results??

I had both. I had Invisalgin first for 2 years, and it made a big difference but my teeth wern't perfect, and neither my ortho or I were happy. So my ortho offered to fix things up right with braces for free. I think I had some bite problems, and one lower tooth never rotated correctly. I still have the braces after about 7 months, and will be getting them off in about 2 months. As far as which one is better... well Invisalgin are more comfortable, but the braces did the job better. Probably still like Invisalign better just because no one can see them, but I would rather have had braces for 2 years instead of Invisalign then braces for 3 years.

that juss depend on that person right??

Yes, it depends on the person. I seem to remember something about the younger you are the better you respond to orthodontic treatment. But theres no way to know if its going to work for you until you see the orthodontist, and then have them for awhile. Braces are much more likely to work with any case than Invisalign.

also, lets say two identical twins, with identical messed up teeth, and they were both elidable for Braces and Invisalign. one takes Braces and the other takes Invisalign. whod have the better results??

This depends mostly on how severe the correction will be. In most cases, probably the patient with braces. Though if the correction is minor, you might not see a difference.

That being said if my ortho thought that teens couldn't handle it or got more subpar results he would of stopped offering it a long time ago and there are always new teens in the office getting their molds done so it must be o.k. I guess as long as you know what your in for and are o.k. with it, even if it takes a little longer to complete, then go for it.

I think that's why my ortho doesn't offer it to teens. He insists on metal traditional braces for teens, will allow ceramic for most of the older ones though. I'm sure if a parent insisted their child get ceramics he'd do it without much fuss.

As for the issue with people (of which I am one) getting tired of the whole thing, it happens regardless which path you choose so don't let that deter you.

Yeah, that definetly happens. I was tired of the process after about 1 1/2 years, and I still had around 10 aligners top and bottom to go. It was good to change from Invisalgin to braces, but I'm sick of all orthodontic treatment now. Just want it over with (it will be soon!)!

Well, I must admit that I have been pleasantly surprised with the whole Invisalign thing. The first week was the worst. For some weird reason that made me feel claustrophobia and the plastic took some getting used to. Now I do not even notice them. It feels more odd when I have them out and my teeth try to spring back to where they were prior to the aligner being inserted.

I seem to not have too much pain when I change them. This might be unique for me, as my back teeth do not need to be moved. I just feel pressure and it hurts most when I put them back in after removing them to eat or brush. I just pop them back in and take a few deep breathes. The speed bumps are not a problem and I just consider them part of the process. My uppers will take 19 aligners and the bottom 14.

Wearing them all the time has turned into a great diet plan and is helping me develop better eating habits, as I cannot snack. I do not drink things that are hot or have sugar in them with the aligners in, except for the occasional beer. I do drink diet coke. I use the oral-b brush-ups after a meal when I am out and brush when I get home. This works pretty well.

I am happy so far.....