invisalign disaster!

[adriana]

first of all i am new to the forum, so i'd like to say hi to you all as well as thank you for posting your stories!

here's my, rather long, story

by the way, i had metal braces as a teenager. dentist never recommended a permanent retainer (i wanted the metal one that is glued to your teeth on the inside in order to prevent your teeth from moving again), but he did send me home with a removable retainer that he said i only need to wear during night. of course, 3 weeks later it didn't fit. i tried to force it in to the point where my gums were so swollen. he ended up going on vacation for a month and i never went to visit him again. i gave up. i was traumatized during that 2.5 year process, so the last thing i wanted to do is go back to see him, or any other dentist. unless i was going for a cleaning.

so, i ended up moving. had to find a new dentist in order to get my teeth cleaned. this new dentist recommends i try invisalign. after months of thinking about it, i decided to go for it. after i explained to him my previous case with braces, he assures me after the invisalign treatment my teeth will be perfect and not to worry so much. i asked about the price and he said it will cost around $6,000. he took all kinds of x-rays and told me to wait. so i did. in the meantime, he insists i get my fillings replaced (even though they are fine) and a tooth taken out (even though i just had it fixed a year ago), and that tooth that he is planning to take out, he recommends i get a implant! i asked is this really necessary? he said yes. i got freaked out so i went to another dentist to see what he thinks of the "filling & implant" story, and that dentist laughed at me and said there is no need for it. so i go back to my dentist to get invisalign "imprints" or whatever you call them... i told him i do not want to get the fillings, tooth removal nor implant done. he says ok no problem, but after he took my bite imprints for invisalign he tells me by the way invisalign will cost me at least $8,000!!! at this point i seriously had it. i paid for his "service" and walked out. btw, when i came for my invisalign imprint appointment, the hygienist took me to the x-ray room and i had another set of the same x-rays done. i also had to pay for that, again.

i found a new dentist. got new x-rays done, got "bite imprints" and all that stuff that they need before they order your invisalign trays. i waited almost 2 months until i got a call back from them. initially it was supposed to take 10 business days according to the dentist and receptionist, for the trays to arrive. the day before i am supposed to come in for my first tray, i get a call from the receptionist letting me know that my dentist will no longer be working on my "case", but a new dentist will be taking over. i asked where the dentist went because i would like that dentist to work on my teeth, however they said they can't give me any info. instead they made me come in and sign a bunch of paperwork.

-so i go in for my first tray. the new dentist that took over my case, did not apply the attachments - so i wore my first tray with no attachments (even though the trays had the bubbles on them where you can clearly see the attachments were supposed to be on my teeth). he seemed like he was in a rush, he didn't even spend 2 minutes with me. i was upset because every question i asked him he just smiled and said don't worry so much.
-two weeks later i go in for my second tray. during my second visit the dentist puts on the attachments and makes me wear the same tray for another two weeks. i was upset again. but hey, i guess they know what they are doing? he also gave me the second trays to take home with me, and advises me that once i wear the first trays for two more weeks, i can apply the second tray.
-third visit: before the dentist gave me my third tray, he rumbles about something in some foreign language with his hygienist and asks me if he ever gave me my first tray and what tray am i on now? i mean, excuse my french, but WTF! i remind him of everything and he just smiles and says oh ok, no problem.... THEN, he tells me he is going to "shave" some of my teeth!!! oh lord. i freaked out. he shows me some paper from invisalign that shows some teeth in the BACK that need to be shaved in order for my teeth to move "properly". he assures me that it is just a tiny shave and not even visible to human eye. (btw, when i was looking at that invisalign paper it had a picture of my teeth that clearly said this was supposed to be done before i even had my first tray applied; i also saw that the attachments were supposed to be there during my first tray *sigh*). so i say ok, do your thing you know best you are the dentist. so he starts shaving my teeth, but he is not shaving my back teeth, he shaved my bottom front teeth and a few teeth on the sides of the upper jaw! he was "trembling" for a lack of a better word and managed to cut my gums and make them bleed. i tried asking him HOW COME he is shaving these teeth, but he totally ignored my question and asked me to apply my third tray.
-when i got home, OMG. one, i was in more pain on this third tray then i was with the first or second. but screw the pain, he butchered my teeth when he was "shaving" them... you can totally see that he shaved them and they look weird, almost as if it's cracked or something. now i am worried i will get cavity or something....

i am scared to call him, he never picks up because he is so busy, and his receptionist is super rude and so unprofessional. the teeth he shaved look cracked and weird, and not polished like they looked before the "butchering"! are they supposed to look like that when shaved? is this something a dentist fixes later? i mean, how can you fix that, is it even possible?

all i know is that i am super pissed. i paid 6 G's, i wear these suckers minimum 22 hours a day, i eat really fast in order to keep the trays on as long as i possible can, i brush at least 6 times a day (even before invisalign i would brush after every meal or snack), i floss twice a day, i am in constant pain the first 2-3 days of every tray... my teeth were not in the best shape before invisalign, but they were healthy and clean and definitely not CRACKED!

i wish i could switch dentists... but to be honest with you, my whole dentist experience has me wondering if the dentists are really truthful with us. for example, that first dentist that recommended invisalign to me and said i needed a healthy tooth pulled out and recommended a 5,000 implant, did i really need to get that done, or did he have to pay off his yacht! FML if i knew this procedure would be so complicated i would have never started invisalign.

[bbsadmin]

First question: is this work being done by a dentist or an orthodontist?

Also, you say that your first removable retainer (after your metal braces came off) didn't fit 3 weeks later. Is that because you didn't wear it from day one? You can't get braces taken off, never wear your retainer, and then magically expect it to fit a month later. Or are you saying that you wore it but despite wearing it every night, it began not fitting 3 weeks later?

[adriana]

[quote="bbsadmin"]First question: is this work being done by a dentist or an orthodontist?

Also, you say that your first removable retainer (after your metal braces came off) didn't fit 3 weeks later. Is that because you didn't wear it from day one? You can't get braces taken off, never wear your retainer, and then magically expect it to fit a month later. Or are you saying that you wore it but despite wearing it every night, it began not fitting 3 weeks later?[/quote]

Yes, the work is being done by a orthodontist, not a dentist.

Sorry, I don't think I worded it properly. I DID wear the retainers at night, and l also wore them on the weekends, from day one. Three weeks later they did not fit properly. They were very stiff. Called the dentist to make an appointment so I can get a new retainer, but he was on vacation for a whole month. I still tried to force the retainer on, but it hurt a lot and caused swelling in the gums. The gums started bleeding at some point, so I just stopped wearing them 4 and one half weeks later.

[adriana]

*correction

So I made a few phone calls, and it turns out that the new dentist that took over my case is a "Dental Surgeon" and NOT a "Orthodontist". The first one was an Orthodontist so I assumed that this one will be too

I googled the difference and it doesn't look good Have you guys ever heard of a Dental Surgeon dealing with braces? Especially invisalign?

[anxiousgirl]

my gosh what a terrible ordeal
and they didnt even tell you he is not an ortho?
i know your paying thousands but i would get out of that place ASAP

[Wireless]

I suggest finding out what experience the Dental Surgeon has with Invisalign. There are dentists who have more experience with Invisalign than some Orthodontists. Perhaps the biggest problems I see are that you didn't have a clear understanding of the treatment plan, and you are having difficulty communicating with your doc and his staff. This something that will complicate your treatment and lead to more frustration. I'm fortunate to have a doc and staff that know me on a first name basis, and if anything of significance goes wrong want me to come in as soon as possible.

Its not unusual to have retreatments. I had a similar experience with retainers from a past family dentist who claimed that once my teeth were in place they would remain without retention. He also worked to overcorrect my deep bite which seemed to work out at first, but slowly relapsed over a long period of time. The important thing is to find someone who has experience or an advanced degree to get it right the first time. Your comment about doing the shaving and attachments a few weeks later when you've noted your first trays were for attachments would be a concern. Many docs don't do attachments during the first few trays so patients can get used to getting their trays out.

Good luck on working all of this out!!