Newbie needing help - Invisalign THEN braces

[Rebachi]

Hi all,

I've just started my journey to finding an Orthodontist to straighten out my overjet, overbite and crossbite. The first place I scrapped as they didn't even look at my teeth to see if I was eligible. Second place I went to this evening suggested a combination treatment.

So invisalign at the start to correct my crossbite and then a fixed brace to fix the overjet (8mm). The overjet will only be reduced by half to 4mm but I think that will make a big difference to what it is now (man, is it expensive though!). Overall he said the treatment time would be 18 months+ so I really want to make the best decision here for that length of time.

Going to get different opinions from orthodontists is quite confusing and I'm not sure what my best option is. I'm not going to lie, this forum has sort of spooked me out of wanting invisalign and I was tempted to see if the brace could fix my crossbite as well. Invisalign was suggested because it would be better socially and because I teach but I'm not convinced - at least people know that it's a brace and not some weird deformities on my teeth from the attachments!

I have one option left but they want me to pay £50 for a consultation and I'm not sure I want to do that as they have bad reviews for their attitude.

If anyone can enlighten me/has a similar situation I'd appreciate your shared thoughts/experiences.

Thanks for reading!

[AlexO890]

Going to get different opinions from orthodontists is quite confusing and I'm not sure what my best option is. I'm not going to lie, this forum has sort of spooked me out of wanting invisalign and I was tempted to see if the brace could fix my crossbite as well. Invisalign was suggested because it would be better socially and because I teach but I'm not convinced - at least people know that it's a brace and not some weird deformities on my teeth from the attachments!

Hi Rebachi,

I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I also teach and I wanted invisalign because it would be better socially. I decided not to get invisalign and next week I'm getting metal braces. I figured since I teach middle school and my kids will have braces, I'll have them too and show them it's okay.

But it's your teeth. You need to decide what's best for you.

Alex

[Rebachi]

Thanks for replying Alex.

I teach university students and that includes medical and dental students. Sort of terrified of being ripped by them (they can be pretty mean really) but I've been dying to get my teeth fixed for so long I don't even care if I have to have metal braces at this point. I just didn't even realise you could get both, whether it would be better to get one or the other or whether my orthodontist is being nice and trying to think of my social/work life too much. I'm going to give them a call tomorrow to ask why invisalign was suggested. If it's just aesthetic then I'm going to go for a fixed brace instead! Invisalign seems touch and go with a lot of people, I'd rather be sure if I'm paying this much money out.

Still open to suggestions though

[AlexO890]

Good luck! And I would hope that if you're teaching dental students they would be sympathetic to your treatment.

[Rebachi]

Thanks, you too! Hope it goes well and you get the results you are looking for.

[AlexO890]

Thanks! Getting my braces on next week.

[Rebachi]

I rang my dental place this morning to ask why the Invisalign? Apparently it's purely to fix my crossbite before I have braces put on so that I don't have to wear an appliance retainer thing after the braces and just a fixed permanent retainer instead. I'm not sure why I can't just have the fixed retainer after both but I found out by having the invisalign added on it's £500 more. Not a huge cost in the grand scheme of things I suppose!

So it'll be invisalign and then cfast braces.

[arciedee]

I can't speak to your exact situation. My treatment was actually kind of the opposite. They started me in a fixed metal appliance with elastics to correct my bite and then I went into Invisalign after that. It's working for me.

But I can speak to the invisibility factor. Seriously, the attachments are barely visible. I have 18 at the moment. I can only easily notice two of them when I look in the mirror and I have to be within about a meter of the mirror to see them. Not a huge deal.

That being said, even if you end up going with full, visible braces, I wouldn't worry too much about what anyone else thinks. People will likely notice them the first time they see you, then it will just become part of you just like your eye color or hair cut or whatever and it will be a non-issue. Good luck with whatever you end up doing!

[Rebachi]

Thanks Arciedee, that's quite interesting! Why did they choose that route for you, do you know?

I am completely new to this. I'm not sure whether to just go for it or whether to step back and seek out another orthodontist. I've seen two so far, most places around here actually charge for a consultation and it's a pretty expensive procedure so I want to make sure I'm making the right choice but I'm reluctant to pay £50-£150 per consultation. I feel pretty comfortable at this place though so I might ring up next week and arrange my first appointment (eek!).

Thanks for your input! I might just do as they advised and do both. It's either that or get the full braces from the start and have a retainer to fix the crossbite (instead of the permanent retainer) at the end which I'm not too sure about.

[arciedee]

I had gone to the consult specifically to inquire about Invisalign, but the orthodontist noticed that I had a class II bite that needed to be corrected and said that Invisalign isn't particularly efficient in dealing with that. He suggested I start with Carriere distalizers for 3-6 months, then move to Invisalign. I didn't ask about full braces, though I'm sure that would have been an option. The office was clear that if I was set on no metal they would still treat me and just do the best they could with Invisalign only, but after hearing his explanation for why he wanted to do two phases of treatment it made sense to me and I was okay with having something that was a bit more visible for a few months if it would make the overall treatment plan run more smoothly. Of course, there have still been bumps in the road (as I think there are for any orthodontic patient!), but overall I've been pleased with the progress and am glad I went with his plan.

Too bad you have to pay for consults, but if there's one place where you felt more comfortable I would heed that feeling. You end up spending a lot of time with the staff over a few years and you want to be able to ask questions and feel like you're working together towards something rather than just being at their mercy.

Good luck with your decision!

[Rebachi]

Ah that makes sense! Its good to see that other people have been through combination treatments as well. I have been doing a bit of research and I'm a bit worried because the dentist is a specialist in cosmetic dentistry but nothing mentioned about being a specialist orthodontist. Apparently there's a difference, so I may have to reconsider anyway. Boo!

[montygrace]

I wondered if they might do the same for me, but apparently invisalign alone can give me a good result. I hope so!!!! I'm a week into it so all my fingers and toes are crossed.

I have an 8mm overjet / overbite also and they said invisalign can reduce it to around 5mm which right now sounds excellent. If at the end, I'm not happy, I'll look at my options.

[Rebachi]

Hope you get the result you want Montygrace. What's it like wearing the aligners? Did they give you an estimate on how many sets you'll need? Good luck with the treatment!

[montygrace]

Wearing the aligners is quite good! I actually feel naked and odd with them out so prefer wearing them than not, which is good! No pain, not much pressure or discomfort on the first days and none after that at all. Lisp-city though. lol

42 trays!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sage]

This site can be a bit daunting at the beginning but there is so much good information and so many people willing to share their knowledge.

I've got a 5 mm overjet. I have clear on top and metal on bottom. Honestly if I did it again I would just have metal all over. People have been so great and seem to be very curious about my braces and ask lots of questions. I've not had any negative feedback. ..socially it's been very positive.

I will have to exercise into a bite thing to finish things off when the braces come off them a retainer.

I decided that when I got braces that I needed to own them. I needed to be proud. Its worked well for me. Attitude is everything along with a great ortho.

Good luck.