invisalign

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#1 Post by **kari** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 10:59 am

Any comments, opinions, pros and cons? Thanks!

#2 Post by **cocamo910** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 11:37 am

A couple of my friends got it.

One has to now get traditional braces because invisalign didn't correct her mouth properly
(that also happened to my dental higenist, weird)

The other was told 18 months and is now in his 25th month of wearing them.

I have yet to hear a good story about them.

My ortho gave me the option to get them and though he would've gotten almost double what I'm paying now, he pushed for the metals claiming they're most efficient.

A guy at my job has invisalign, I'll ask him what he thinks of it.

good luck with whatever you choose. I'm sure you'll probably have the least pain with those bad boys!

Website · #3 Post by **Debi** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:37 pm

Hi,

I'll be getting Invisalign soon...like a week? My dentist's assitant told me she hated hers and actually stopped wearing them. She said they were too painful to replace, which you need to do after every meal/snack/brushing.

But I joined a yahoo group for adults with braces and there are quite a few people using Invisalign there and loving them. I've asked some to join this board because they only had positive things to say about invisalign and I know people here would like to hear the good along with the bad. I've started an Invisalign blog (and Lynn has one on the archwire.com site) and hopefully it will help people with their decision.

I had also changed my mind about Invisalign, but my ortho talked me into it. So, next week, we'll see how it goes! Just in time for Thanksgiving!

#4 Post by SW » Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:44 pm

cocamo910 wrote:
One has to now get traditional braces because invisalign didn't correct her mouth properly
(that also happened to my dental higenist, weird)

My ortho gave me the option to get them and though he would've gotten almost double what I'm paying now, he pushed for the metals claiming they're most efficient.

I was also told that Invisalign is generally more expensive than conventional braces and that the orthodontist has the ability to "fine tune" the straightening process more precisely with conventional braces vs. the Invisalign. I guess it depends on what needs to be done as to how well they will work, if only minor adjustments needed to be done, Invisalign sounds like a really attractive option.

#5 Post by **amyk00025** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:09 am

All I can say is make sure you do your research. Get a 2nd ... and 3rd opinion. I was almost talked into getting invisalign by an orthodontist who wanted my business - at any cost. (I went there for a 2nd opinion)

I did a lot of research on-line and put that together with what all 3 orthos had to say. I came to the conclusion that my overbite and overjet could not be fixed with invisalign. It is absolutely great for minor issues and for straightening (aligning) teeth, but not so good for fixing moderate-severe bite problems.

I'd like to add that I was NOT impressed with the invisalign web site. I went there looking for technical info on what types of problems it could fix, and didn't find what I was looking for. I just found it odd -- like they would rather make you go to an orthodontist (or dentist who has invisalign "certification!") to get sweet talked into choosing invisalign, than make it easy for you to make a truley educated decision. ...maybe they feel like they can make more money that way. ?

Again, invisalign is very cool and the technology is getting better and better, but it's not for everyone. Just be sure you have explored all your options.

#6 Post by **kari** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:38 pm

Exactly my experience. My dentist (who is certified for invisalign) said that he does not think that it will be possible with invisalign. So, he sent me off to an ortho. And the otho was trying to convince me that I am a good candidate for invisalign ("it will be tricky but doable"). I did thought of me becoming a guinea pig in a research study or something.
I guess it is the same as any other medical treatment.

Website · #7 Post by **Debi** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:50 pm

I have a deep bite (I just found out what that is) and spacing between my teeth. Now I'm wondering if Invisalign will really be able to fix this. I've looked at some invisalign sites that show before and after photos and they claim it works. But one site claims that they only needed these braces for 6 months, while my ortho tells me I'll be in them for 2 years! yikes!

Mine cost $4,800 while my son's metal braces cost $2,500. I was told that if I went with ceramics (clear) then the price would drop but not by much.

#8 Post by **Garizona** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 1:59 pm

Debi wrote:I have a deep bite (I just found out what that is) and spacing between my teeth. Now I'm wondering if Invisalign will really be able to fix this.

The doc I talked to about invisalign said it would work on my crowding but wouldn't do a lot for the bite (I have a deep bite too). In addition to being less effective, it would have been almost twice as much money and several more months, so I couldn't justify it. The other doc I talked to said he doesn't like invisalign because some people tend to be noncompliant and leave them out when they're uncomfortable. So it's all metals for me!

#9 Post by **cheerleader179** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 2:13 pm

I have a friend who is on his like 5th year of invisalign and said he has to wear them til he's 27, and thats like 8 more years....lol I hope that's not true because his teeth are perfect right now.

#10 Post by **cheerleader179** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 2:15 pm

and I haven't heard a whole lot of great things about them, but I would certainly love to see more invisalign wearers join the board , to see what they have to say!

I heard that the "impressions" or the "taking molds" part, takes like 15 minutes ...for some reason. With regular braces, the cement stuff in the metal tray was only in my mouth for a minute at the most...I still gagged so I don't know how they could do it for 15 minutes!

#11 Post by **Helen** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 4:02 pm

cheerleader179 wrote: I heard that the "impressions" or the "taking molds" part, takes like 15 minutes ...for some reason.

The molds for the invisalign trays take longer because they need to be made of silicone instead of alginate.

Alginate sets faster than silicon but it tends to dry out in a dry place and swells while kept in humidity after some hours. Therefore it's not unsuitable for the delivery to the align technologyâ„¢ lab.

Silicone takes longer to harden in the mouth but it's much more dimensionally stable.

Helen

Website · #12 Post by **Debi** » Fri Nov 05, 2004 3:03 pm

My Invisalign molds took 3 minutes each. They need to be perfect, so they took the bottom teeth twice. yech! Plus they also need to take a "closed mouth" mold. That's not easy! I am keeping an online journal aobut the invisalign molds. Hopefully this will help people on making their decision. I'll be totally honest in my journal. Believe me, you'll hear about it if it's not working. Those suckers are expensive! ow$

And someone mentioned 5 years!!! I need mine for 2 years and just thinking of constantly removing them every day for meals for 2 years seems like a huge pain.

Is anyone on this board already using Invisalign and can fill us in a bit?
Debbi

http://members.aol.com/debbiap/braceplace
(finally decided to update and keep the journal going)

#13 Post by **mike d** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 7:41 pm

I've been in invisalign since november and I'm pretty content. If you are thinking taking them out to eat is a pain you're crazy. It takes less than a second to take them out and think of the trouble it saves when it comes to brushing and flossing, not to mention food that alway seems to get in the most annoying places of conventional braces. I have invisalign uppers and ceramic lowers and I'm pretty pleased no one has been able to tell at all. I'm scheduled for 21 trays (42 weeks) approx.

My case is a Class III underbite and so far I'm doing great. The reason I have invisalign on the uppers only is because I needed 2 extractions on the bottom and invisalign wasn't going to cut it.

Any questions feel free to ask.

#14 Post by **drrick** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 8:31 am

deep bites are often hard to correct with invisalign since they are not good at extruding teeth and many deep bites need extrusion of the post teeth to open the bite.

#15 Post by **rooroo** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 3:53 pm

Hi!

I'm a case of invisalign that didn't completely work. I had invisalign for 2 years and at the end had a few teeth that wouldn't turn. I loved them for about 1 1/2 years because they made a HUGE difference. I had some crowding, but mostly my front top incisors (whatever theyre called) stuck out alot. Very noticable, I nicknamed them my vampire teeth. Invisalign took care of them no problem. I would have been happy with the final results of invisalign except that one lower tooth refused to move. This tooth bumped into my upper incisor and caused problems when eating and caused a bit of pain. So into traditional braces I went. It should only be for 6-9 months.

Anyway, everyone is right about your dentist/orthodontist not being able to fine tune your treatment. My recommendation for whether its a good idea for you or not is if the doc suggests a treatment time of 2 years, go for traditional braces. In a year and a half, some teeth wont have moved exactly right, and the aligners won't fit as well, and you'll end up with less than perfect results. But if they say a year or under, go for it! You'll be so happy you did!

By the way, as one whose had both, Invisalign is much less painful. The soreness for braces lasts much longer and causes eating problems (it hurts to eat!) where with invisalign you take them out to eat so you're teeth aren't nearly as sore. You can also take them out to eat and brush and floss, which really is a huge selling point for invisalign. Traditional braces are really tough to keep clean.