Invisalign: Stories

I went to what was supposed to be my last visit and last aligner #17's, but my front tooth and some of the crowded teeth on front bottom are not where they are supposed to be. So, he removed the buttons off of my teeth and took new impressions to have new sets made. Also, #17's for some reason were difficult to speak with, I had a very bad lisp. This is the only set that did this. It seems the plastic behind my front teeth went very high on my gums back there, so maybe that is why. Dentist said to continue wearing 17's until my new order of aligners come in and then we will go from there.

Reporting back in 3/23/11. I am on Aligners #15. I have 2 more aligners to go. My dentist told me at my last visit 2 weeks ago, that I would probably need a "refinement" because the front tooth which is the reason I got Invisalign did not come down to be flush with the other front tooth. So it is still up a bit. Could anyone tell me what a "refinement" is and will I need to fork out another $6,800?

Hello! Just had my Aligners #10 put in (12/30/10). My teeth have straightened quite a bit on the bottom, and my top front tooth (the reason I got Invisalign), is almost down to wear it should be, just a smidge off. Initially, one of my front teeth began pushing itself up, which gave the appearance that I had a broken front tooth, that is how short it seemed in comparison to its neighboring front tooth. By putting the button on that tooth, the Dentist is trying to pull that tooth back down. I have 7 more aligners to go (another 14 weeks), but I am very pleased with the progress so far. There is always some discomfort when putting my new set of aligners in for the 1st day, but after that it subsides. I can really feel the button on my front tooth, as it pulls the front tooth down, so I know it is working.

I skipped a month in reporting back here. As of 11/2/10 I am now on aligners #6. My Dentist did a little shaving in between my teeth to make room for more movement. He gave me my next set aligners #7 to put in myself in 2 weeks and to see him in 1 month. So far, my teeth seem to be moving in the right direction. It has been 3 months now that I have had Invisalign. On a separate note, I was late in making my payment to the company I financed with through my Dentist office at 0% interest financing (I was out of the country), and although I called the Company Rep and told them I had just mailed the check and was only a few days late, the Rep told me that now my interest rate has gone from 0% to 25% interest rate, the Rep also stated that they will charge me $400.00 in retroactive fees (which is the 25% interest rate going back to my 1st payment) and the Company Rep stated that I would also be charged $5.00 a day until I pay the loan in full. I was so upset wondering how I am going to come up with $6,000. The rep was quck to say the accept credit cards or I should take out a loan to pay off their loan. Anyway, people beware of the 0% financing over 20-24 months scheme. If you need more info. on this, do a search on the internet for the investigation the New York Attorney General Cuomo is currently doing for not only the company I financed with, but similar ones as well.

Thanks Sharon! I called back and unfortunately I started getting confrontational on the phone with the scheduler because she was insistent that I had to have all the molds re-done. I mean, it has only been 2 days so far that I don't have the correct aligner (#5) in, so I am still using #4. I then told her that I had researched on the internet that each aligner has a serial no. followed by the tray no. indication on it and that the fee charged could be anwhere from $100 to $150. Finally, she put me on hold and got back on the phone and stated that I don't need to come back in for molds and I would have my missing #5 aligner in 1 week.

Bad news! I lost my lower #5 Invisalign aligner. So, I am currently wearing my #5 upper and #4 lower. When I called my Dentist office today to let them know, the scheduler called me back and said that I would have to come in to have new molds taken? Does this sound odd? I was under the impression that if an aligner is lost, you can order that aligner at an additional cost ($100 - $150). So, why is my Dentist office insisting that I come in for new molds to be done? I am starting to get a bad feeling about this. When I called the Dentist office back, I spoke with the scheduler again and asked her why did I have to have to come in tonight to have new molds taken and she said because my teeth have changed. Huh? I explained to her that once the molds were done, I was put into some type of software that virtually shifts my teeth every 2 weeks, and my 17 aligners were made from that already, hence the reason I put new aligners in every 2 weeks. She got angry with me on the phone. What he heck is going on?

Saw dentist today and put in aligner #4 on bottom and my 1st aligner on top. He filed in between some of my top teeth and then proceeded to put 2 buttoms on top row. No lisp yet, LOL! It will take a getting used to, since I only had bottom aligners for these past 6 weeks.

Put Aligner Bottom #3 in on 8/20/10. Just in time, as I mentioned #2 was ripping in the back right side from pulling up on it. I have to admit something must have been wrong with Aligner #2, it was such a pain to take out, sometimes I would not eat, just so I didn't have to attempt to remove it. I even used a butter knife to wedge up underneath the aligner to separate it from my teeth. Anyway, I am on my Aligner #3 and all is good. Removal has been a breeze and no problems with it weakening in any spots. I have to say, I already see a difference in my overlapped teeth on bottom. :) Only 14 more aligners to go (28 weeks)!

Thanks Anon4290. It seems the smell is just when I take them out in the morning after being in my mouth for 8 hours overnight. I just brush them with my toothbrush and a bit of toothpaste. :) I am now on my 2nd aligner and for some reason it is starting to bend on the back right side which my chompers are, where I pull up on them to pull them off. It seems it is weakening that area, and I now see a tear in it. I have 1 more week of wearing this aligner and my dentist is on vacation. He did give me aligner #3 to put in myself on 8/20/10 (the 2 week mark for this aligner). I hope the #2 aligner hangs in there long enough and doesn't completely tear in half.

I have had Invisalign now for about 8 weeks. I strongly recommend going to the Invisalign website and buying the cleaner. It was $75 for a 50 pack but worth every dollar. I use the cleaners twice a week (dissolving packets that sit for ~20 mins) and brush many times throught the day. This will help you with the bad taste/smell. I promise. :)

Hi SandM! Things have been good so far. It's been about 5 days now, and the tip of tongue is a bit raw/sore, I guess it is from the tongue resting against the sharp edge of the inside bottom aligner. Brushing can be a pain in the butt, as I was only a 2x a day brusher, morning and night previous to the aligners. Now, I brush 6 times a day. I hope I don't wear my teeth out! LOL! Speaking of looking at last tray of aligners for encouragement. My dentist has the virtual software that shows the progression of my teeth week by week from the aligners, it is amazing. The only questionable part would be trying to get that front tooth pulled down. He said that he may have to put some type of rubberband on the back of the tooth to help pull it down. But, that will be a few months from now.

I thought I would comment since your story sounds so much like mine. I too am a 45-year-old woman who had braces before (for 1 year, in 1982-1983) and now, years later, I am doing Invisalign due to relapsed overcrowding. I did wear a retainer for a while after the braces, but apparently that wasn't enough. I think the relapse occurred gradually over those 26 years, and I'm now hearing that it may be necessary for some orthodontics patients to wear a retainer indefinitely! I have had pretty good success with Invisalign and I hope you do too. I finished my lower jaw in just 6 months (13 total trays) and am now on tray 18 of 22 for the upper jaw. I still have some distance to go on the upper jaw, but I'm hoping those last 4 trays take care of it. The lower jaw looks great. Overall, there's plenty of improvement that I can see since starting this 8 months ago. I agree with you about some of the cons, but they are minor compared to the advantage of being spared the trauma of metal braces. I remember that very well from 1982-83 and I would not want to ever go through that again. For me, discomfort from the Invisalign trays has always been minor, if any at all. It is sometimes inconvenient to have to take them out before eating, especially if I am at a meeting at work and someone spontaneously invites me to eat with them. As for the foul odor of the trays after overnight, I experience this every so often, but keeping up good hygiene (brushing and using mouthwash frequently, and keeping the trays clean) helps a lot to suppress this. Some reviewers on this site have stated that the trays are not invisible, but mostly I disagree. They may not be completely invisible, but they're close enough, and at my age, walking around with metal braces would have made me look (and feel) self-conscious. One thing you could do is ask your provider to show you the last tray in your series. Looking at those (which is how your teeth are projected to look according to the Invisalign analysis) will provide some encouragement! Best of luck to you.