Invisalign: Stories

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Invisalign More Trouble Than It's Worth - Australia

  • posted 2 years ago
  • updated 2 years ago
  • Before treatment
  • 17 months into treatment

I was told my Invisalign would take 12-15 months...

  • 20 Apr 2011

I was told my Invisalign would take 12-15 months however it's been 17months and I'm only half way.

I was initially only concerned about one of my teeth which did not fit in due to overcrowding but was convinced to buy Invisalign for both top and bottom teeth. At the moment I currently have a row of brackets on four teeth, Invisalign for top and bottom, buttons on numerous teeth and am required to wear 2 rubber bands on my teeth. One rubber band goes from the top tooth to the bottom, making it very difficult when speaking as I can't open my mouth very wide.

Orthodonists aren't concerned about personal comfort they only care that teeth are exactly straight and perfect. Some of my Invisalign also don't fit properly due to my braces and yet I am still required to wear them, but because they don't fit properly it makes me talk differently and people often can't understand what I'm saying.

My Invisalign treatment was very poorly managed. If possible you should get your Invisalgn made in batches (not all at once), because if something goes wrong then all your other Invisalign won't fit. It is supposed to be quicker than braces but my treatment will last at least 2 years and possibly much longer. I am currently thinking if I should even bother. I originally went for Invisalign because I didn't want it to be obvious but it is sometimes very obvious. In my current Invisalign the top sticks out and looks ridiculous because it doesn't fit properly.

Ironically the brackets that they fit on my teeth has shifted the tooth that I was most worried about in the first place. I probably could have gotten away with something like that and skipped the Invisalign alltogether but they never told me about that.

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The Orthodonist Didn't explain all the things that could go wrong . He only spends about 2 minutes with me each visit and doesn't listen to any of my concerns (he has no time) The practice only has 1 orthodonist for 3 sites. Also they are very poor organisers and frequently forget why I have even come in for an appt, they are simply too busy to handle the number of clients they have.

Comments (14)

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I just wanted to comment on how you write that the brackets fixed your tooth and perhaps you could have gotten away without the invisalign. I think this may be incorrect. With the brackets on just a few teeth like that, it would seem to me that in the process of moving that tooth, and nothing to hold the others in place, aligned teeth would have been free to move any which way. I think you need something to hold them all in place when moving even one single tooth.

  • Reply
The othodontist put the metal bracket there to pull your one tooth down. Invisalign alone can not pull teeth up or down, at least from what I have been told 2 of my bicuspids are uneven, which would require 4 months of traditional braces on bottom. However, it doesn't effect my bite and not noticeable. One your tooth is pulled down you'll be fine.
  • Reply
My orthodontist has now paid to get a whole new set of invisalign aligners. I previously was half way through treatment 20 of 40 aligners but now with the new aligners i am back to number 1 of 40 aligners (and before i only had 30 aligners on bottom and now I have 40 again), doesn't seem to make sense. I had no problem with my bottom either so I should have only had about 10 aligners left for the bottom. Don't know why i have so many!
  • Reply

Wow, so sorry to hear about the extended treatment time. I'm glad they are covering the cost though.

Has your dentist shown you your new clincheck video for the new set of 40 trays?

  • Reply
Hi there,

Which orthodontist do you see? Are you finding things to be better now you have a new set of aligners?
I am considering Invisalign but not sure anymore after reading your story
  • Reply
I saw someone in Adelaide. I have new aligners now and prob have another 7-8 months to go. A long time considering I was only concerned about the alignment of one tooth.
There are other options now as well. There is apparently a quicker version of invisalign, about half the time where u have to put something in ur mouth for 20 mins a day and there's also the Inman aligner .
Do your research carefully.
  • Reply
Something is very very wrong with your invisalign and brackets. The point of invisalign is that it works similar to a retainer - it is supposed to cover your teeth entirely (similar to a retainer) in order to mold your smile into the shape of the invisalign tray. Your's looks like it's falling off, and certainly won't be straightening your teeth like that!

The brackets you have on the front of your teeth also make no sense. I cannot see how they would straighten anything! They appear to be haphazardly stuck to the front of your teeth with no rhyme or reason.
  • Reply
Something is not right with your invisalign, I have never seen invisalign where half of the front teeth are halfway covering. And I have never seen those attachements on your teeth. It does not even seem like your "invisalign" are attached at all they look like they are slipping off. I would go to another dentist. Something is not right.
  • Reply
which orthodontist did you see for this treatment? and/or what suburb in brisbane?
  • Reply
I think invisalign is a waste or maybe it was just the doctor, I wore mine six months, and only saw the Dr. one time, then when they were removed, the person who made the retainer screwed it up and they never even fixed it,and I was not even scheduled to see the Dr. again after that. It was a total waste of $6000 and 6 months of my time, not to mention that my teeth haave all moved back! and now I need to do something else.

I would not recommend wearing invisalign!
  • Reply
I have been seeing my orthodontist practically every 2 weeks now. Not great 'cos I don't have the time. I wish I had just left things the way they were.
  • Reply
I am supposed to have about another 20 aligners for the top so that would be at least another 40 weeks if everything went allright but then my orthodontist often makes me wear aligners for longer. Not sure if I will continue treatment on the top teeth or not, they are not perfect but they are better than when I started and I'm not sure it will be worth the inconvenience to go through with the invisalign for 40 weeks especially if they don't fit properly (although they might end up fitting further down the track).
I am seeing my orthodontist next week.
  • Reply

Yes, I could see how you would be apprehensive about the top ones. Let us know how your appointment goes next week.

Thanks,

-Britt

  • Reply

Hi 6517,

Welcome to the Invisalign community. I'm so glad to see you wrote a review, this will be so helpful to the community. Also thanks so much for including pictures, you are awesome! Since your tooth you were worried about has moved more to where it should be are you going to continue the rest of the time with the procedure? You said you are 17 months in, which is only halfway, do you know how much longer you will have? Please keep us updated.

Thanks so much for the review,

-Britt

  • Reply

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