“Excellent Results - but Do Your Homework Before Committing.”

After having traditional braces as a child I religiously wore my retainers (nights only) into college. Then I experienced a cracked tooth and needed a crown because of the pressure from the metal arms on the retainers, as I tended to clench my teeth at night while sleeping. I stopped wearing my retainers. 10 years later my teeth had begun to move back. I investigated both traditional braces and invisalign. I choose invisalign because of the cosmetic factor as I work in an office environment. I completed the treatment after 14 trays.

You can read pros and cons on other reviews so I thought to give you some advice from an end user perspective.

Do your homework. Each case is different. I have read reviews where people were disappointed with the results but reading between the lines, I think they were probably not a good candidates for the treatment.

If you need MINOR treatment then invisalign may be for you. It is very uncomfortable often painful. You are moving your teeth after all. Some trays are more painful than others. Ibuprophen does help tremendously. The pain should subside after 2-3 days.

Your bite will be off as your teeth move. Don't panic it should realign as you go along.

Invisalign trays move your teeth to approximate positions. You have more control with regular braces. So while your teeth will look straighter but may not have that perfect look. For me that is okay, I didn't want a cookie cutter smile but others may want perfection.

Be realistic! You are wearing something in your mouth. You will feel them. But after a few weeks you will get used to them. Still, it won't feel like when you were not wearing anything.

Cleaning them is key to additional comfort. I used a 3 minute denture cleaner every night. It helped with odor and overall cleanliness.

Good luck!