“Not -- not --not -- worth it!”
Invisalign: NOT worth it
Pain: Uncomfortable
As a teenager I wore braces and the results were great. At the age of 40 however, some movement occurred. Invisalign seemed like a reasonable solution.
During the process, I was in pain constantly. My mouth was very sensitive to the plastic. About half way through the process I developed gum disease.
I had a few stubborn teeth that would not move, so I had to be re-fitted twice, and the time doubled. When finished, I was mostly pleased.
Last year however, I went on a 4 week vacation and forget my trays. My teeth moved and when I got home my trays did not fit. I tried previous trays, but none of them fit. It is a terrible assumption that your teeth will move back the same way as they moved forward.
I would need new trays. I said no-- big mistake. My teeth kept moving. Today I have a cross bite and my teeth are worse than when I was in high school.
I could never advise someone to get invisalign. And, I especially recommend that kids do not go near them. It is a big responsiblity for an adult let alone a child.
Mar 18, 2009Comments and replies (9)
unregistered guest
20 Mar 2009
hmm maybe you should have been committed to wearing them and braces hurt the same.
75 posts
1 Apr 2009
There seems to be such a prejudice here against anyone who speaks against Invisalign. I, too was left with a bad impression of the process and the company after about a year and a half of treatment (twice the time I was told that it would take). I've already reviewed Invisalign here (my review is "Should Have Done Braces"), but would like to add one thing to Realselfuser's comments on the impermanence of repositioned teeth. I was told by my Invisalign provider that I would have to wear a retainer for about a year after treatment -- at first for 24 hours and then tapering off to only at night. My regular dentist told me that I would always need to wear the retainer at night if I wanted to keep my teeth in their new positions. Forever. She is correct. I've noticed that if I go a couple of nights without my retainer (due to being ill, for instance, or while camping), I have a difficult time getting my retainer to seat. And this is now a year post-Invisalign. I suppose this would be true with conventional braces, too, but I was misled on the issue. It's something to keep in mind when an adult is considering teeth straightening of any kind. That straightened in childhood are somewhat less likely to travel.
75 posts
1 Apr 2009
And to the previous posters, you don't know why this person got gum disease. If his mouth was constantly inflamed from the trays, and he was grinding his teeth at night (he mentioned pain), it could have affected the health of his gums. (Forgetting your trays when he went on a four-week vacation was pretty dumb, though. After paying $6k for the treatment, how could you be so blase about following the instructions, Realselfuser? And how can you forget the trays when you have a set in your mouth?)
unregistered guest
29 Apr 2009
Teeth move-it's just part of being a living human being. How much depends on the person. My childhood-braces orthodontist told me the same things my adult-invisalign orthdontist did, if you don't want your teeth to move you have to wear the retainers forever. I wore mine for five years after braces and then slacked off. Ten years after that they were all crooked again (in a pattern like my mother's) and I am having to get invisalign. If you want a quick fix, pay 1K per tooth and get veneers. Otherwise, welcome to retainer-forever land.
3 posts
30 Apr 2009
My sister and aunt both had braces. My aunt had invisalign 1st then had to switch to braces, not that there was any thing wrong with the invisaligns, it was her, she was allergic to the stuff it was made out of, and she had what they called short roots, she does live in retainer-forever land, as it has been said. But that is because for some reason the shorter your roots the more your teeth will shift. Now my sister only had invisaligns 6 months her front tooth was in backward, she wore the retainer for another 6 months and she has not had to were them sents, but unlike my aunt, my sis has longer roots and once moved they stayed where they were put.
3 posts
30 Apr 2009
Oh ya my sister also brushed her teeth and washed with Listorine, like every time she went to the bathroom. Now I do it, even though I don't have braces. It is just a good Idea and boy friends sure do like it, my fav is the orange listorine.
1 post
13 Jul 2009
Gum disease is common in Invisalign users simply because wearing Invisalign requires good dental hygiene. However, braces are no better. You are still required to maintaing thorough oral hygiene. Many patients that we see have cavities after the braces are removed. As far as teeth moving, your dentist should have warned you that not wearing the trays will have serious consequences. I know from experience that a lot of Invisalign users don't have the faintest clue about the consequences of not wearing the trays. Dentists should do their jobs and explain to the patients how to properly stick to the routine.