“Not Worth the Extra Dollars”

I went in for a cleaning early last year and the Dentist (whom I have not seen again since - it's always an assistant) approached me to see if I had ever considered straightening my teeth. I had been having a chipping proglem which she attributed to crowded, crooked teeth. She said I was a perfect Invisilign candidate (sound familiar?!?) and that my teeth would be 100% after a year. Well, I went through the process - the initial x-rays, the mould of my current teeth, the glue bumps, the scratchy trays (which I filed with a battery powered rotary nail file). Some time during the process the assistant said to me that she didn't think my stubborn eye tooth would adjust w/out regular braces. Not exactly what the Dr. related to me during our intial consult. Long story short, my first session was 17 or 19 trays, I can't remember. They redid the entire process sans the xrays and my next session consisted of 9 trays. 15 months later, I had the regular, old-fashiond wire braces put on just as the dental assistant said I would have to. At 33, it's a little embarrassing to be sipping coffee out of a straw to avoid staining the rubber bands, but I've come so far already!!! She told me when she put them on that she didn't know why the Dr. told people Invisilign would provide 100% correction b/c it rarely did. Only regular braces can fix everything. I've had regular braces for 2 months and the difference is amazing. If I had started with them in the beginning I would be done by now - and it would have cost me $700 less. Also, I don't know if other Invisilign users have had the same problem, but I actually developed several cavities while wearing them. I've only had 1 cavity in 33 years and now I have 3! I wonder if Invisilign traps bacteria since you can't rinse it away when you drink water? It may not be related, but considering my dental history, I have hard time believing its not. I have actually found that regular braces easier to keep clean even if they are more noticable. My caution to anyone considering Invisilign is this: Beware of overzealous dentist's simply trying to make the sale. I don't know what kind of bonuses are associated with Invisilign sales, but I feel that my dentist misrepresented their effectiveness in order to make the sale. They aren't exactly invisible - people still notice you have something going on and there is apperantly a good chance your problem won't be corrected 100%. Good luck everyone!