Do Not Recommend. - Long Island, NY

I too have mixed feelings about the efficacy of Invisalign. After my initial 19 aligners for both upper and lower teeth, my two laterals were still twisted. My dentist took new impressions and I got 6 additional aligners. Three month later, and still no improvement. So again, my dentist did another set of impressions and said Invisalign acknowledged they were having difficulty with their product results with the lateral teeth. So I began and a whole new treatment plan began with another 19 aligners. With each set of refinements, the old buttons were ground off and new buttons put on. This is an assault on the enamel of the teeth each time. After finishing with the last 19 aligners for the upper teeth, the one lateral was perfectly in place. The other was slightly twisted, but enough was enough and the buttons were removed. I wore the retainers [both upper and lower] every night. Even though treatment was finished on my bottom teeth a year earlier, I learned that if I went one night without the retainer, my teeth would be slightly shifted by the next night. Within a week after treatment was completed on the top teeth, my slightly twisted lateral was going back to its old ways, so I began wearing the retainer 24/7 and my dentist has ordered replacement retainers to be mailed to me every three months. At least with the retainers, I look like the television commercials which never show how ugly the buttons can look. During my semi-annual cleaning and exam, my dentist hesitantly said she could put some kind of permanent band attachment on the lingual [backside] of the teeth from canine to canine, but it would be difficult to keep my teeth clean. We agreed that I would wear the upper retainer 24/7 for the next five months and re-visit the issue. To be honest, I don't feel comfortable taking the retainer off to eat because my teeth don't feel right when I bite into food and chew. My dentist said its customary until the brain learns what normal, naked teeth feel like. I think my dentist has been very diligent and doing her best. I don't know who took the financial loss for the second and third extensive round of refinements, but regardless, I have lost faith in the Invisalign process. What truly disturbs me are the two cavities I developed on my bottom teeth. I'm 62 years old and I haven't had a cavity since age 15. With the Invisalign, I brushed with my Sonicare twice daily, a regular toothbrush twice daily, flossed twice daily and used a flouride mouthwash. Both cavities are where the buttons were close to my gumline. Indeed, my teeth are better now than before Invisalign, but they are not what the computer modules showed at end of treatment. Maybe I'm being pessimistic because of my recent exam this week, but I think I'm doomed to wearing the upper retainer 24/7 for the rest of my life and still not sure if the retainer will keep my teeth from shifting. You might see me still posting here five years from now. Who knows, maybe Megan and I will feel like best friends after my posting here for the next five years and we'll meet somewhere for lunch :)

I too have misgivings about Invisalign,especially after reading the horror stories here. I went for Invisalign because one of my front teeth was overlapping the other. I wanted to do an implant or something cosmetic but my dentist pushed Invisalign. What I didn't take into consideration was my two canine teeth that have always looked like fangs and never were in line with the rest of my teeth. These are now being shifted. Sometimes the pressure from the aligners is extremely uncomfortable. I have 38 upper & 16 lower. I see my dentist every two weeks to get the new aligner. She is very helpful but I now wish I had never gone this route, especially when I read about the teeth shifting back. And my bite. Right now when the aligners are out and I chew it feels so weird. She assures me the end result will be fine but now I wonder. All I cared about was the one front tooth. I didn't mind the fangs, etc. i wish I had gone elsewhere for an implant. Good luck to all of us.