Reviews you can trust, from real people like you.
How it works
- Our highly-trained Review Moderation team evaluates all reviews before they're published to ensure they're written by people like you and not a member of a doctor's office.
- This multi-step process takes up to 24 hours from review submission to publication.
- Doctors can't pay to have reviews removed or hidden.
- Reviews are only removed at the reviewer's request or if they violate our Terms of Service.
If you have questions or believe we should re-evaluate a published review, let us know.
Sort by:
*Treatment results may vary
I started Invisalign for a few reasons. 1....
I started Invisalign for a few reasons.
1. Better dental health - my orthodontist recommended I do some type of tooth correcting procedure so I would have better gum and tooth health. The procedure would make it easier to floss and brush, and of course it would make my smile a bit straighter.
2. "Invisible" Braces - We have all seen the commercials where the actors put in their trays, and you can't see them because they are clear plastic. This was also a big motivation for me to try Invisalign over traditional metal braces. I work all day with people face-to-face, so having a clear smile would be huge benefit to straps of metal on my teeth.
3. Eating What I Want - A few family members of mine have had metal braces, and complain that they can't eat certain foods. I liked the idea of flexibility the Invisalign treatment offers, and being able to have an unrestricted diet was key for me.
I started the treatment in July of 2015, right after I had four wisdom teeth extracted. This was not part of the Invisalign package, but my orthodontic surgeon recommended I get them removed to prevent crowding and undoing the work of the clear braces in the future. My dentist ran me through the procedure, and it would go as follows:
1. My treatment would last 14 trays (28 weeks with a new tray set every 2 weeks), from July 2015 to March 2016.
2. 14 Attachments along 11 Front Teeth, no metal filing or overbite correction.
3. Two corrective tray sessions if needed once the main treatment was done.
4. Zoom teeth whitening treatment as many times as I wanted.
I unfortunately didn't plan ahead when I would get the actual trays and attachments put in, because it was all done early Friday morning and I had a class presentation that afternoon. Needless to say, I had an embarrassing lisp and sore teeth throughout the presentation, and the trays cut into my tongue. I had sores on my tongue the following few days.
My first four days with the first set of trays was awful. Taking the trays out felt like I was pulling my teeth out because of the soreness and sensitivity. I also could not chew properly, so I relied on soup and soft meals for those first four days. I did not take aspirin or any other pain medication because I didn't have headaches or anything like that. Once the initial pain from the first few days went away, I easily got into the rhythm of taking them out for every meal, eating, flossing and brushing, and putting the trays back in. At work and school, I would carry around a travel size set of floss, a toothbrush, and toothpaste. Few people recognized that I had anything on my teeth unless they looked closely (all my attachments are placed on my front teeth, so they can be seen). Those that did notice asked me about the treatment and how my experience has been.
I have been in a slightly unique situation in that I started graduate school two months after the treatment began. My orthodontist's office is in Miami, but my graduate school is here in Houston. Generally, while undergoing Invisalign treatment, your dentist will want to see you every 4-6 weeks to make sure the attachments are all in place, and your teeth are moving in position correctly. I tried having my dentist transfer my treatment and X-rays to a dentist in Houston, but they refused. I was given the option of restarting my treatment again in Houston, but I would have to pay full price with no refund from my dentist in Miami. So the short-term solution we came up with was I would fly from Houston to Miami every 8-10 weeks instead of the recommended 6 weeks, which worked out in my favor. However, it has added a few extra thousand dollars to the expense of the treatment.
I am currently on my third-to-last tray of Invisalign, and I should be done the first week of March. I highly recommend getting the treatment done, mostly because it's a relatively simple and non-invasive way of correcting your teeth. For more severe cases of tooth correction, I would follow the recommendation of most orthodontists and do metal braces; however, my dentist did say Invisalign could correct about 85% of tooth- and bite-correcting cases. I also recommend cutting down on snacking. I have lost several pounds since starting the treatment because I can't eat on a whim like I used to.
1. Better dental health - my orthodontist recommended I do some type of tooth correcting procedure so I would have better gum and tooth health. The procedure would make it easier to floss and brush, and of course it would make my smile a bit straighter.
2. "Invisible" Braces - We have all seen the commercials where the actors put in their trays, and you can't see them because they are clear plastic. This was also a big motivation for me to try Invisalign over traditional metal braces. I work all day with people face-to-face, so having a clear smile would be huge benefit to straps of metal on my teeth.
3. Eating What I Want - A few family members of mine have had metal braces, and complain that they can't eat certain foods. I liked the idea of flexibility the Invisalign treatment offers, and being able to have an unrestricted diet was key for me.
I started the treatment in July of 2015, right after I had four wisdom teeth extracted. This was not part of the Invisalign package, but my orthodontic surgeon recommended I get them removed to prevent crowding and undoing the work of the clear braces in the future. My dentist ran me through the procedure, and it would go as follows:
1. My treatment would last 14 trays (28 weeks with a new tray set every 2 weeks), from July 2015 to March 2016.
2. 14 Attachments along 11 Front Teeth, no metal filing or overbite correction.
3. Two corrective tray sessions if needed once the main treatment was done.
4. Zoom teeth whitening treatment as many times as I wanted.
I unfortunately didn't plan ahead when I would get the actual trays and attachments put in, because it was all done early Friday morning and I had a class presentation that afternoon. Needless to say, I had an embarrassing lisp and sore teeth throughout the presentation, and the trays cut into my tongue. I had sores on my tongue the following few days.
My first four days with the first set of trays was awful. Taking the trays out felt like I was pulling my teeth out because of the soreness and sensitivity. I also could not chew properly, so I relied on soup and soft meals for those first four days. I did not take aspirin or any other pain medication because I didn't have headaches or anything like that. Once the initial pain from the first few days went away, I easily got into the rhythm of taking them out for every meal, eating, flossing and brushing, and putting the trays back in. At work and school, I would carry around a travel size set of floss, a toothbrush, and toothpaste. Few people recognized that I had anything on my teeth unless they looked closely (all my attachments are placed on my front teeth, so they can be seen). Those that did notice asked me about the treatment and how my experience has been.
I have been in a slightly unique situation in that I started graduate school two months after the treatment began. My orthodontist's office is in Miami, but my graduate school is here in Houston. Generally, while undergoing Invisalign treatment, your dentist will want to see you every 4-6 weeks to make sure the attachments are all in place, and your teeth are moving in position correctly. I tried having my dentist transfer my treatment and X-rays to a dentist in Houston, but they refused. I was given the option of restarting my treatment again in Houston, but I would have to pay full price with no refund from my dentist in Miami. So the short-term solution we came up with was I would fly from Houston to Miami every 8-10 weeks instead of the recommended 6 weeks, which worked out in my favor. However, it has added a few extra thousand dollars to the expense of the treatment.
I am currently on my third-to-last tray of Invisalign, and I should be done the first week of March. I highly recommend getting the treatment done, mostly because it's a relatively simple and non-invasive way of correcting your teeth. For more severe cases of tooth correction, I would follow the recommendation of most orthodontists and do metal braces; however, my dentist did say Invisalign could correct about 85% of tooth- and bite-correcting cases. I also recommend cutting down on snacking. I have lost several pounds since starting the treatment because I can't eat on a whim like I used to.
Provider Review
Dr. De la Rua