“One Invisalign Experience”

First off, let me clarify the cost for my treatment. It was $3000 out of pocket, $5000 total. Luckily my company has a plan that covers orthodontics. I also want to clarify that this is my experience and mine alone. The experience I describe is mine personally and I'm sorry if others have not had the same. Now, for the review.

Why Invisalign over traditional braces?  I'll be honest, vanity sake. I didn't want a mouth full of metal, scraping up of my gums and insides of my mouth, etc. Plus, I attend alot of project meetings, I'm an electrical engineer, and I wanted something less intrusive and the appeal of clear aligners was too much. Lastly, my dentist said that Invisalign was possible for my case.

Pros:

• The clear aligners are hardly noticeable and can be taken out.
• The shorter treatment time (8 1/2 months versus over a year).
• Relatively minor pain at "new" tray time (every two weeks).
• Profound weight loss due to no more snacking and gum chewing.
• Better understanding of dental hygiene that will last a long time.
• My "fangs" are gone!! The overcrowding on my lower teeth is gone too. (In other words, the treatment worked for me.)

Cons:

• What felt like continual brushing and flossing.
• Some trays tasted plastic-y or had sharp edges that messed up my tongue.
• The constant dry mouth feeling.
• The film that develops from normal wear on the trays.
• The lisp that never went away.

In general, I am really pleased with the treatment program. I never liked my smile but I do now. I will be receiving my retainers in about two weeks when they get back from Invisalign. My dentist says I will need to wear them three days a week but I intend on wearing them every night for two reasons: 1. I grind my teeth and 2. I don't want them to revert - I paid alot for these!!

Would I recommend this to others?  Yes, with the caveat that they do their homework and get their dentist's/ortho's blessing. I did not really have to recommend the treatment to my friends and family. They saw my results and so far three have vowed to start the treatment.

My personal recommendations:

• You must wear the aligners the 20 -22 hours a day as recommended. It may be a pain, but trust me, it will make the treatment easier in the long run.
• To get the film off the aligners, I bought these little flosser things for braces, they work great. CVS, Walgreens and Target have them.
• I bought a little electric flosser, made flossing easier and took less time.
• An hour or so before putting in new trays, take a few Advil, Tylenol, your pain med of choice. It will numb it just enough to pop them on and after 12 hours, your teeth will have moved.