Barbara R

A Worthy Investment - Quakertown, PA

Jules 1 ... I'd like to know the outcome of your dilemma. My Invisalign treatment is complete, but I too had canines appearing much longer than my laterals and two front teeth. My dentist said it wasn't a problem with the canines being too long - it was a problem with the two front teeth and laterals not being sufficiently pulled down during the treatment. She took new impressions and sent them to Invisalign, to which Invisalign responded by saying they "were having problems" in that area of correction, and they sent a whole new set of 19 aligners. It was essentially back to ground zero with my upper teeth. I had to have two new attachments on each front tooth and one attachment on each of the two laterals. In other words, they had to bring those four teeth down. Near the end of that phase, my dentist had to attach elastic bands to further bring the laterals down. I was disappointed to start over again, plus the attachments were downright ugly and visible to everyone. I would have rather had traditional braces so people knew what was on my teeth rather than having them staring at my teeth and wondering what those ugly bumps were. That being said, my canines are in proportionate length now without having to grind them. Fortunately, my dentist doesn't like having to grind or sand or drill perfectly good teeth. I hope there is a resolution that doesn't involve grinding away good teeth. Good luck and keep us posted.

Sarah and Kab: my gums also improved during the treatment, but in this past month with wearing my retainers, my gumlines are receding and feeling sore. A few days ago, I woke up with blood [a small amount] inside the retainers. I think I need to research this a bit more. The retainers I have don't have any sharp edges.

Thank you campgirl, I truly appreciate the help. My provider and I did discuss the bonded retainer, but my fear is the inability to keep my teeth their cleanest. Even before treatment, I figured on wearing retainers for the rest of my life. No problem with that. And if I have to ... I'll wear the retainers 12 or 15 hours a day. Will the teeth shift even if I'm wearing my retainers 12-15 hours every day? Thanks again.

Thank you campgirl. While Invisalign "makes no promises," there is an expectation that their treatment plan, as illustrated by their ClinCheck, should produce the desired results. When the results [even with my premier provider using the tricks of the trade such as elastics] are NOT what Invisalign projected and the provider files a complaint, Invisalign responds by saying "we've had problems with our product not being able to correct laterals." Do you think it's the provider's fault? Invisalign says they're changing their aligner composition and, "here are 19 new sets of aligners manufactured with the better quality material." Oh, and those retainers that need to be replaced once a year? Providers complain that teeth are shifting even with nightly wear of the retainers. Oops, Invisalign responds that retainers will now be made with a "new, better quality material" and, "by the way, new retainers will be sent every three months." Hello? Why shouldn't Invisalign be blamed?

Thank you Alabama. Very articulate and right on the mark.