I had the same thinking that Invisalign would be better for my gums because when I had wire braces I wasn't able to floss and care for my gums well enough and I figured that with the trays I could take them out and better care for my gums. I forgot to take into account that you are wearing them for literally 21+ hours a day and that all that plaque gets trapped in there under the trays and like you said, they were pressing down on them. I now wear the invisalign retainer every other night which is basically just a tray like you would wear during the treatment. I am considering going to an ortho and maybe have them make me an old school retainer where the metal wire goes across the front of your teeth because at least that leaves the gum area exposed.
Thanks for sharing this, I never thought of using Invsalign for anything but straightening. You sound incredibly informed and I'm happy everything worked out for you the way you wanted it!
I can say that one thing I wish I had been told before, not after, going through almost a year of invisilign is that if you have problems with your gums this method could aggravate it. Unfortunately gum problems seem to run in the family but I had it under calculated control. I noticed that towards the end of my treatment, despite religiously brushing, flossing and check ups, that the health of my gums had started to decline; probably bc of dry mouth caused from the trays, the irritation of the trays tight against my gums, etc. Silly me for not asking about it but I still wish my ortho would have mentioned it especially since I told him a dozen times about my gum problems. Keep that in mind! Other than that, I am enormously happy with the outcome.
After I got went through the whole braces ordeal, I wore my retainer every night for about a year and then discovered I could go a couple nights without it, and then a week without wearing it...well before long I stopped wearing it at all because I honestly didn't think I would need to for the rest of my life. My teeth shifted so much over the years it was like I never got them fixed to begin with! Now that I have gone through the Invisilign process I know that unless I get a permanent retainer, it is basically a lifetime commitment. So I feel your pain!
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