Sandm82

Invisalign Success for Middle-age (45 Y.o.) Woman

I thought I would comment since your story sounds so much like mine. I too am a 45-year-old woman who had braces before (for 1 year, in 1982-1983) and now, years later, I am doing Invisalign due to relapsed overcrowding. I did wear a retainer for a while after the braces, but apparently that wasn't enough. I think the relapse occurred gradually over those 26 years, and I'm now hearing that it may be necessary for some orthodontics patients to wear a retainer indefinitely! I have had pretty good success with Invisalign and I hope you do too. I finished my lower jaw in just 6 months (13 total trays) and am now on tray 18 of 22 for the upper jaw. I still have some distance to go on the upper jaw, but I'm hoping those last 4 trays take care of it. The lower jaw looks great. Overall, there's plenty of improvement that I can see since starting this 8 months ago. I agree with you about some of the cons, but they are minor compared to the advantage of being spared the trauma of metal braces. I remember that very well from 1982-83 and I would not want to ever go through that again. For me, discomfort from the Invisalign trays has always been minor, if any at all. It is sometimes inconvenient to have to take them out before eating, especially if I am at a meeting at work and someone spontaneously invites me to eat with them. As for the foul odor of the trays after overnight, I experience this every so often, but keeping up good hygiene (brushing and using mouthwash frequently, and keeping the trays clean) helps a lot to suppress this. Some reviewers on this site have stated that the trays are not invisible, but mostly I disagree. They may not be completely invisible, but they're close enough, and at my age, walking around with metal braces would have made me look (and feel) self-conscious. One thing you could do is ask your provider to show you the last tray in your series. Looking at those (which is how your teeth are projected to look according to the Invisalign analysis) will provide some encouragement! Best of luck to you.

Based on my experience, I would tend to agree with the above - when trays were changed, maybe some mild discomfort for the first couple of days, especially when removing the trays - nothing too bad though. After that, virtually no discomfort until the next tray change in 2 weeks.

How many hours per day have you been wearing the Invisalign trays? I am surprised that a treatment program that was supposed to take 6 months has actually taken four times as long. According to what I've heard, one of the most common reasons why treatment goes off track is that the trays are not worn for the requisite 20-23 hours per day. Also, what is the basis for your saying that Invisalign shaves off tooth enamel?

Thanks for taking the time to reply to me. I am glad to hear that someone else is as happy as I am. The Invisalign concept is a great one, isn't it?