Pregnancy or planning to get pregnant should not by itself prevent you from getting braces. However, there are a few complications that can occur during pregnancy. The complications that arise can usually be worked around and managed if you really want to start your treatment now. The two most common issues that come to mind are:1) "Pregnancy" gingivitis- When you are pregnant your hormones are obviously much different than when you are not pregnant and this can make it easier for you to get red,swollen gums. This can often be minimized or avoided by just having excellent oral hygiene while going through treatment. 2) X-rays- Most obstetricians will recommend avoiding any type of x-rays if possible - at least during the first trimester of pregnancy. Cells that are dividing quickly are more easily damaged by x-rays and your baby is growing at an exponential rate during the first trimester. Although dental xrays are generally very low radiation, it is best to be cautious during the first trimester of pregnancy and to have permission from your obstetrician to obtain any xrays during pregnancy. If you start treatment and get your initial xrays prior to getting pregnant, a progress xray can probably be done towards the end of pregnancy or after your baby is born.
The thickness of the plastic that covers the teeth can cause your back teeth to push up (intrude) into the bone because your jaw is on a hinge and the back teeth will come together first when you are wearing Invisalign aligners. This should not be corrected with crowns in my opinion. It should be corrected by making an adjustment to the Invisalign first. If that is not successful then I would recommend treatment with braces as an alternative but not crowns.
I have an orthodontic practice that sees about 25-30% adults. A large percentage of those patients are people who had braces already as children and thought that they no longer needed a retainer after several years. There was a large study done at the University of Washington that analyzed orthodontic relapse. It found that only about 10% of people can get away with no retainers - the problem is predicting who the 10% are going to be.There is a protein in your gums called elastin that acts like a rubber band to pull the teeth back toward their original positions. If you like your smile and don't want to see your teeth shift at all I would go back to your orthodontist and have a replacement retainer made and continue to wear it at night while you are sleeping indefinitely. There is no such thing as a totally stable orthodontic result. Teeth are inherently unstable. They are constantly being pushed on and worn down by your chewing forces and the fibers in your gums. Don't take the chance. It's not worth the risk.
I would check the ingredients on the sugar free strawberry water. There are often flavorings like citric acid used in sugar-free drinks that result in you not having a normal pH in your mouth and over time can give you cavities. Diet Coke, for example, does not technically have any sugar in it, but would be a definite drink to avoid with Invisalign aligners or braces in place as it is acidic. You can have the strawberry water or a Diet Coke with a meal and then brush your teeth, but you want to avoid sipping on it all day long. Invisalign aligners can be cavity incubators in those circumstances. Hope that helps!
The upper jaw (maxilla) can be expanded with an expander before growth is complete because there is a cartilage suture that can be widened to actually change the shape of the jaw. In the case of the lower jaw (mandible) there is no cartilage suture that can be used to widen the lower jaw, so any expansion that occurs is generally expansion of only the teeth within the existing jaw bone and not the jaw bone itself. I hope that helps.
