POSTED UNDER Invisalign REVIEWS
18, Done with Invisalign, Very Worth It! - Charlotte, NC
ORIGINAL POST
I don't usually write reviews unless I am either...
skyeinthebowlJanuary 2, 2015
WORTH IT$5,000
I don't usually write reviews unless I am either very satisfied or very unhappy. The course of Invisalign was for the most part a pleasant experience with a wonderful end result, and I would advise it for anyone that is considering it. The entire process, starting with talking to an Invisalign provider and getting the impressions made from my teeth, ending with filling off the buttons and walking out with a great smile, took a little over a year. My teeth were not too horrible to begin with, but they were not as perfect as I wanted them to be, so I went for it.
Prior to Invisalign: Somehow, two of my teeth in the back of my mouth, one on the bottom, one on the top, on the same side did not have room so they grew in "the second row" one was growing into my mouth and one was sticking out on the other side. And I wouldn't have cared for it since they were not visible but they were pushing on my front teeth and made them not so much crooked but misaligned and crowded, one slightly overlapping another. My dentist made the choice to remove one of the sticking out teeth on the top to make room for movement in the Invisalign process, the one on the bottom was left alone to be later on moved back into the line with invisalign. After I got the tooth removed I had to wait 3 days before putting my first tray in to prevent bleeding into the tray. That same day my dentist also put 6-7 buttons on different teeth in my mouth.
During Invisalign: The first tray I put on felt very tight. It also felt very bulky in my mouth and slightly affected my speech, I spoke with a little bit of a lisp. I personally thought it was very noticeable, since my teeth don't usually have a plasticky unnatural shine to them as well as the buttons that were even more noticeable when the tray was out than when it was in, but regardless made my teeth look unnatural with strange horns sticking out of them. My family and friends, however, told me that they only noticed because they knew I had it and when I pointed it out, so a stranger wouldn't have noticed at all. For me, the initial pain did not come so much from tightness, but from the sharp edges of the trays. A week in, I felt like my entire mouth was cut up. The insides of my lips, my tongue and cheeks were so tender from all the little cuts I could barely eat, the second week of the first tray was the worst one of the entire process. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE avoid messing with the edges of the trays with your tongue!!! After a few weeks, closer to the end of my second tray my skin roughened up (I'm guessing that's what happened, don't quote me on that) and I have never experienced the cut up mouth at any point ever since. All other discomfort came from putting in a new tray and the tightness that came with that that went away in about 3 days. Another strange feeling I've experienced is feeling like your teeth are very lose and will fall out when you're eating food (lol) that also went away after a few days of a new tray and after about 4 months I've stopped getting that feeling.
Care: After every time I ate/drank anything colored or sugary (so anything aside form water -__-) I took my trays out. After I was done, I would not wait long to put them back in so I always carried a to-go pouch with toothbrush, toothpaste and floss in my bag. I would brush my teeth and floss after every time I ate/drank NO EXEPTIONS. And I mean every single time. Even if I just drank some coke, I'd brush my teeth and even floss just in case. I can say with 100% confidence that not only did my teeth greatly improve in the way they are arranged but also in terms of health. My teeth were wonderfully shiny, clean and beautiful all the time. It was great. I've never experience bad invisalign breath that people mention because I took such good care of my teeth. I would advise everyone to follow this procedure, it will pay off in the end with a healthy beautiful smile.
At the end: I had to wear 16 aligners on my top teeth and 21 on the bottom. Although I was done with my top row of teeth 2.5 months earlier, my doctor told me to continue wearing the top aligners as I always have, so I did. I think the reason for that is because it serves as a retainer (which you will need to wear 24/7 after the treatment is over for some time anyways) and it also protected my bottom teeth trays from me biting down on them with my teeth and messing them up.
Last official day: YAY! It was a few days after Christmas and it was the best gift I could've gotten! My dentist filled off the buttons (painless process, did not affect teeth). He told me to wear my last tray as a retainer at night and I was on my way. The entire way home I smiled at all the people in the cars next to me. Now I am just waiting on getting my real retainers that I will have to wear at night for about a year. My teeth are not flawless, and my top middle line doesn't even align with my bottom, but they are straight and beautiful and I couldn't be more happy. I'm kinda glad they're not "perfect" because they retained some character.
Unfortunately I didn't think of taking any "before" pictures, but here's one "after".
Prior to Invisalign: Somehow, two of my teeth in the back of my mouth, one on the bottom, one on the top, on the same side did not have room so they grew in "the second row" one was growing into my mouth and one was sticking out on the other side. And I wouldn't have cared for it since they were not visible but they were pushing on my front teeth and made them not so much crooked but misaligned and crowded, one slightly overlapping another. My dentist made the choice to remove one of the sticking out teeth on the top to make room for movement in the Invisalign process, the one on the bottom was left alone to be later on moved back into the line with invisalign. After I got the tooth removed I had to wait 3 days before putting my first tray in to prevent bleeding into the tray. That same day my dentist also put 6-7 buttons on different teeth in my mouth.
During Invisalign: The first tray I put on felt very tight. It also felt very bulky in my mouth and slightly affected my speech, I spoke with a little bit of a lisp. I personally thought it was very noticeable, since my teeth don't usually have a plasticky unnatural shine to them as well as the buttons that were even more noticeable when the tray was out than when it was in, but regardless made my teeth look unnatural with strange horns sticking out of them. My family and friends, however, told me that they only noticed because they knew I had it and when I pointed it out, so a stranger wouldn't have noticed at all. For me, the initial pain did not come so much from tightness, but from the sharp edges of the trays. A week in, I felt like my entire mouth was cut up. The insides of my lips, my tongue and cheeks were so tender from all the little cuts I could barely eat, the second week of the first tray was the worst one of the entire process. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE avoid messing with the edges of the trays with your tongue!!! After a few weeks, closer to the end of my second tray my skin roughened up (I'm guessing that's what happened, don't quote me on that) and I have never experienced the cut up mouth at any point ever since. All other discomfort came from putting in a new tray and the tightness that came with that that went away in about 3 days. Another strange feeling I've experienced is feeling like your teeth are very lose and will fall out when you're eating food (lol) that also went away after a few days of a new tray and after about 4 months I've stopped getting that feeling.
Care: After every time I ate/drank anything colored or sugary (so anything aside form water -__-) I took my trays out. After I was done, I would not wait long to put them back in so I always carried a to-go pouch with toothbrush, toothpaste and floss in my bag. I would brush my teeth and floss after every time I ate/drank NO EXEPTIONS. And I mean every single time. Even if I just drank some coke, I'd brush my teeth and even floss just in case. I can say with 100% confidence that not only did my teeth greatly improve in the way they are arranged but also in terms of health. My teeth were wonderfully shiny, clean and beautiful all the time. It was great. I've never experience bad invisalign breath that people mention because I took such good care of my teeth. I would advise everyone to follow this procedure, it will pay off in the end with a healthy beautiful smile.
At the end: I had to wear 16 aligners on my top teeth and 21 on the bottom. Although I was done with my top row of teeth 2.5 months earlier, my doctor told me to continue wearing the top aligners as I always have, so I did. I think the reason for that is because it serves as a retainer (which you will need to wear 24/7 after the treatment is over for some time anyways) and it also protected my bottom teeth trays from me biting down on them with my teeth and messing them up.
Last official day: YAY! It was a few days after Christmas and it was the best gift I could've gotten! My dentist filled off the buttons (painless process, did not affect teeth). He told me to wear my last tray as a retainer at night and I was on my way. The entire way home I smiled at all the people in the cars next to me. Now I am just waiting on getting my real retainers that I will have to wear at night for about a year. My teeth are not flawless, and my top middle line doesn't even align with my bottom, but they are straight and beautiful and I couldn't be more happy. I'm kinda glad they're not "perfect" because they retained some character.
Unfortunately I didn't think of taking any "before" pictures, but here's one "after".
Replies (6)
January 7, 2015
This has to be one of the best reviews I've ever read on the Invisalign process and what the patient experienced first hand. The part about smiling at people in cars next to him on the way home was downright adorable.
January 8, 2015
Lucky you I just started yesterday, and I am already ready to give up. :-( !! My mouth is sore, and it feels weird. based on all the comments that will go away. and I have to go to Target to get a kit to take care of my teeth. Travel tooth brush and floss etc, not excited about brushing my teeth in public bathrooms, but gotta do it i guess. And my smile is far from perfect and there is alot of movement required so tightness right now is an understatement.
Congratulations on your beautiful result. Your happiness is the success here :D. Do you know how long you'll be wearing the retainers full-time once you get them? Are you getting Viveras?
LOL! True :). There is a difference in retainers, though. For example, I've had both Viveras and Hawleys. The Viveras make me clench, which left me with an open bite in the back. So I switched to a Hawley (the metal wire attached to a palate thing that sits on the outside of your teeth) and that helped with the open bite, but it let my teeth move. They were still flat, but they started crowding toward the front, so I could feel it when I flossed. I really hate having my teeth crowded in the front. So I went back to the Viveras and had equilibration done instead and that helped me with the open bite and I just try to clench as little as possible. There are pros and cons to all the different types.