POSTED UNDER Invisalign REVIEWS
56 Year Old -- 37 Trays Plus Refinements to Look Forward To! - Danville, IL
ORIGINAL POST
I am getting ready to begin tray 4 of at least 37...
witsman4September 25, 2014
$4,500
I am getting ready to begin tray 4 of at least 37 trays. I am assuming that this entire process may take up to 2 years, but I am hoping for only 1 1/2 years. That will make me 57 year old, almost 58 when I am done! Yikes! Can I just say that I was a coffee all day long girl who was never without lipstick, and LOVED to snack in between meals before Invisalign? Oh I so hope all of these sacrifices are worth it. Right now my biggest complaint (aside from the previous mentioned woes) is the button that is on my fang tooth that makes it look like a double fang and the fact that I fight having a lisp. I teach third grade and I clearly hear a lisp, although my students don't say anything. My husband swears it's not as bad as I feel like it is, but I seriously am not looking forward to parent/teacher conferences this fall because of it. All of that being said, my dentist told me that I could switch trays every 10 days instead of 14. I was happy about that, but hope and pray that it will not endanger the final outcome. He has already said that I'm likely to need refinement trays. Yep, my teeth were (are) pretty much a mess. I love this reading this site and all of the reviews. You will all be the support I need for the next year and a half! Thank you!
Replies (11)
September 26, 2014
Are you going to post pictures so we can follow your progress? :) And we have lots of Invisaligners in their fifties! And a few in their sixties :). I saw you found Cyndymike already. If I only mention the others who are fifty and over, and active, we have:
MsKityCity, AreYouKiddingMe, sheemoho (mostly just answers comments), adam1995 (has had a rough time!) humbleoracle, Gwenifer, knitsew, Cazzieboo, aloevera, and ScareDCat.
MsKityCity, AreYouKiddingMe, sheemoho (mostly just answers comments), adam1995 (has had a rough time!) humbleoracle, Gwenifer, knitsew, Cazzieboo, aloevera, and ScareDCat.
April 15, 2015
Well, I'm here, too! Age 56. Started a year and a half ago at 54. I have a review, but it's not updated since a couple of months ago. I'm wishing you the best!
October 2, 2014
For some reason, I didn't even get notified of these replies! But thank you for that info! :)
June 2, 2015
Good luck!!!
I'm 41 and just started this week! Glad I'm doing it! Can't wait to be done already:)
November 15, 2015
I got braces at 58 years old. I had them on for 2 years and am so happy with the results. Do not think that age is a contradiction.
UPDATED FROM witsman4
2 months post
Getting worse before getting better?
witsman4October 14, 2014
Yikes! I'm on tray five and my teeth are getting worse. I noticed this when the dentist showed me my ClinCheck. The final result put my mind at ease. Now that I'm on tray five and there's no going back, I'm worried. The dentist is widening my pallet and correcting my midline on the top. My front tooth is moving forward in a big way, and it ultimately will need to move back! Did anyone else's teeth get worse before they got better?
Replies (4)
October 14, 2014
It happens in quite a few of the more difficult cases, if not most of them. You should check out Nicky.j's review. She's going through that right now. They have to move stuff out of the way in order for other teeth to get to their spots, then move the teeth back again. I've read a lot of reviews lately with people talking about it :).
June 1, 2015
Yes, mine got worse, and will hopefully get better in my last 3 sets!
June 2, 2015
Check my reviews around the middle to late July. Today my ortho told me that my teeth can definitely move into place in 2 aligners, so that was good to hear.
UPDATED FROM witsman4
3 months post
Tray eight
witsman4November 24, 2014
It's been awhile since I've updated. I'm now on tray eight out of 37 and things are going well. I did not file my last tray and my mouth didn't get sore from the edges. I was encouraged by that. My speech is still affected by a tiny lisp, which is almost the part I hate the most! My teeth are definitely moving. The problem is that I have so many teeth to move that each tray moves a few teeth just a tiny bit, but, boy oh boy, that slightest change feels so odd in my mouth! My tongue cannot wait to explore those changes whenever my trays aren't in. I still believe that my teeth look worse than when I started, but I'm hoping that's just part of the slow process. I am just encouraged by all of the movement. I actually have no pain at all -- just a tiny, tiny bit of pressure on days one and two. I also must say that by day seven I almost feel like the tray is loose. My doctor is letting me change trays every ten days, but I feel like I could do it even sooner. I wonder if anyone has done that with success? One thing I do a lot of is grinding my teeth together when my trays are in. I'm hoping this is okay and not affecting my progress any. I love this forum! Thanks to everyone for sharing.
Replies (1)
November 24, 2014
I clenched a lot with my trays in. There are pros and cons. It's like using a chewie all the time, and helps your teeth settle into the new trays faster. Unfortunately, it can also depress your teeth into the gums so you end up with a (usually temporary) open bite, which makes it difficult to chew your food and can leave you very tired in those masticator muscles!
Remember that there is a built-in period of time for your teeth to settle into the new location between every tray. Your teeth move first, then the roots, so if you go too fast, your roots won't catch up. That's why doctors tend to be conservative with changing trays :).
@witsman4, Some doctors sell units for upwards of $1000, and used units are selling on ebay for between $400 and $800 from what I've seen. So don't be surprised if you're quoted more than $500. Propel orthodontics is another option (though much less widespread) that also seems to work (we have a community member who used it and had great results). It's just done at the beginning and maybe again partway through, instead of daily, and it's around $500 as well.
@Zvezda, I hope you'll make a review as well, so we can follow your (very fast) progress!!