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Invisalign to BRACES!
SO!
I decided invisalign wasn’t for me and have switched to braces and I am sooo much happier. I was up to tray 7 of 38. I’ve had the braces for about 3 months now.
There are a few reasons I made this decision.
1. Rushing to eat and drink socially and not being able to easily snack at work
2. I just got sick have having them in my mouth all the time. They would fill up with saliva when I slept and by the end of a tray I couldn’t wait to switch because they were so gross
3. I started dreading putting them back in and was becoming non-compliant
4. They still affected my speech and I had to really think about pronouncing words properly
5. I hated the big gaps left between my teeth from the filing/IPR even though I know they would have closed eventually, but I became super anxious at the thought of having IPR between my front teeth. I was worried it made my teeth look pointier and I hated having massive chunks of food stuck between my teeth.
I did my research before getting invisalign and was aware all these things may occur. I was ok for the first two months and then slowly became more and more sick of all these little things! My main worry was I was becoming non-compliant with having them in 22 hours a day, and knowing that the need for refinements is already common I didn’t want to sabotage my own treatment even further. I was going to have 38 trays and was only up to number 7, so not even a quarter of the way. I think that thought was the main thing that made me decide to switch to braces. Having all that time to go (plus refinements) was a horrible thought! If I had of been say, half way through a shorter treatment, I probably would have stuck it out. I tend to go out for meals very often and then drinks so I’d be torn between leaving them in to drink and stain them and make them yucky or leave them out, sometimes for hours at a time.
I’m very happy with the braces. Yes, they’re uglier, but the invisalign wasn’t invisable so I think it’s almost better now because people can straight away tell I have braces rather than thinking what does she have in her mouth. Having the braces on has been less painful then the initial invisalign tray, maybe because my teeth had already been moved. My ortho was very good about me changing over and hasn’t charged any extra. The original cost of braces would have been about $1000 less than the braces so I’ve lost out on that but I’m not worried because I gave it a shot. Apparently I’ll have the braces on for the same amount of time as I would have had Invisalign. My teeth became practically straight immediately so I think it’s all about correcting my bite now.
I would still recommend Invisalign to others, but only if you have a short treatment time (I think 38 plus possibly refinements is wayyy too many!) and don’t need any/too much IPR. They’re a good alternative if the thought of being a brace face really really bothers you!
Hope this info is helpful to someone!! I’ll post a photo when I finally get them off!
I decided invisalign wasn’t for me and have switched to braces and I am sooo much happier. I was up to tray 7 of 38. I’ve had the braces for about 3 months now.
There are a few reasons I made this decision.
1. Rushing to eat and drink socially and not being able to easily snack at work
2. I just got sick have having them in my mouth all the time. They would fill up with saliva when I slept and by the end of a tray I couldn’t wait to switch because they were so gross
3. I started dreading putting them back in and was becoming non-compliant
4. They still affected my speech and I had to really think about pronouncing words properly
5. I hated the big gaps left between my teeth from the filing/IPR even though I know they would have closed eventually, but I became super anxious at the thought of having IPR between my front teeth. I was worried it made my teeth look pointier and I hated having massive chunks of food stuck between my teeth.
I did my research before getting invisalign and was aware all these things may occur. I was ok for the first two months and then slowly became more and more sick of all these little things! My main worry was I was becoming non-compliant with having them in 22 hours a day, and knowing that the need for refinements is already common I didn’t want to sabotage my own treatment even further. I was going to have 38 trays and was only up to number 7, so not even a quarter of the way. I think that thought was the main thing that made me decide to switch to braces. Having all that time to go (plus refinements) was a horrible thought! If I had of been say, half way through a shorter treatment, I probably would have stuck it out. I tend to go out for meals very often and then drinks so I’d be torn between leaving them in to drink and stain them and make them yucky or leave them out, sometimes for hours at a time.
I’m very happy with the braces. Yes, they’re uglier, but the invisalign wasn’t invisable so I think it’s almost better now because people can straight away tell I have braces rather than thinking what does she have in her mouth. Having the braces on has been less painful then the initial invisalign tray, maybe because my teeth had already been moved. My ortho was very good about me changing over and hasn’t charged any extra. The original cost of braces would have been about $1000 less than the braces so I’ve lost out on that but I’m not worried because I gave it a shot. Apparently I’ll have the braces on for the same amount of time as I would have had Invisalign. My teeth became practically straight immediately so I think it’s all about correcting my bite now.
I would still recommend Invisalign to others, but only if you have a short treatment time (I think 38 plus possibly refinements is wayyy too many!) and don’t need any/too much IPR. They’re a good alternative if the thought of being a brace face really really bothers you!
Hope this info is helpful to someone!! I’ll post a photo when I finally get them off!
Photos
I got my Invisalign on Thursday, four days ago now...
I got my Invisalign on Thursday, four days ago now. Getting the impressions done of teeth and everything was all pretty easy. On Thursday I had some teeth filed and the attachments put on my teeth. It was uncomfortable but not really painful.
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The first two days were pretty horrible. Straight after getting them I had to go to work and then the Friday I had an early shift (I'm a nurse) so I didn't have a lot of time to get used to them. Taking them in and out to begin with was so horrible. I thought I was going to rip my teeth out, and I found it difficult to reattach the elastics. On the Friday night, the second day I'd had them, I had to go straight from work to meet friends at a sport event. All the bathrooms had shared sinks and I didn't feel confident taking them in and out yet so I pretty much just didn't eat until I got home that night at midnight. By this stage the aligners had starting cutting into my upper lip and it was very painful and I was hungry and really upset about getting them and worried I'd made a really bad decision. At home all I had to eat was mashed potato because my teeth were aching so much I couldn't chew!
It's now Sunday (had them for about four days) and things are already starting to get easier. They're already easier to take in and out. It hasn't been the tension on the teeth that's bothered me, it's been the plastic cutting into my mouth. My tongues been fine, it's really only the part where the elastics attach at the front. After doing some reading on here (it's been so helpful!!) I filed the plastic a little bit and have bought some orthodontic wax which has really made it better. I'm not sure whether the filing or wax had helped more because I did both at the same time. My mouth is already starting to heal.
The other thing is I have a pretty bad lisp which is very noticeable to my friends and family. Fingers crossed it goes away!!
\
The first two days were pretty horrible. Straight after getting them I had to go to work and then the Friday I had an early shift (I'm a nurse) so I didn't have a lot of time to get used to them. Taking them in and out to begin with was so horrible. I thought I was going to rip my teeth out, and I found it difficult to reattach the elastics. On the Friday night, the second day I'd had them, I had to go straight from work to meet friends at a sport event. All the bathrooms had shared sinks and I didn't feel confident taking them in and out yet so I pretty much just didn't eat until I got home that night at midnight. By this stage the aligners had starting cutting into my upper lip and it was very painful and I was hungry and really upset about getting them and worried I'd made a really bad decision. At home all I had to eat was mashed potato because my teeth were aching so much I couldn't chew!
It's now Sunday (had them for about four days) and things are already starting to get easier. They're already easier to take in and out. It hasn't been the tension on the teeth that's bothered me, it's been the plastic cutting into my mouth. My tongues been fine, it's really only the part where the elastics attach at the front. After doing some reading on here (it's been so helpful!!) I filed the plastic a little bit and have bought some orthodontic wax which has really made it better. I'm not sure whether the filing or wax had helped more because I did both at the same time. My mouth is already starting to heal.
The other thing is I have a pretty bad lisp which is very noticeable to my friends and family. Fingers crossed it goes away!!