34 Yr Old, Open-Bite/under-bite, Invisalign, Shortened Roots

I had braces when I was in middle school. Had them for 3 years along with a pallet expander. This was an awful contraption that was wrapped around my back molars and then had a swirly metal wire that went along the roof of my mouth. I had an open bite. The end result was to have upper jaw surgery. I refused the surgery due to the amount of dental work I had done as a kid and didn't want to go through the pain of having a surgery like that.

Boy, do I regret that. Hindsight is always 20/20. One of my biggest regrets of my life was not doing that while I was young and the insurance would have covered it.

My eldest sister had braces as well and never wore her retainers and her teeth NEVER (and still haven't some 20 years later) shifted back...perfectly straight! Not me, mine shifted a little from not wearing the retainer. Then, in my 20s they started shifting more and more. The surgery was very expensive.

Over about 10 years, I saw a number of orthodontists. A number of them said my open bite was too challenging due to my age (I was in my 20s), a number of them wanted to charge so much more than just standard braces- upwards of $7k.

Over these years my teeth continued to shift and now not only do I have crooked teeth and an open bite, but now a cross bite. My jaw trained itself to over correct for the lack of teeth touching in the front.

I started going to consultations yet again once I moved to CA. A few didn't want to work on me, said I was too old. One actually made me cry and said my mouth was like 'pandoras box' and 'to be happy with what I have'. What I learned through these numerous encounters was that due to the length of the treatment I had now what was called shortened roots on my front 4 teeth and that orthodontia could cause these teeth to fall out! Omg :( And if that wasn't enough, I would now not only need an upper jaw surgery but a lower one as well.

I have 3 kids. The complications that could arise from any surgeries makes me extremely hesitant. As well as the cost. I was quoted from one surgeon $30, 000 for the braces and the jaw surgeries. Pass!

I finally opted with an orthodontist in South Pasadena. She was reluctant to start treatment, just as the others. She said that I had shortened roots, teeth could fall out, fixing them could make the underbite/overbite more pronounced.

I opted for treatment regardless. When I asked her for the probability that the teeth would fall out she said 5% chance. If it was above 15-20% chance I would have declined treatment. I didn't mind if it was metal braces or Invisalign. She opted for the latter.

Before I would start the Invisalign I had to have a front tooth removed. This would reduce the amount of teeth in the front and hopefully not make the bottom teeth have such a drastic under-bite. This was to be done 1-wk prior to my trays coming in.

Today is day #1 of wearing my trays! So far so good. I am very eager to see results. Of course without surgery my teeth will never touch. BUT I just want to fixed the crowding and crookedness. I hate smiling and taking pics because of my smile.

So far my journey with Invisalign has been going well! There have been a few issues that have arisen but nothing that has made me regret the procedure.

Pros:
1. Dramatically changed the way I eat, snack, and drink. I am only allowed (as per my dr. ) to drink water with the trays in. Nothing hot, either. When I do decide to eat I have 2 hours within the day to do so. No more leisurely meals and no more sipping on a nice cocktail/beer at the end of the day. After each drink or snack/meal, I brush my teeth and trays thoroughly. I've lost a little over 5 pounds :)

2. Apart from the slight discomfort from the shifting of the teeth, the trays have been comfortable. No rough edges and easy to maintain.

Cons:
1. By tray 5 my teeth were wiggly! This really freaked me out. Especially considering I have shortened roots. After a quick appointment to my ortho she said it was common. With traditional braces this happens as well but is not as noticeable because the brackets. I thought I was taking my trays on and off too much. Given I was still within my 2 hour allowance, but perhaps taking them off for 10 minutes to drink a tea, brush my teeth, and then I would pop them back on, numerous times throughout the day was too much on my teeth. When taking the trays off there is a bit of gentle tugging happening. With all of that said, I have been much more careful about how often I remove the trays. Now on tray 8, the wiggling has gotten better.


Short list of pros/cons for now. Moving along to the discomfort aspect. I was instructed to switch out my trays once a week for the first 10 weeks. After that I have my next appt and I am assuming the Dr will asses and we will see what the duration of the next set of trays will be.

I was sent home with 4 boxes of trays, all 43 of them. By tray 23 (I think that was what the image on the computer said), the lower gap will be closed completely. When I put on a new tray I can feel the tightness right away. Some teeth have more pressure than others. Not unbearable, just sore. Generally, a few days after the new trays my teeth are a little sore/tender. Biting certain foods is difficult, not impossible.

My speech has been affected and is more noticeable within the first day or two after a new tray. Pronouncing S's and C's is a pain in the ass, or ath. I try and stay away from those words. I am a college student and sometimes have to present in front of a classroom and that has made me a little self-aware. But I am on my journey to self-improvement so I don't really care what anyone else thinks.

I meant to update weeks ago and have been pretty distracted.

BUT here I am!

I cannot believe how quickly this process has been for me. l was under the impression that I would be doing a full 40 trays and then I would do the refinement trays. But apparently I only go to tray 30 and then we begin refinements.

My gap has nearly closed. My teeth touch for the first time since I was a kid! When I had the first experience of them touching I nearly cried. For those with in open bit they understand this emotion but for those who don't...its a BIG deal. I would say they first time I could do this was on tray 13 or so. With each tray it was a little more. It I were to stop treatment right now, I would be 100% satisfied with where they are. I am so happy that I did the research I had prior to the treatment and that I spent enough hours over the years analyzing my teeth that I knew they would somewhat touch. Mind you, I had numerous orthodontists over the years tell me it wasn't worth it to do it, I was too old, etc. A big middle finger to all those whack Drs.

My current orthodontist was also reluctant to start treatment. Again, due to my age and previous orthodontia. However, at my last appointment she was blown away at how well my teeth have shifted and at how much they have began to touch.

I still do the trays for a week at a time. At week/tray 30 I go in and we begin refinements to fine tune everything. If there is nothing to fine tune than my treatment will be completed in October.

My teeth don't wiggle like they initially had. I am brushing my teeth and trays at least 5 times a day. Im not hard on myself if I haven't worn them for the 22/24 hours/day guideline. I try and make up for the difference before I switch to my next tray.

My speech without the trays in has vastly improved when it comes to my annunciation and my 'c' and 's' letters.

I understand that the black triangles that have been created from removing that lower tooth won't really close, or at least I don't think it will. But I am going to explore getting maybe 2-3 veneers on the bottom row to minimize the gaps between the teeth.