POSTED UNDER Invisalign Reviews
Not So Invisible- Invisalign, Worst Decision I Have Ever Made. -San Jose, CA
ORIGINAL POST
A year ago, I began Invisalign thinking that it...
$5,000
A year ago, I began Invisalign thinking that it would be a reasonably comfortable experience. I was told that it would take six months, and that the retainers would be "invisible". Well they sure fooled me.
Invisalign has, by far, been the biggest hit to my self confidence I have ever taken. Not only is it ugly, obvious, and unhygienic, it is excruciatingly painful. And whoop de do, I have just been told that after a year(note, a year, not the estimated six months), that they are adding another year onto my treatment.
The worst part is, they have done everything they can to make my mouth look like the ugliest thing you have ever seen. At my last appointment they added many more sharp attatchments(yay, cause I really wanted to cut up my gums even more) to my front teeth(now I have one on all of my front teeth and I look ridiculous), and they made the request that I wear two sets of elastics now which connect to two sharp, painful hooks on the side of my teeth.
DO NOT GET INVISALIGN. Here's why.
1. They don't tell you about attachments, which are very noticeable, sharp, break off often and have to be replaced, and make the aligners difficult to get on and off. Also, after having some removed I have noticed that they never really get all of them off, so even after treatment you will be left with strangely textured/colored patches on your teeth.
2. The estimated time they give you is rarely accurate. My treatment has been lengthened from 6 months to two years. And yet I haven't even seen very good results thus far.(note: my provider is a "preffered/premier invisalign provider") and has still done a horrible job.
3. They frequently file your teeth down so there are gaps in between your teeth. This is painful, it involves them sticking sharp, sandpaper strips in between your teeth and yanking them back and forth while cutting up your gums. And now most of my teeth look very strange and square because they have straight edges and corners.
4. No matter how well you clean your teeth and aligners, your breath will stink, and your teeth will turn yellow.(trust me, I brush my teeth like 6 times a day because of these things, and clean my aligners in efferent every day)
5. They hurt like bloody hell. Every time you put on a new set of aligners it feels like your teeth are being yanked out. It is impossible to eat the first day or so after you change trays because your teeth become wiggly and painful and sensitive and can't chew.
6. They are incredibly ugly. Not only are the attachments extremely visible(basically it looks like you have huge chunks of plaque stuck to your teeth, or like you have shark fangs jutting out from each tooth), the aligned themselves are extremely shiny and do not look at all like natural teeth. The amount of shine they have draws a lot of attention to your mouth, and it is very obvious that there is plastic on your teeth.
I could go on for days. But I seriously just want to get this crap off of my teeth because at this point, I would rather saw off a limb than have this on my teeth for another year. It makes me so self conscious and it's painful and just all around ridiculous. Skip the crap. It's not worth it. Just get regular braces. I HATE invisalign. End of story.
Invisalign has, by far, been the biggest hit to my self confidence I have ever taken. Not only is it ugly, obvious, and unhygienic, it is excruciatingly painful. And whoop de do, I have just been told that after a year(note, a year, not the estimated six months), that they are adding another year onto my treatment.
The worst part is, they have done everything they can to make my mouth look like the ugliest thing you have ever seen. At my last appointment they added many more sharp attatchments(yay, cause I really wanted to cut up my gums even more) to my front teeth(now I have one on all of my front teeth and I look ridiculous), and they made the request that I wear two sets of elastics now which connect to two sharp, painful hooks on the side of my teeth.
DO NOT GET INVISALIGN. Here's why.
1. They don't tell you about attachments, which are very noticeable, sharp, break off often and have to be replaced, and make the aligners difficult to get on and off. Also, after having some removed I have noticed that they never really get all of them off, so even after treatment you will be left with strangely textured/colored patches on your teeth.
2. The estimated time they give you is rarely accurate. My treatment has been lengthened from 6 months to two years. And yet I haven't even seen very good results thus far.(note: my provider is a "preffered/premier invisalign provider") and has still done a horrible job.
3. They frequently file your teeth down so there are gaps in between your teeth. This is painful, it involves them sticking sharp, sandpaper strips in between your teeth and yanking them back and forth while cutting up your gums. And now most of my teeth look very strange and square because they have straight edges and corners.
4. No matter how well you clean your teeth and aligners, your breath will stink, and your teeth will turn yellow.(trust me, I brush my teeth like 6 times a day because of these things, and clean my aligners in efferent every day)
5. They hurt like bloody hell. Every time you put on a new set of aligners it feels like your teeth are being yanked out. It is impossible to eat the first day or so after you change trays because your teeth become wiggly and painful and sensitive and can't chew.
6. They are incredibly ugly. Not only are the attachments extremely visible(basically it looks like you have huge chunks of plaque stuck to your teeth, or like you have shark fangs jutting out from each tooth), the aligned themselves are extremely shiny and do not look at all like natural teeth. The amount of shine they have draws a lot of attention to your mouth, and it is very obvious that there is plastic on your teeth.
I could go on for days. But I seriously just want to get this crap off of my teeth because at this point, I would rather saw off a limb than have this on my teeth for another year. It makes me so self conscious and it's painful and just all around ridiculous. Skip the crap. It's not worth it. Just get regular braces. I HATE invisalign. End of story.
Replies (3)
Not everyone is a candidate for Invisalign; some cases are just too difficult for it. However, this sounds like a provider issue. Remember this sobering statistic: Half of all doctors, dentists, and orthodontists finished in the bottom half of their class. That'll make you think for awhile. There is some misleading advertising going on with Invisalign also. The girl they show on the brochure IS wearing it, but her teeth are straight, and white, and there are no composites attached to her teeth. There are no composite bumps the plastic is extending over making them look more "invisible" than what real life is like. But, I would NOT go back to these people, but do a little on-line research and read MANY reviews. Maybe Angie's LIst? I don't know if this kind of thing is on there or not. Your provider sounds incompetent. Go elsewhere. Bottom half of the class.
haha I feel ya. I've had braces for 2 yrs and no one around me can tell that there has been any progress. It may be because I hated putting in and taking them out everytime I eat and so my orthodontist suggested I just get braces for another six months and I should be done. I don't know why I just didn't get braces in the first place. Invisalign was a waste of my time I could've had perfect teeth by now .
So first, you should not be left with discolored and rough textured patches on your teeth after they remove attachments. They are easily polished off with pumice.
Second, the Interproximal Reduction (IPR) should not be painful (at least, not very), and shouldn't leave you with cut-up gums.
Next, how much your breath smells depends on a lot of things, including how well you floss (I mention because you didn't mention flossing--I had to floss 2-3 times per day in order to keep the smell at bay.) But another thing that can contribute to bad breath is stress, which Invisalign obviously causes you.
Everything else you mention is, unfortunately, very common, though the degree varies. Some people experience the pain as being more of a pressure (I, like you, couldn't eat for the first day because it was pain.) I've seen a lot of people on here whose treatment times were extended over and over and over again. In my case, it ended up being shorter than the estimate, but two weeks longer including the refinement--so pretty spot-on. I have no idea whether that was luck or skill on my ortho's part, though. Some people have more attachments than others, which makes them more or less noticeable, but they really are just painful, especially in the beginning, and when the trays aren't covering them. That said, I never had to rely on pain relief. So the degree of pain I experienced was obvious less than yours. I got extremely yellow teeth from the treatment, and it continues in my ^%$#%^ retainers. Ugh. A standard tooth whitening bleach product works for that but is expensive!
Anyway, I just wanted to help give some perspective. People might read this and say their experience wasn't like that at all, but I think those considering Invisalign should realize that this is legit--some people truly have an awful experience with Invisalign, and this should be considered before choosing it.
Are you considering using a different treatment modality? I don't even know how severe your case is--perhaps you barely even needed treatment, in which case this experience is even more awful. Do you know what you're going to do at this point?