37 Years Old, Had Metal Braces Before, Overjet and Mild Crowding, Invisalign Lite - Great Britain

My Invisalign Lite treatment plan officially ended with Aligner #14 and I wasn't 100% happy with the result. My Overjet has greatly improved but some teeth weren't as straight as I had hoped for. Since the Lite treatment plan does not factor in refinements (additional trays) my Orthodontist said she could fit fixed braces across the top row for around 8 weeks or more. I was very pleased to be offered this option - shows the advantage of choosing an Orthodontist over a Cosmetic Dentist!

The metal braces seem to move my teeth very quickly and efficiently. It is also interesting to have a direct comparison between Invisalign and fixed braces, so here is my verdict:

How it looks
The winner is Invisalign. It is not as invisible with buttons on the teeth, in fact people still look what you have got in your mouth but it is way less obvious than fixed braces. Saying that if you wear fixed braces and you are confident it is like making a statement "I care about my teeth" which isn't a bad thing.

Comfort of wearing
Draw. With both appliances teeth need to be brushed after each meal. Food gets more stuck in fixed braces but with Invisalign one has to fiddle around getting braces in and out for each meal, worrying about wear time etc. Both will hurt a little bit each time a new aligner is worn or braces made tighter but no pain no gain ;)

Hygiene
Invisalign. So good to be able to brush teeth properly and floss them after each meal. However, you can clean around fixed braces and take care of your teeth as well.

Effectiveness / Results
Braces. From what I have researched and from my own experience fixed braces will probably be able to give better results especially for moving molars and rotating certain teeth. Braces also allows back molars to touch which is better for the bite relationship of upper and lower teeth.

Which one do I recommend?
Both Invisalign and fixed braces straighten teeth effectively.
For anyone under 25 I would favour fixed braces unless the required alignment is very minor as most likely fixed braces will result in a perfect set of teeth and the length of the treatment plan will probably be more predictable. Further, one needs excellence compliance with Invisalign (wear time 22 hours), not sure if my younger self would have been so good with this!

For older people looking to straighten their teeth like myself Invisalign was a good experience, it has reduced my overjet well and straightened my teeth well although not perfectly. Maybe my case would have needed more aligners for an even better end result.

I am glad that the end of my treatment is in sight and rounding it of with fixed braces may give me the best result I could hope for!

The pictures show my last set of Invisalign aligners, the arrows point to the teeth which I wasn't fully happy with. Plus me wearing metal braces across the top 8 teeth

Hey ho! I am half way through. I can see a lot of improvement already but there is still a lot to achieve and I have only 7 more trays to go. Hope this will be enough time/trays for Invisalign to do its magic.

Apart from the first tray and some discomfort for 1 day after each new tray the treatment is not painful.

It has been great to be able to brush the teeth properly after each meal (I remember avoiding to eat with braces in case things get stuck) and I perfected my flossing technique.

I have had many attachments put on, around 16 or so. Some of them prominently placed on the front teeth. It makes it more difficult to get the trays in and out and obviously close up they are visible but let's say I got used to them and since it is just a few more months I will be fine.

I will update again when my treatment is completed in April.

This website has been very helpful in my decision making process, so here comes my story!

I had braces when I was 18 and felt very self-concious about it so when my teeth shifted due to not wearing a retainer I was not happy.
The thing with the retainer was that it did not fit anymore after a while at the back molars so I didn't wear it for that reason, little did I know that I could have
approached just any Orthodontist to make me a new one! First one tooth was misaligned and from then it went rather quickly - so if you notice your teeth not having enough space I think it is important to act quickly.

In addition to mild crowding I also have an overjet. This should have been corrected back in the fixed-braces-days with wearing additional headgear, who has seen them will know why being 18 I did not want to wear this device.
I hope with Invisalign I can improve the Overjet (I am not far off to be within normal range, which I believe is 3-4mm)

For all those who are still evaluating their options: Shop around! I have had 4 consultations with very different opinions, prices and "bedside-manner".

In the end I have opted for Insisalign for cosmetic reasons. I do believe that braces can achieve more, but at 37 I didn't want train-tracks again (the tooth-coloured ones are no better option, been there).

Gladly I qualify for Invisalign Lite which in the UK gives me 14 Aligners (in the USA and Canada the Express version gives just 10 which is not fair, is it?).
The Orthodontist I have chosen is great, she said "get the clin check done and if you aren't happy with what you can achieve with 14 Aligners you can still opt for something else".
Failing the Invisalign Lite option my choice would have been Damon Braces but luckily the clincheck looks promising to both me and my Orthodontist.

So.... Today is my 4th day with the aligners in and I am thrilled of how invisible they really are. Without attachments that is (I will get many in due course including one on the big front tooth).
It hurts, a lot actually especially after taking them out for eating but reading other peoples blogs makes me hopeful that it gets better as I progress with each aligner.
Taking the aligners in and out is fiddly, much more so than I expected it to be and is a little painful, too.
I miss snacking. I realise now how much I was eating during the day, pretty much every time my two young children are eating and that is a lot of times.
I'm used to having a hot chocolate in the evening or a glass of wine, if I were to keep up with it I don't think I would wear the aligners long enough (22 hours is the aim).
I have started a silly habit: moving my tongue out to feel the smooth edges of the aligner. Note to myself: This is NOT attractive.

Bye for now...