POSTED UNDER Invisalign Reviews REVIEWS
Invisalign - Crowded Teeth - Sydney, AU
ORIGINAL POST
Like most everyone else on this website, I have...
$7,800
Like most everyone else on this website, I have had crooked teeth my whole life and considered doing invisalign to fix this issue once and for all. Unlike some on this website, I never had braces as a youth due to it being an unaffordable option for my parents to consider.
Considering how helpful this website was in informing my decision I felt it wise to give back, and hence here is my story.
It started with a free consult with a technician where I had my jaw and teeth xrayed and photos taken of all my teeth and my face. The technician liaised with the orthodontist regarding my results and I was informed that I am a candidate for invisalign. I had good oral hygiene (nice to hear!) and a good bite (which surprised me) with no issues except the obvious - overcrowding of both my upper and lower teeth. I signed up for the full deal at that consult and booked in for a full scan of my teeth to create the model. I was also told of a vibrating device you hold on your teeth for 20 mins a day that allows you to change your aligners weekly (thus halving your treatment time) which I am pretty interested in but will set me back another $1250!
At my next appointment I had a stick-like device placed on each of my teeth one by one over a period of 35 mins which resulted in a full 3D model of my teeth. Then I was told to wait for a phone call in 4-6 weeks to get my aligners fitted. All the staff I have dealt with have been very pleasant and informative. They seemed confident and relaxed about the procedure and the likely outcomes. I had to pay $1900 up-front and the rest on an interest free payment plan that I can pay off over 2 years.
Today I had my first aligner fitted, and met my orthodontist face to face for the first time. He went through my Clincheck and described the plan - 26 aligners all up (reportedly down from 40 that the invisalign people originally proposed) however, he seemed pretty sure that I would end up being scanned again at the end and fitted for refinement (so really, I am probably looking at more than 26).
There are no attachments until Aligner 3 so they tended to slip on and off okay. They are tight fitting but not painful - they feel very full in my mouth but I imagine I will get used to that feeling over time. The hardest thing for me to get used to at the moment is an overwhelming urge to bite hard on them and I find myself clenching my jaw tight a lot. Oh and sucking air through the top retainer. Hopefully these strange habits won't hang around!
Considering how helpful this website was in informing my decision I felt it wise to give back, and hence here is my story.
It started with a free consult with a technician where I had my jaw and teeth xrayed and photos taken of all my teeth and my face. The technician liaised with the orthodontist regarding my results and I was informed that I am a candidate for invisalign. I had good oral hygiene (nice to hear!) and a good bite (which surprised me) with no issues except the obvious - overcrowding of both my upper and lower teeth. I signed up for the full deal at that consult and booked in for a full scan of my teeth to create the model. I was also told of a vibrating device you hold on your teeth for 20 mins a day that allows you to change your aligners weekly (thus halving your treatment time) which I am pretty interested in but will set me back another $1250!
At my next appointment I had a stick-like device placed on each of my teeth one by one over a period of 35 mins which resulted in a full 3D model of my teeth. Then I was told to wait for a phone call in 4-6 weeks to get my aligners fitted. All the staff I have dealt with have been very pleasant and informative. They seemed confident and relaxed about the procedure and the likely outcomes. I had to pay $1900 up-front and the rest on an interest free payment plan that I can pay off over 2 years.
Today I had my first aligner fitted, and met my orthodontist face to face for the first time. He went through my Clincheck and described the plan - 26 aligners all up (reportedly down from 40 that the invisalign people originally proposed) however, he seemed pretty sure that I would end up being scanned again at the end and fitted for refinement (so really, I am probably looking at more than 26).
There are no attachments until Aligner 3 so they tended to slip on and off okay. They are tight fitting but not painful - they feel very full in my mouth but I imagine I will get used to that feeling over time. The hardest thing for me to get used to at the moment is an overwhelming urge to bite hard on them and I find myself clenching my jaw tight a lot. Oh and sucking air through the top retainer. Hopefully these strange habits won't hang around!
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Replies (5)
July 14, 2013
Thank you for providing us with your informative report. I will be looking for continued updates. We know a ton but continue to learn with each new patient and from their viewpoints. Much appreciated! Good Luck!
UPDATED FROM invisigrill
1 month post
Attachments-A-Go
So I am now 4 weeks into Invisalign and got the attachments put on today. I have a huge amount of attachments unfortunately and I have ALREADY snapped the one off my left canine (which was not a huge surprise given how tight it fits)...
I have 23 aligners all up for my top teeth, and 26 for my bottom but the Ortho tends to remain skeptical that I will have success without further refinements. We shall see. Funnily, the ortho only gives you the aligners that you need between appointments rather than the whole lot to keep at home. They said this is because they had probs with people changing aligners too quickly, but I suspect it also ensures that people will come in for their 6 weekly check ups! Mostly it is a bit tough as I don't have that final aligner available to me to look at every now and again so I can recommit to my target!
Today I paid $1250 for the Acceledent which will halve my treatment time. Just twenty minutes a day and I can change the aligners weekly instead of fortnightly. At this point, the fact I can be done in January 2014 is the only thing keeping me going! Used the acceledent just now and it was too easy, no pain, no worries.
The process still feels very long to me and I am very cautious that this may not be a success, but I am just trying not to get ahead of myself and knock each aligner over one by one!
The eating/drinking thing can be a bit of a pain but it is not that difficult to manage. I just like to only eat out where there is a bathroom so I can sort my teeth out. Eating has certainly become a timed event, and I am working hard to keep the aligners on 22 hours per day, but must admit probably hit 21 per day on weekends!
On a side note, i have played a lot of sport with the aligners on and they are very good, i have even been hit in the face with a soccer ball and the aligner was fine!
I shall post another photo and some more updates in a month or so.
I have 23 aligners all up for my top teeth, and 26 for my bottom but the Ortho tends to remain skeptical that I will have success without further refinements. We shall see. Funnily, the ortho only gives you the aligners that you need between appointments rather than the whole lot to keep at home. They said this is because they had probs with people changing aligners too quickly, but I suspect it also ensures that people will come in for their 6 weekly check ups! Mostly it is a bit tough as I don't have that final aligner available to me to look at every now and again so I can recommit to my target!
Today I paid $1250 for the Acceledent which will halve my treatment time. Just twenty minutes a day and I can change the aligners weekly instead of fortnightly. At this point, the fact I can be done in January 2014 is the only thing keeping me going! Used the acceledent just now and it was too easy, no pain, no worries.
The process still feels very long to me and I am very cautious that this may not be a success, but I am just trying not to get ahead of myself and knock each aligner over one by one!
The eating/drinking thing can be a bit of a pain but it is not that difficult to manage. I just like to only eat out where there is a bathroom so I can sort my teeth out. Eating has certainly become a timed event, and I am working hard to keep the aligners on 22 hours per day, but must admit probably hit 21 per day on weekends!
On a side note, i have played a lot of sport with the aligners on and they are very good, i have even been hit in the face with a soccer ball and the aligner was fine!
I shall post another photo and some more updates in a month or so.
Replies (1)
August 12, 2013
Sorry to hear the attachments are taking more getting used to. I bet you will be use to them in no time as well (I hope at least!).
Good for you for being so diligent about your 22 hours of wear - keep it up!!
UPDATED FROM invisigrill
3 months post
Aligned 10!
So I change to Aligner 11 in a few days and I am nearing the halfway point. There are now noticeable gaps in between my teeth which is no big issue except food gets stuck in there. The cleaning and maintaining of the aligners is now second nature and I don't even think about them anymore. Minimal pain from rubbing now but do get tooth aching pain for the two days post aligner change. But it is very manageable and doesn't really effect me.
I have an ortho review booked in a few weeks to get up to aligner 19 and then I am booked for IPL in mid December 2013. The IPL is the last big step and I am a bit worried about it, I need all my front teeth, top and bottom, shaved which is pretty full on! But after that, I only have a few more aligners and finish up the process in January.
The acceledent has been the best money I have ever spent, changing the aligners weekly makes this whole thing fly by, it also means you don't have to keep the aligners around so long (they get a bit gross no matter how much cleaning you do). "Shaking" my teeth for 20mins a day has been okay, only have missed one day since I started (whoops). But must admit, would be lucky to be averaging 21 hours per day in the aligners... The ortho said at my last review that my teeth are moving perfectly and are fitting the aligners well, so I guess I am getting away with a wearing them a bit less then the recommended 22 hours per day.
I will continue to update with every ortho review, my top front. Teeth should be straight by my next update - crazy!
I have an ortho review booked in a few weeks to get up to aligner 19 and then I am booked for IPL in mid December 2013. The IPL is the last big step and I am a bit worried about it, I need all my front teeth, top and bottom, shaved which is pretty full on! But after that, I only have a few more aligners and finish up the process in January.
The acceledent has been the best money I have ever spent, changing the aligners weekly makes this whole thing fly by, it also means you don't have to keep the aligners around so long (they get a bit gross no matter how much cleaning you do). "Shaking" my teeth for 20mins a day has been okay, only have missed one day since I started (whoops). But must admit, would be lucky to be averaging 21 hours per day in the aligners... The ortho said at my last review that my teeth are moving perfectly and are fitting the aligners well, so I guess I am getting away with a wearing them a bit less then the recommended 22 hours per day.
I will continue to update with every ortho review, my top front. Teeth should be straight by my next update - crazy!
I'm so glad that you found other people's reviews helpful, and that you decided to do one to help others. :)
Bummer about the clenching. I know that can make your jaw pretty achy. Please let us know if that eases up or not.
Glad to hear its easing up! As you probably know from reading the other review, most people say the first couple of weeks are the toughest, then you just kind of adjust. Hopefully this will be one of those things that goes away completely after you have adjusted.
How are you doing with eating?