A question about braces

[mycatlikestwiglets]

I asked my dentist today about what could be done for my slightly overcrowded bottom teeth - basically four teeth at the front where two are being pushed forward and the others slightly behind - and she said I could get it sorted by wearing a brace for 6 months. Great I thought, until she quoted me £2700 for NHS style metal train tracks, or £3,500 for a ceramic version (so white, rather than metal). She doesn't do Invisalign and suggested that would take more like 18 months with less successful results .

I just wondered whether anyone else has had similar straightening done and whether the cost was comparable. This sounded pretty pricey to me, but having never needed dental treatment before I'm not at all clued up on how much things typically cost.

[emsyj]

I've got train tracks top and bottom at the moment. My ortho doesn't do ceramic on the bottom as it causes wear to the top teeth - don't know the details though. He said I could have Invisalign but treatment would take longer. I had very bad overcrowding on the bottom (one tooth completely pushed back and 'hidden' behind other teeth) which is almost sorted - have had my braces for 11 months and should get them off in October. I also have overcrowding on top which wasn't as bad. It has cost me 3.5k altogether. Invisalign would have cost about 700 quid more and taken longer - with the possibility of needing a train track for a 'short' (dunno how short) time at the end to get the right result.

[MaeMobley]

Emsyj has it been painful? and how frequent are your dentist visits?

[emsyj]

It was painful when they were first fitted for about 4 or 5 days - I've had one or two visits when it's been painful afterwards too (last one was when I had brackets put on my very back teeth and they dug into my cheeks) - but it got better. I'd say it's worth it overall. Visits are anything from 6 week to 10 week intervals.

[Crutchlow35]

Google Inman aligner. Mine cost £1200 all in and took 16 weeks.

[CaptainSparklePants]

I have ceramic train tracks, top and bottom, and the price was comparable to the price quoted to you.

My orthodontist offers payment plans as £3,500 is a lot in one go, so maybe look into that.

Tbh I don't know much about invisalign, but I think they are for slightly wonky teeth, rather than really out of line teeth. Plus the train tracks are a bit painful but I saw results fast. Even within the first 6-8 weeks my teeth were noticably straighter.

In terms of the ceramic vs metal I can say that a lot of people didn't think I had train tracks as the ceramic is really quite invisible against your teeth.

I trusted my orthodontist 100% when he said which brace he thought was best. IMO you'll have your teeth for a long time so it's worth paying for the best.

Hope this helps a bit, and also, getting braces is one of the best decisions I've made. Can't wait for them to come off and I'll have a beautiful smile!!

[Beansprout30]

Just came on to ask the same question! My bottim teeth are also over crowded and im having trouble cleaning them properly. Such a lot of money to pay!

[emsyj]

I paid £1k up front and then I am paying £100 a month for 2 years. It was worth it to me as you only get one set of teeth and they make a huge difference to how you look. I had problems cleaning my lower teeth and so it was also an oral health issue. If you lose one tooth it can cause others to move and then more problems, gum recession etc - so it is important, not just cosmetic.

[WitchWay]

I'm seeing an orthodontist - just about to go back & discuss the definitive plan for treatment. I have very wonky bottom teeth & a protuberant upper incisor. I have never liked the way they look, they are getting worse & it is difficult to keep them clean. He reckons 18/12-2 years & I'll need retainers after that. £2700 for train tracks & £3500 for ceramic. I'll probably have the train tracks.

[mycatlikestwiglets]

Interesting thanks everyone. Sounds like £3,500 is on the high side for just the bottom teeth (my top ones are perfect thankfully). I've looked at the Invisalign site and my bottom teeth are basically the same as the "before" picture for Davide in the patient success stories so I'm pretty sure I could have those but the speed of more traditional braces is definitely an attraction if the ceramics are that unnoticeable. I might see if I can get another quote elsewhere to compare.

Looking at the Inman aligner too but it looks too good to be true!

[mycatlikestwiglets]

Quick update: I looked at the Inman Aligner website a bit more and discovered that a very popular local dentist is certified for fitting them so I'm booked in for a consultation tomorrow!

[Crutchlow35]

Good luck and let us know how you get on. My aligner was the best thing I ever did.

[Beansprout30]

How did you get on mycat?

[mycatlikestwiglets]

It was a bit of a quick consultation as the dentist was running quite late so DD was overtired and cranky but basically he thinks the Inman aligner would work for me but will need to take some photos and do a bit more checking first. He quoted me £1,800 including retainers, but didn't give a more precise time estimate for treatment than the standard 6-18 weeks quoted on their website. This particular dentist isn't an orthodontist and said the Inman is usually used for people who want veneers as it means less filing and messing about with healthy teeth to get a good base. It would work by pulling back in the two teeth I have which are slightly pushed forward, in conjunction with a very small amount of filing of those teeth to help them fit when back in line.

I'm on the fence as to what to do atm, mainly because the idea of having to wear a retainer for evermore (which I think would be needed either way) really puts me off. I haven't needed dental treatment before other than a small cap after knocking half a tooth out and that still feels foreign to me 7 years on so I can't really imagine getting used to having a retainer. I think I might get my teeth whitened for now and see how that looks before making a final decision as to whether to do anything about the slight wonkiness. DH reckons it's hardly noticeable so not worth the money but I just don't know!

[Crutchlow35]

My retainer is just a small piece of metal about the length and width of a needle along the back of my front 4 teeth. I barely know it is there.

I don't want veneers, I just wanted my front teeth straight and that is what the inman did for me. The filing sounds awful but it just shaves the sides of your teeth down a bit so they all slot in.

[hellymelly]

I had train tracks top and bottom and it was £5,000. I had the ceramic ones but as the wires are silver either way, i think that bog standard ones look better. The ceramic looked like I had really strange teeth until close up. I am happy-ish with the results. My top teeth are still not quite as straight as i would like, and my bottom ones are a mess I think- I had big gaps, the ortho thought they would be hard to close, so suggested widening them and having mini implants in the gaps to fill them completely, but I didn't have enough bone for the implants once the gaps had been made so i have had sticky bridges instead. So now i have two fake teeth that sometimes break, where I used to have one small and one large gap. I wish i had settled for smaller gaps, and sometimes mull over having it all reversed, so think long and hard about what you do if it involves any change to your natural teeth.

[NeatFreak]

I got an inman aligner in February and my teeth are lovely and straight now. My top four were very crooked with one in particular that protruded. They've all moved back already and I've been wearing the retainer at night for around a month but will replace this with a retainer wire in three months. It cost just over £1000 and was worth every penny; fwiw I don't have veneers etc and my teeth were/ are otherwise perfectly healthy

[mycatlikestwiglets]

Thanks all, I'll think further about the aligner. It sounds like they charge pretty heftily here in relation to that too, I love where I live but prices just seem to be hiked for anyone with this postcode!

Crutchlow and NeatFreak, did you get any pain when you started wearing the aligner? Am wondering whether it takes a lot of getting used to when you first get it and whether it gives you mouth ulcers etc like traditional braces apparently do.

[Booboostoo]

I'd get another opinion on Invisalign. My DP and I have just got our first set. He has overcrowded teeth and has an 8 month treatment costing 3k euros and I have a quite severe case of my upper teeth being too far back and pushing my lower jaw back so a 2 year treatment at a cost of 5k euros. My case is supposed to be very severe though. Both DM and DB had 8 month treatments for similar but less severe problems to mine and are very happy with the results.

[Runfoxyrunnn]

I had a ceramic brace with a white wire just on my top teeth for 8 months (it probably would have been more like 6/7 but for Christmas and me being away). It cost me 3,500 in central London. I think the white looks a lot better (ie. a lot less noticeable in the first place and much less 'industrial' on close inspection) than the silver and I was very pleased to find out that you couldn't see my white brace at all in photos. I was actually disappointed when I got my brace off because nobody noticed! But then was really pleased when I discovered that it was because people had hardly noticed my brace when it was on.

The results are brilliant (corrected overlapping front teeth) and I am so, so glad I did it. However, I must add a disclaimer that I love the dentist, love dental work and nice teeth are very very important to me. I now wear an expensive custom fit mouthguard for all extreme activities (snowboarding, cycling, running, walking, standing still...)

As per Crutch, my retainer is a very thin metal wire along my 4 top front teeth - not noticeable at all. I also wear a plastic retainer at night but my very patient dentist has explained to me several times that I don't actually need to wear it every night - 2 or 3 a week would be fine, just to ensure that my teeth are not sneakily returning to their previous dilapidated state as I sleep. It is my choice not to listen to her and to wear it every night - my mouth, my rules

PS. Invisalign is designed to move teeth backwards and forwards (eg, if they stick out) but not for moving them from side to side (eg, if they're overlapping), hence the extended treatment time and lesser quality results if your dental problems are more complex than just a straightforward tooth pointing in the wrong direction.

Whatever you do, I hope it works for you and that you enjoy the results as much as I have!

[Mumraathenoisylion]

Haven't time to rtft but I'm having my first set of Invisalign a week on Tuesday. I have been told I will be wearing them for 54 weeks, a new set every 2 weeks. The cost is £3500 and this is for top and bottom, overcrowded, wonky teeth (delightful I know). Some of the teeth are being filed down and they make the teeth turn by using some sort of tooth coloured button attached to the really wonky ones.

[Booboostoo]

runfoxyrun I am not sure that is entirely accurate about Invisalign. Both DM and DP have crooked, overlapping teeth and short treatments, 8 months. DM's is finished and very successful. I have teeth that need moving forward and a long treatment, 24months. The Invisalign users' forum has loads of before and after photos of different stories and a lot of diaries of treatments for actual patients (not everyone liked them or felt able to continue with the treatment).

[NeatFreak]

My inman aligner doesn't hurt or give ulcers etc. it aches a bit when I first put it in but that soon eases off (hours rather than days!) I did mine in two phases- the first merely enlarged my Arch to give space to move the teeth around, which the second aligner achieved. I had to have the sides of my teeth filed a little to create space but this didn't hurt at all. I really can't praise it enough

[Crutchlow35]

My Inman didn't hurt. I was a bit uncomfy for 3-4 days but that was it.

[mycatlikestwiglets]

Hmm more interesting replies, thanks all.

As I said above, I'm pretty sure I could have Invisalign as my bottom teeth are almost identical to one of the case studies on their website, not massively crooked or complex in any way. I am tempted by the shorter treatment time of the Inman aligner though (and I'm sure it's cheaper). I might keep looking to see if there's a local dentist who does more than one option so I can get a more balanced view of what's likely to be best for me.

[CadiM]

I had braces through a dentist and regret not seeing an orthodontist. I had the Inman aligner on my bottom teeth and clears on the top. The aligner worked well eventually (took 4 months, not the estimated 6 weeks) but I will have to see an orthodontist to sort out the bite problems it has left me with. It turned out to be a false economy, sadly.