Invisalign - anybody done it with big fillings, crowns etc. I have 4 questions! Please help :-)

[BumbleLyon]

My teeth have been my bete noire my whole life and I had a consultation with an orthodontist who recommended Invisalign. Problem is, I'm old and have old teeth. I can't imagine ripping these aligners off my 30 year old fillings! I'd love to hear about any experience with this and have four burning questions:

1. How bad is it taking them off?
2. How badly did it interfere with your life?
3. Did it mess with your dental work?
4. Was it worth it or do you regret it?

I feel like I'm on the cusp of making a huge decision and a huge final investment and I'm dithering!

The dentist just rang me to chase up whether I want to go ahead and this thread has given me the final push so I've just bit the bullet and paid for it, eek.

My fitting appointment is on New Year's Eve which is possibly a mistake! They've said I can do the fitting but then start wearing them the following day if I don't want to deal with the initial discomfort on NYE though.

Let me know what you decide to do op!

Good for you!! I'm seeing my dentist next week and am going to decide then, I'm almost there!

It might be worth having some of your fillings replaced if you've had them a long time.

@HollowTalk I had them looked at and the advice was don't mess around with them if they're fine and holding up well

Mine was the top set and was about 14/16 months. I was very naughty as it progressed - would drink coffee and tea with them in as I was getting to the end of each aligner and then just rinse them out afterwards. I think I paid about £2,500, I live in the north. Go for it!! The attachments are a pain. In that you think everyone will see them, but I was the one pointing them out to others. It's lovely when it's all finished and you can have your teeth whitened!

Ooh, this thread is perfect timing - I started my treatment in July & finished this week. I can honestly say it’s the best thing I have ever done for myself & my only regret is not doing it sooner.

Taking the aligners off took me a little while to get used to and there would sometimes be discomfort trying to get the aligner over the little attachments. Although after a few weeks, I found a way that suited me. I do recall around about week 2 feeling like I had made a massive mistake. And week 8 was particularly painful for some reason.

It didn’t really interfere with my life much at all apart from mealtimes. Sometimes my teeth felt so tender that I felt completely miserable & didn’t enjoy eating my meals. So for example, I sometimes found it difficult to bite into toast & would have to break off little pieces to eat instead. I found the first 3 days of wearing a new aligner were the more uncomfortable (those first days are when your teeth are being moved & they settle after that). So if you are like me & enjoy going out for meals at the weekend, I would try to make sure you get your new aligners on a Monday!

They do feel odd to start with but it’s amazing how quickly you get used to wearing them. I actually got to the point that I didn’t like taking them out at all - they made me feel more secure somehow.

I had IPR a few times to create space for my teeth to move into. This was probably the part I dreaded the most. When I looked in the mirror afterwards, I could honestly barely even notice the changes. I think I had 0.2mm taken off? It was painless.

I now also have a fixed retainer top & bottom. It’s taking a little getting used to but it’s early days.

I had my top & bottom teeth done and the cost was £3700 which included several scale & polishes, and a course of whitening that I done at home.

If anyone is reading this - I say go for it!! My teeth honestly look amazing!! I already feel so much more confident & happy. The difference is actually insane for only having started in July. No more smiling with my mouth closed or covering my mouth with my hand when I laugh 😞 You won’t regret it 😇

So helpful, thank you @Vanillalime! You describe the pros and cons really well. I need to work out if I can bear to go through the discomfort of the process for the end result. I am somebody who is very anxious about my teeth (their stability and health even more than how they look) and I need to weigh up if I can handle going through the pain and regret bit to get to the end. The idea of having trouble taking the trays out honestly makes my stomach lurch!

I'm mid treatment. I've become very slack and eat and drink with them in, just pulling them out to regularly brush my teeth/clean the trays now. I was terrible for taking them out then leaving them out for many hours so this works better for me. I'm very careful not to eat or drink anything that's more than gently warm in case I warp the trays. All this is totally against the dentists advice, but I seem to be getting away with it!