Can’t decide whether to get Invisalign

[invisalignyesorno]

I’m going round in circles on this.

My top teeth are fairly straight although not perfect and the bottom ones are a bit crooked. I’ve been looking into Invisalign and have gone as far as getting the scans and clincheck but now have cold feet.

It should be a relatively short treatment (6 months ish) and I’ve saved the money but I’m just so worried I’m going to feel self conscious! I’d have attachments on some of the front teeth so they’d definitely be visible and I just think it would bother me so much and make me really shy about talking/laughing in front of people!

I’m not worried about the practical side as I’m not really much of a snacker anyway and already only eat meals a couple of times a day but I just can’t get past how strange it must be to have plastic in your mouth all the time.

Was anyone else in the same position and did you go ahead? Are you glad you did? I’m just so undecided.

(I was just at a kids party making small talk for two hours and all I could think was whether I’d have felt really awkward doing that with Invisalign - and also noticing that having slightly crooked teeth is actually normal…)

I wear the retainers every night but it's just part of my routine and feels weird not to now. It's not a big deal. I need to buy some new sets soon though

Yes you’re only noticing them now that you’re thinking about having them yourself.
I notice other people’s teeth all the time now.

I do notice Invisalign on other people’s teeth but I don’t think anything of it or fixate on it… I just think oh she’s doing Invisalign and then my mind moves on!

I am so glad I had Invisalign. They colour match the attachments to your enamel, so if they do that well it will be barely visible

Honestly no one will care if you have them on. You will probably take a few days to adapt to them.

To PP who asked, yes, I wear retainers every night. I spent so much money I don’t want to run any risk of their moving back. You can have a fixed wire behind your teeth instead though.
The teeth of everyone I know who had braces young have moved back to some extent, so I am very happy to wear retainers at night.

You’d be surprised at how little people pay attention to these things. I had fixed braces which have only recently come off. I can count on one hand how many people have noticed that I’m not wearing them anymore.

I’ll go against the grain here. I hated my Invisalign so much and I wish I’d never done it. Everyone’s attachments are different so some are more visible than others. I hated mine and felt like I looked like a haggard witch, it really impacted my mental health and my relationship because I felt so ugly and felt like I thought about nothing other than my aligners and when I would take them out and how I would be able to clean them…they’re painful (some more than others) and can cause a lisp. Some sets can be hard to get out at first.

Some people have the total opposite experience to me - but you wouldn’t actually know till you get them, so it’s a big risk.

My smile was very similar to yours with the overbite, and lower teeth not really visible, but i knew i wasnt happy with them.
A dentist friend advised that your bite gets smaller as you get older so any overcrowding gets worse.
l had invisalign done, top and bottom in sept 2021 through oct 2022. I had attachments on almost every tooth, and changed the trays every 2 weeks.
For the first 4 days, the attachments were incredibly sore on the insides of my mouth when I took the trays out to eat - to the point that I only wanted to drink smoothies as that reduced the amount my teeth rubbed on my cheeks. The sharpness of the attachments reduced or my mouth got used to them.
Extra saliva is produced continually, which is annoying when trying to sleep.
I used an app called Trayminder which was great in keeping track of my progress visibly and also how many mins a day I had the trays out for eating.

It was suggested that I change trays at night, so the extra tightness/uncomfortableness settles down whilst you are asleep. It helped a lot.

Most people didnt notice i had trays in except when I refused to eat or drink anything except water. I left them out in Nov 21 for 8 hrs one day. They felt very tight going in again. When the attachments were removed in oct 22, I had to wear the final trays for 3 mths night and day. Only removing to eat.
I still wear top and bottom retainers at night to sleep. It is just part of my bed time routine. If I dont wear for a night is not issue, but if I leave them out for 2 nights, they do feel tighter going in..
I know several friends whose kids went through the whole braces process at school, when they went off to university, they stopped wearing the trays at night. Their teeth have reverted to almost pre brace postioning.
My teeth were much whiter at the end due to several times a day brushing - which helped my confidence as much as my new smile.
I am very happy I did it and dont see the night time retainers as an issue.
Go for it!

I’m so sorry to hear that 😔 But yes I worry this would be me! I can really see how it could potentially affect my mental health, and that I might start shutting myself away which wouldn’t be very healthy.

I like my smile - I know my top teeth aren’t perfect but I never feel self conscious in photos etc.

It’s only when I’ve seen videos of myself speaking that my teeth have bothered me as the bottom teeth become a bit more visible. But I’m also wondering where this has come from because actually so many people have crooked bottom teeth and it’s not a big deal.

Actually watching Anton du Beke on Strictly right now and realising for the first time that his bottom teeth aren’t straight! Would never have noticed this six months ago!

I was super nervous and put it off for years but I'm so glad I did it now, my teeth were a lot lot worse than yours though, I don't think I would have bothered if I had your teeth!

Eating and drinking was fine I just whipped them out and put them back in, you soon get used to it.

Mine were quite crowded on the bottom and not so bad on the top. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. So many people compliment my teeth and they do look fantastic now.

Your teeth look like the 'after' photos. I really wouldn't bother.
I have a fixed retainer on the back of my teeth. I never wore a removable one.
I had braces rather than invisalign. I don't think I could've hacked the feeling of the plastic in my mouth all day.

I did Invisalign ten years ago and deliberated for ages but love the result and have never regretted it. If you’re worried about the attachments I’m pretty sure you can have them placed on the inside of your teeth rather than the outside. From memory I think it means they are less effective and can lengthen treatment time but I can’t logically think why that would be the case. Anyway I had a few on the outside of my teeth. They match your enamel and really aren’t very noticeable.

Agree, I'd be thrilled to have your teeth. I know you think your bottom ones are crooked but they look fine - symmetrical.

I've been toying with braces to straighten mine but I'd need to lose two good teeth to make enough space. Not sure that's a great trade off at my age.

I have a fixed retainer top and bottom because I kept forgetting to wear the temporary one at night and my teeth moved back (expensive mistake!). Now I wear the temporary one a couple of nights a week if I remember but the wires do most of the hard work. I forget the fixed one is even there.

My 30-something DD is about half way through, the results are remarkable already and she says she has so much more confidence for not feeling self conscious about her teeth. The tray things aren't a problem, we're used to her just slipping them in and out discreetly at mealtimes. Based on her experience, you should go for it!

My DD had Invisalign. With retainers in she looked like she had great teeth and they weren’t at all noticeable unless you really looked closely. She had a couple of attachments but they just weren’t big deal. We were offered the possibility of attachments on the back of the teeth so you could ask about that if you’re really self conscious.

dd wears a retainer every night but a friend has a fixed rear wire that holds her teeth in place. I think just across the front 4 teeth. So that’s an option too. Though that sounds worse to me.

I thought I would take them out for events but I actually felt more self conscious without the braces in! Plus the attachments felt weird on my lips and tongue. I had attachments on the front top teeth and they’re not that noticeable. I had them for 4 months before someone who I saw daily noticed!!

I think you are more aware and are noticing. Really nobody is that interested in anyone else's mouth.

I've just finished my Invisalign treatment. I had them for over two years! Had quite a significant overbite, which has completely resolved. I'm so glad I got it done. I don't think I smiled properly in a photo for 30+ years. I had attachments on almost every tooth, including my two front teeth, though not for the whole time I had the aligners. I honestly don't think anyone noticed, but even if they did, who cares really? I found the first couple of weeks a bit uncomfortable - not pain, just getting used to the feel of them, and I also had a bit of a sore throat and dry cough - but after that I barely noticed them. I've just had a wire retainer fitted at the back of my teeth, upper and lower - can hardly feel it - and I also have a normal set of retainers just to wear at night. The whole treatment cost £4.7k so there's no way I'm going to let them go back to how they were.

I would go for it if your teeth bother you enough, though honestly they look fine and more like an after photo than a before!

Just popped back to this thread - yes I wear retainers at night and have a fixed retainer on my bottom teeth. I have to be careful with oral hygiene around my fixed retainer as the plaque does build up there. I see the hygienist regularly and use inter dental picks. My wire has broken a few times, apples are the worst culprit so I always cut them up now before eating! As a pp have said, my night time retainers feel completely normal now and I give myself one night off a week, but that feels weird to be honest!
They can be hard to remove, I used to wear a disposable glove which helped me grip. And new trays are definitely painful at first!
Also worth mentioning, you have to brush and floss after eating and before putting them back in which can be awkward if you are out somewhere!
Having said all of that, I am pleased I did it as my teeth were very crooked and are now perfectly straight.

I don't think that you need invisilign tbh
Your teeth look great unless there is a bite issue I can't see
You only noticed it on videos of yourself?? Lower teeth aren't normally seen
Why bother with the fuss and expense?

Thank you!

I am starting to wonder if maybe I’ve just been a bit influenced by all the celebrities and tv personalities with their perfect teeth. When I look around at normal people I realise most people actually don’t have completely straight teeth and maybe mine aren’t that bad.

If I could do it without feeling self conscious it might be different but I know myself and I know I will.

I feel like I could get past all of this, although I know it puts some people off. I just can’t get past the idea of wearing them to talk to people day to day. I’m probably making way too big a deal of it and I know others adapt really quickly but I’m just not sure I would.

I don't have invisalign, but a different brand of clear aligners, so very similar. My teeth were pretty crooked to begin with. To be honest they only bothered me at first, I find them noticeable personally, but could just be because they're on my teeth. Noone has ever asked about them, but could just be being polite, I don't know! The people that do know, still constantly offer me food (a sweet/biscuit) and when I decline and say I've got my braces in so too much hassle, they say they forget i have them. I started off with 5 attachments, only 1 at the front, but after having issues I had to change brand and ended up with about another 10! It really doesn't bother me though if they are noticeable or not, because my teeth are so much straighter than they were before. I'm a year in and have 2 more months to go. Then I will get bonded retainers and wear the plastic ones at night forever