To spend £4k on this?

[setitup]

For background I’m 28 and on £40k. My bills are quite high (I have my own house) and I don’t have savings. I’d be able to afford this using 0% finance over 24 months. The deposit is £750 and monthly repayments around £130.

I went for an Invisalign consultation, the cost will be £4k and will require a fixed wire retainer (a permanent metal wire on the inside side of both my arches).

The result from Invisalign will be slight, it’s more widening my arches which is why the fixed retainer is needed, but my teeth are already quite straight so it won’t overall be noticeable. I do think I’d like the end result.

Aibu to go for this? I’m not super keen on the fixed wire retainer but it’s also a treatment I’ve wanted to do for ages

Do it. It sounds like it means a lot for you so go for it

Op you can spend your money on whatever you like but I think you actually need to save for six months just to see if you really have the discipline to do it without too much hardship. The reason most people have a rainy day fund is that you need savings in case your boiler dies or your car fails its MOT. Would it really hurt to wait a few months, save a rainy day fund and learn that you are able to stick to budget?

This is great advice. Also if prioritise building savings and having an emergency fund generally than small cosmetic enhancements. If something happened and you need cash you can’t get it back!

how long would you have the fixed wire retainer for ?
months/years/forever

I use 0% credit cards all the time. However, I always have the equivalent in savings.

Try saving for a year and then decide when you have a buffer.

Is there a reason you’re going for Invisalign? Are there better options that make more of a difference?

If you have relatively even teeth I wouldn’t waste your money.

Spend the money on therapy to improve your self esteem.

If it helps you feel more confident, definitely do it. Like some others have said, maybe take 6 months to save first so you can come up with half the amount.

I have fixed wire retainers on back of top and bottom teeth and it’s fine, doesn’t affect speech at all, nobody else would ever know, and I’m not aware of them at all most of the time.

They might suggest you wear a plastic retainer at night a few times a week forever though, as well as the fixed wire, which is annoying. I had braces about 10 years ago as an adult - bottom teeth were very overcrowded & I couldn’t clean them properly, top teeth I just didn’t like the way they were a bit misaligned although it was very slight. When I started they said I’d have to wear a retainer at night for a few years, by the time I finished they said I’d have to wear a retainer at night forever. It’s annoying using a plastic retainer so I gradually gave up on it and now it doesn’t fit at all and my top teeth have moved back to where they used to be, but worse, despite the fixed wire. I’m thinking of doing inisalign to move them back but probably won’t bother.

So before you commit, I’d say make sure you understand what you would have to do about overnight retainers long term and be honest with yourself about whether you would really do it. If not, you could be completely wasting your money.

I echo the others - save for a few months and see if you have the discipline. If you have no savings and high bills you could find yourself in dodgy waters easy.

Is £4k really worth that for a small cosmetic fix? I’m paying the same for my kids Invisalign and it’s going to be a huge change so I figured it was more worth it. Also the retainer thing - you might have this for life.

But OP doesn't have awful teeth. She's said herself that the difference won't even really be noticeable.

OP, I've had Invisalign for quite wonky teeth. It's a faff, and you have to wear a removable retainer at night for ever - I believe this is the case even with a fixed retainer, but I could be wrong there. I wouldn't do it for something barely noticeable.

I naturally have a fairly large gap between my two front teeth (lolly pop stick). As a teen, I never smiled with an open mouth and would cover my mouth with my hand when I laughed. So at 16 I had the gap filled (basically a large filling). I’ve also had my teeth whitened as an adult.

I’m now 42 and the gap has reappeared, albeit not as large. I’ve also damaged some of the composite on one tooth, a vertical chunk chipped out of it (stupidly opening a sweet packet for someone else with my teeth - never again), which has left a slight line down the centre of the tooth between the filling and the underlying natural tooth and the line, despite brushing, flossing etc has a slight stain along its edge that stubbornly remains.

I’m planning to have mine composite redone once I’ve whitened my teeth to a certain level, as whilst the gap does not bother me anywhere near as much as it did when I was younger, I much prefer how my smile looks without it.

Do what makes you happy @setitup. if you can afford it, go for it.

Would definitely try the bonding first - I was expecting to need braces but orthodontist put on temporary bonding and turns out that's enough for me, plus some slight restorative work to even out my bite. Saving me £5.5k. As they're temporary (and at this point free) if I hadn't liked them I could've taken them out and gone for braces; as it is, I'm very excited to have them made permanent in a couple of weeks for £1600 (4 teeth). Even my regular dentist said he wasn't expecting them to look as good as they do and he's been nagging me to get them done for several years!

I would definitely get it done

If it makes you happy and more confident it's well worth it in my book.

Reading some posts on this thread I understand why so many British people have such awful teeth.

How do you define 'awful'? If you have teeth that enable you to perfectly chew your food, are not in danger of getting infected and/or falling out and don't distort the sounds you make when you speak, they're pretty much perfect for their purpose, aren't they?

It might be nice if your features look aesthetically appealing according to modern trends, but it hardly makes them (or you) 'awful' if they just function properly and don't also look beautiful, does it? It's this kind of weird thinking that leads strange people to pay good money to have their arseholes bleached to a slightly different shade on the Dulux chart.

Absolute waste of money if your teeth are already straight imo.

I can guarantee that I have never given anyone's teeth a second thought, and wouldn't do so unless they are literally all black and falling out of their head.

If it will help with your self confidence I say yes. Just be sure you can afford the repayments. Good luck

If it won't look much different why spend £4k on it. Seems a lot for not a lot of difference

Maybe post a teeth pic and we can give honest options about your teeth and if need it

But sounds like you don't really need it if have straight teeth

For just a slight result personally I wouldn’t. If your insecure about your smile, I would rather work on self esteem and positive self talk etc for free than spend 4k on a procedure with minor results

I took that option because I couldn’t be dealing with retainers in and out all day, and you still have clear brackets on your teeth with retainers anyway. Also they were a little cheaper back then.

I had clear brackets, so you could see I had braces as there was a wire across my teeth but it wasn’t in your face like the traditional metal ones. I had to be careful not to eat curry or drink white wine as they stain easily.

cleaning wise no issue, brush normally and use a tipi for in between the gaps. Obviously carry a small mirror for after food in public.

@naran of course teeth are noticed! While people talk, smile - teeth are quite visible! I personally get put off by bad teeth but OP’s issue doesn’t sound like a case of bad teeth (or maybe I’m not picturing it right). I spent around £4K on my Invisalign but that was closing gaps and fixing rotated teeth.

I would spend a little on counselling instead. Most people don't have the perfect smile/teeth/face/body but most can still smile and have photos taken etc.

I suspect you've had a bad experience or two and are playing it out through your smile. I can guarantee you, a bigger smile won't make you happier. It won't help you get a partner.

£4k on a minor adjustment when you have zero savings shows you're disproportionately prioritising this.

@SirAlfredSpatchcock It's a very low bar for teeth that you can gnaw at things and enunciate.

I had extensive orthodontic treatment as a teenager. It was amazingly successful. I appreciate to this day that my parents managed to afford it for me. Over forty years later, dentists comment on the very aesthetic result the orthodontist all those years ago achieved. Sure, I could speak and chew beforehand but my teeth were a combination of Bugs Bunny and random vampire.

I have a visit to the dentist every six months for a check up and a similar visit to a dental hygienist every six month. I get the feeling that this is not the UK way.

I’m so envious. I love the look of a gap between front teeth. Mine are crowded and I detest it. Why do we always want what we haven’t got?

But surely there's a balance to be had?

Nobody is saying that they want fearsome wobbly brown pegs that look like they eat apples through the letterbox; but there's not actually anything wrong with not having Hollywood-style gleaming white gnashers, is there?