Dithering over aligners or a fixed brace -advise ms

[catpigeon]

So I've had the preliminary appointment and I thought I was going for Angel aligners but now I'm just thinking of it shall I just go for a fixed metal brace and then no taking them in and out and all that business.
Not really bothered by the look, may consider getting the white ones and just having a few months of curry!.
Was anybody else in the same situation and where you're happy with what you chose. My teeth are mildly crowded but not really severe. The orthodontist said nine months with the aligners, but I'm aware that's pretty vague

Bump

I had fixed as orthodontist said that would give the best result. It was fine, can’t say I loved the experience but the results were worth it.

Hi, I chose fixed braces as my orthodontist said I would get better results - has yours expressed an opinion on that? I am 3 months in and my teeth look perfect now so I'm really pleased with how that's going.. but they do still hurt my mouth and there is no getting away from how they look. I have Damon system Ultima, which are metal and quite small but still feel big in my mouth. My orthodontist doesn't use the white brackets as he said they break easily, discolour and are bulkier. So I do feel self conscious even though I'm 48 and shouldn't care - and I'm always aware of them.. but they are doing a great job! I brush after eating and use TeePee brushes so quite easy to keep clean. If I chose again I would seriously consider aligners as they probably don't hurt as much!

Yes, I think he thought aligners were fine for me, but now I'm wondering if I'm gonna find them just so fucking annoying
he presented four different options quoted for all four. I think I'll phone tomorrow and ask them again. It's a hell of a lot of money not to get right

(Thanks both btw)

I had Invisalign aligners at the same time my teen ds had fixed braces. I think with hindsight his were less hassle than mine tbh.

You have to keep taking the aligners out and in every time you want to eat or drink, clean them, not lose them. Ds didn't have to do any of that.
But I could eat everything, so long as I took my aligners out and cleaned. Ds couldn't eat sticky, sugary food or drink.
His treatment was slightly shorter than mine but my teeth were more squint than his to start with so I don't knownif that's a fair comparison.

If I was choosing again I'd just go for fixed train tracks I think. I don't know about the cost though, ds's were NHS. I don't know how much you would pay for them as an adult.

they do still hurt my mouth and there is no getting away from how they look. I have Damon system Ultima, which are metal and quite small but still feel big in my mouth

Just for comparison, the aligners hurt my mouth every time I changed them. Changed them roughly every 2 weeks. Used loads of dental wax on the edges. They cover every part of your teeth so they felt big in my mouth. But I got used to it. I never forgot I was wearing them though.

Ds said his braces hurt after they had been tightened each time. So a bit like me changing to the next set of aligners.

And I had lots of lumpy bits stuck to my teeth so they moved properly. Has your dentist mentioned them? Attachments I think they were called. So they were quite visible too.

I feel like with metal braces people look and think "oh that person is wearing braces" then move on. I feel people stared a bit more at me because they didn't quite know what was going on with my teeth.

Oh thank you, Random- that's really helpful and now I'm even more of a quandary!

Yes need the "buttons"
on mine

Oh and also ds had more dentist appointments than me. He had to go every couple of weeks to get his tightened. And sometimes his treatment took longer because he couldn't get an appointment at a time that suited him so he went an extra week before getting them tightened. I only needed an appointment to check on progress every 8 weeks or so

Why not ask the orthodontist what in their expert opinion would give you the best results? I've done that with various medical things for years and I've not felt let down by it so far.

Yes, I don't think I pushed him enough on that but when I thought aligliners would enable me to eat turmeric he laughed and said yes that would be right.

I had a fixed white brace and the whole thing took six and a half months. While I was in it - it felt like a massive pain in the mouth (!). I have had it off for a week now and it seems like it was very fast for what I got - which are wonderful teeth.

Whatever way you do, it requires time for appointments and also will get in the way of eating and is painful to uncomfortable at times - like anything there is a cost to it that isn’t just financial.

Hi, would you mind sharing your link for the company for the aligners, please? I am considering them over braces!

This is incredibly fast. Who did you use, please?

I’ve been in fixed ceramic braces for nearly a year. I’ve got a few things to sort out and it was forecast 2.5 years with either aligners or braces. Originally I was going to go with aligners but after following a group on FB of people who had them, they sounded a massive faff with constantly taking in and out, as well as needing the attachments and being more expensive.

I changed my mind to ceramic braces and been really happy with these. My orthodontist can make whatever tweaks he needs to according to progress each time. I forget about them most of the time and barely anyone even notices I have them. I have adjustments every 6-8 weeks. The first few times there wasn’t much pain. The last time was painful for about a week as he added thicker wire and attachments for adding elastic bands next time. Tore up my cheeks a bit so had to use a ton of wax and let my mouth adjust.

The ceramic hasn’t stained so far.

If I could go back and restart, I would stick with this option. Definitely think for me I made the right choice.

Good luck!

I just went to my orthodontist

I had aligners. My dentist told me I had to wear them for 22 hours a day for them to work so there was no constantly taking them in and out. They came out 3 times a day for eating and that was it so I had a side bonus of losing weight 😆 I had 21 trays and it took me 6 months for my teeth to align. I still wear a retainer at night a few times a week just to ensure they won't move again but that's because I have a lot of bone loss. If your gums/bone is fine you probably wouldn't need to do that

Thank you. Lol at weight - could do with a few kg
what if you went out and drank say, ginand tonic or white wine? Could you use a straw and then clean them when you got back in? Also, did they hurt?

You cannot eat turmeric with aligners, the colour will remain in your mouth even after you brush your teeth (been there, done that). I had 32 sets of aligners initially, changed every 2 weeks. I had a comprehensive programme so after that had another 18 sets changed every ten days for final refinement and I now have fixed metal retainers which are invisible.

Oh Christ @thornburythats forever

I just didn't tbh - you could drink white wine I think but I just didn't drink anything other than water with them in

they only hurt gir about 12 hours I changed them every 2 weeks and tbh after the first few trays I learned tu change to the next before bed so most of the pain hours I was sleeping

Yes, it felt like it! I was literally counting the days by the end, but it was worth it (2 years in total)