Invisalign

[timetofixthoseteeth]

I'm booked in for an Invisalign consultation next month. It's something I've been wanting to do for ages but keep putting off because I just don't know if I can justify the possible cost. I'll feel guilty spending that money on myself.

For anyone who's gone through the Invisalign process would you recommend it? Was it worth the money?

Even years on I'm still thrilled with the results! I wear my retainer at night and also have a fixed one top and bottom.

Mine took between 13-18 months (can't remember exactly). I had a massive set of correction trays part way through though, which set me back quite a bit. It was longer than I'd hoped for but it wasn't the end of the world at all. Do be aware it can happen when you go into it though.

The rotation and overcrowding at the front took a while to fix, and there was quite a lot involved in changing my bite. How long it takes very much depends on what you're trying to fix though so your dentist/orthodontist should be able to tell you more about what to expect. Mine had warned me about the possibility of needing new moulds and trays so I wasn't bothered by it, but if I was expecting a fixed time I'd have been very disappointed.

I am in the process of having my upper palate expanded. The original dentist I saw about Invisalign said he could do it, but advised me to see an actual orthodontist for their opinion as he said Invisalign wouldn't give me the best results that could be achieved with train tracks. So 4 months later, I am widening my palate weekly, and am waiting for that to complete before I have my traditional brace fitted. For the widening, braces, whitening and retainers it is £4100. I was quoted £4000 for Invisalign. I pay by monthly interest free payment for 12 months. Hated my teeth for my whole adult life, I am 40 this year so thought that if I dont do it now i never will! Cannot wait to have the confidence to smile with my teeth on show!

The only thing with Invisalign is the not eating and drinking with them in. It was a MASSIVE pain for a coffee (wine) drinker like me. No idea how it works when you go out for dinner either. My dinners out go on way longer than 2 hrs and that’s literally all the time you are suppised to have them out ALL DAY. Not good if you eat and drink out more than a couple of times a week.
I’m tried Smile Direct for a month but they couldn’t give me a decent end result. They refunded me so going for traditional braces now so I can guzzle coffee all day.

Thanks everyone.

If you end up with correction trays does that change the cost or would it still be the same price?

That's a good point about eating out as well, I hadn't really thought of that. It's something else worth considering.

Any time I think about the money I just feel guilty and feel like there are other things I could spend it on. There's a part of me that thinks I've made it this far in life with my teeth like this, why change now?! But another part of me that thinks I would love to have straight teeth and a lovely smile.

My correction trays were all included in the cost, as were both my removable and my fixed retainers. I also had whitening thrown in too (they were having an offer which meant I got a slightly better deal).

Eating out is a pain. I had a small wash bag with toothbrush and toothpaste in my handbag at all times along with my tray case, so would just have to excuse myself between courses. I did break the rules and occasionally drink with them in rather than risk extended periods of having them out, but was careful about what I was drinking and accepted the risk of my trays and teeth staining. I'd drink something clear like gin and slimline or white wine so as to minimise the staining risk and have a glass of water on the go at the same time to help dilute it and rinse out any residue and sugars. I would then sanitise the tray with retainer cleaning tablets before bed and thoroughly brush my teeth, so while it wasn't as good as not risking it at all, I was able to keep a bit of balance and it didn't seem to hurt.

When it was towards the end of a tray I cared less about staining, but sometimes you need to go back a tray (eg if your new one cracks and the next one doesn't fit) so it's worth keeping them in good condition as much as you can.

I'm on set 7 out of 15 at the moment. It's a bit painful when the new set goes on as they feel so much tighter against the teeth.
My treatment is £3750 and that's all the appointments with dentist as well as all the aligners and retainers for afterwards.
DH has more sets to go through but it's the same price.
We have both massively reduced our caffeine and snacks intakes - can't be bothered to keep taking them out to eat and then have to clean teeth again after eating so I guess that's an upside!!
The biggest downside was the filing of the teeth to make space for them to move around.

Mumof3 can you tell me more about widening your palette. My daughter had braces but her palette is narrow through thumb sucking so her teeth are flared out which she hates. She is 16 and really wants to have braces again. We heard that some Orthodontist shave teeth to make more room but I wasn’t sure you could actually expand your palette? Would love to know more.

One thing to consider is that it is not just cosmetic. It will affect me as I get older if my teeth are not realigned with my bite etc and being able to eat & not break teeth when older. My mum said she wished she'd had this opportunity for treatment when she was my age.

@Glittertwins

One thing to consider is that it is not just cosmetic. It will affect me as I get older if my teeth are not realigned with my bite etc and being able to eat & not break teeth when older. My mum said she wished she'd had this opportunity for treatment when she was my age.

That's a good point, I know I should think of that as well.

Does anyone know if Invisalign can cause any issues with receding gums? I have a problem with my gums above a couple of teeth - the dentist thought from overbrushing. Doesn't seem to be any worse than when she last checked it but I'm not sure whether getting braces could affect it?

Honestly just get fixed braces, OP. The cost is generally lower and you won't have to worry about removing them to eat, drink etc. Invisalign is generally for cosmetic whereas fixed braces combat more complex dental issues.

I have slightly receding gums and it not a problem so far. My aligners are to correct slight overcrowding and the twisting of an incisor that has moved over the years since a I had a removable brace in my teens. DH needs more aligners than me as his are for more twisted but still suitable. Neither of us wanted the full on braces but that was our choice. DS has full on braces.

One way to look at it is if you don’t do it you might end up paying for dental work later on anyway. Overlapping teeth etc may lead to other issues?

Just updating to say that my consultation is tomorrow...I've been really excited at the thought of it until this week when I've seriously been considering cancelling it I don't know if I'm just worried that they'll say Invisalign won't work and I'll be disappointed but I guess I just need to go and see! Just wondering what everyone's consultations were like? Did people get a mould done or was it a 3D scan? How long until you find out whether Invisalign can work for you? Thanks all.

Good luck with it.
Our dentist does the moulds (I was gagging, it was unpleasant) but if I'd had it done where DS has his braces, they'd have done 3d scan instead.

I had a full 3D scan which was a bit uncomfortable but ok. After this you get the clin check which tells you the length of treatment. I'm currently 3 weeks into a 16 week treatment, and it's going ok after a few days getting used to it all. Good luck!

Good luck. ! I got my first trays on Monday this week so I'm just a few days ahead of you.

So far.... the first couple of days were worse, I guess the trays are at their tightest. Some of my teeth are sore - presumably the ones which are moving the most. The trays are tricky to get out (easy enough to get in), seems to involve plenty of drool for me, and occasionally a couple of goes, so I'm not sure how I'm going to handle it in public. Going away next week for a few days so I need to figure it out !

Already I'm on 3 meals a day - just cannot be bothered to take them out, even for a biscuit. I tried sucking a sweet yesterday - 20 mins later the sweet was still there and I was bored !

I've got 14 trays (Invisalign Lite) with 2 week changes, so should be done by Christmas

Thanks all. How long does it take between the scan/mould and actually starting the treatment? Do you pay when the treatment starts or will I need to decide to pay before seeing the Clincheck? I'm really working hard not to talk myself out of going

I have been quoted 2999 for start to finish. This includes 2 - 3 weekly adjustments and whitening! This is for both top and bottom.

As for time between scanning and starting it depends. My dentist was sensible and has booked me in with the hygienist to clean and assess whether a dark spot will require a filling or not before proceeding.

My scan was today, I have my hygienist next Wed and the week after I will potentially have a filling put in. I have only paid the initial appointment and Hygienist so far.

I am going to echo what others said. People always say it's cosmetic but actually, any misalignment affects your bite and therefore the health of your teeth. For example, I have a heavy bite on the right side and barely a bite on the left (I think 2 of my teeth in the entire left side of my mouth actually make contact). So I am doing it for my future ability to eat and not lose teeth rather than to look good. The whitening is just included and an added bonus - I wouldn't have added it had there been additional cost.

Just for the record, I’ve never met anyone who had worse teeth than I had, including on the Invisalign Reddit page, and Invisalign totally fixed mine. I’m so so happy with them

@timetofixthoseteeth

Thanks all. How long does it take between the scan/mould and actually starting the treatment? Do you pay when the treatment starts or will I need to decide to pay before seeing the Clincheck? I'm really working hard not to talk myself out of going

I paid £150 for the clin check which gives you the treatment length and how many buttons you'll need/if you need any shaving. Then fitting was 3-4 weeks later but I took a week or so to decide I wanted to go ahead

It will depend on how your dentist operates.
We both had a hygienist appointment before anything was done, including X-rays and moulds.
We then had the initial consultancy with the procedures fully outlined and the moulds/X-rays done.
There was then another appointment where the dentist showed us the current position of teeth and how they would change during treatment - this was Feb
The actual fitting of the buttons, (bloody painful) filing of teeth and the first of the aligners was late March.
Our surgery had various payment plans.

I’d already seen a dentist and had a good check before i went to the orthodontist. He did the scan (is that the Clincheck?) actually for free to give me an idea of where we’d get to, because he was worried i wouldn’t be happy (he wanted extractions & train tracks to get “perfection”).

Then I decided to go ahead, I paid up front, and we re-did the scan and waited a short while for Invisalign to send back the model. Then I thought about it and asked him to re-do the model using IPR (there wasn’t any before) which got my overjet a bit less as well (that’s why he wanted extractions).

Once I’d finally confirmed, it probably took about 4-5 weeks to get the aligners through and go see him to get the attachments fitted etc.

Fitting the attachments was a bit painful; I had my eyes closed for most of it, but I think they prep your teeth by cleaning them up, then they put the attachment and glue etc. Into a template aligner, then push that onto your teeth. Then they hold that firm and flash it with a light which sets the glue, then pop the template aligner off. Which is a bit sore. Mine had to be done about 3 times top and bottom because the attachments just wouldn’t stick - in fact he gave up with one of them which was really near the bottom of the tooth and just came off every time. Crossing my fingers that tooth tracks properly !

Thanks for all your replies. I went today and got the 3D scan done but the dentist wasn't happy that Invisalign would give me the best results so they've recommended that I go to an orthodontist and see what other options there are. Now just waiting to see when I can get booked in with the orthodontist and see what they say.