Invisalign Lite

[march040324]

Anyone here had Invisalign Lite (or Comprehensive) and can share some experiences and info/price etc?

I've previously had fixed braces but my teeth have moved a bit even with retainer wear and I was never completely happy with the results in the first place. Went back to my orthodontist and been quoted £2900 for Invisalign Lite, as I don't need that much work done. He said 6-8 months will fix it.

Price includes retainers at the end but no whitening or bonding.

I'm used to wearing my retainers at night anyway so I'm okay with the feel of them. Just worried about when I'm out and about and need to eat and drink, taking them out etc. And if I'll develop a lisp whilst speaking at work.

Any experiences welcome, both good and bad. Or any other considerations I need to think about before going for it?

I’m interested in your replies.
When I mentioned it to my dentist he said whitening was included, but I don’t want it.

I have Invisalign at the moment. Mine is comprehensive. I was initially told treatment would take 9 months but it will be 20 months by the time I'm finished! I had 29 initial trays at 10 days each and then 22 refinement trays ( I'm on 17 of 22 atm).

I didn't get a lisp, in fact I don't think my speech was affected at all. If I'm eating out I just pop to the bathroom beforehand and take them out. I keep a travel toothbrush and toothpaste in my handbag and brush the aligners and my teeth after I've finished eating.

I've just finished mine. My dentist called it 'Lite' and it said that on my invoice, but the packs my aligners came in said Comprehensive. My treatment took 10 months on weekly changes, 3 retainers at the end and unlimited adjustments if needed during the course. No whitening or bonding included (but I didn't need it anyway).

Total cost was £3,400 and I'm really happy with the result. It did all feel a big faff to go through and it took a while to get used to the aligners, eating, cleaning, attachments, etc but it feels worth it.

Was £3400 the initial quoted price or did that change hence why the packs said Comprehensive?

Ah I totally forgot about those attachments as well. Is that a new thing as I don't recall anyone having them back when Invisalign first started. I'm hoping I won't need too many on my teeth!

I do think having whitening is a great perk as you get a mould made specifically for your teeth. And although it's expensive for the mould, the top-up gels aren't that expensive and you can use the tray for life! So I'll probably just pay for that separately at the end.

Yeah I've heard that they can reassess along the way. My ortho said he would have me in every 6-8 weeks for a check up, but hopefully all should be fairly straightforward as I don't really have that much to correct.

I've had Lite. Initial treatment took 6 months and then another 3 to fine-tune. Out of the last three, one whole month was just waiting for the remaining aligners to arrive. Very happy with the result, I've had minor crowding on the lower teeth and a slight turn on the upper canines, which I felt have started to progress and get worse with age. Now all is straight and even!
The lisp goes away in a couple of days, and taking them out is not a problem at all. Ideally, you would want to brush your teeth after meals immediately before putting them back, but when out and about I would just swish with water and resort to chewing gum - and then put them back.

Do you have to take them out and brush for tea/coffee too?

I didn't get a lisp with Invisalign. Taking them out to eat or drink anything that isn't water is a faff. You get used to it, but it's a pain. Plus you have to wear the retainer full time for about 6 months after the treatment, so that's another 6 months of taking it out to eat etc on top of the main treatment period.

Does your dentist expect these results to be more permanent? I mean, if your teeth moved already with your current retainer, will you end up spending thousands and your teeth will move back again anyway?

Yep, for anything that isn't water.

Tea/coffee can stain the trays so you'd end up with brown aligners. And anything with sugar can cause cavities as it gets trapped between your teeth and the tray and doesn't get washed away by saliva.

I long for the time when everyone didn't have perfectly white, straight, bonded teeth.

My brother has had bonding and I genuine miss his smile before. It was part of him.

But that's just my opinion, and means nothing!

I’m very tempted, but not sure I could be doing with the taking out and brushing. Plus mine are so wonky that I think it would take a long time, plus cost a lot.

I don't have bonding or whitening, but my wonky teeth were causing issues. They couldn't be properly cleaned because of the way they overlapped.

One of the best things I’ve done. I had fixed braces as a teenager but my teeth moved. Think mine took 9-12 months and yes it’s a faff taking them out to ear and brushing your teeth straight away afterwards but definitely worth it.

I cut down on snacking so really it’s only 3 times a day to take them out to eat and if I was at work I’d just nip to the bathroom to take them out.

I was bad in that I’d drink tea/coffee whilst wearing them…they did discolour a bit but you’re changing them every couple of weeks so it was never bad enough to notice it. And I’d give them a good brush when taking them out to eat.

I don't have bonding or whitening, but my wonky teeth were causing issues. They couldn't be properly cleaned because of the way they overlapped.

I appreciate that

You also don’t have to brush every time - I carry a travel sized bottle of mouthwash and that’s fine for when you’re putting them back in when you’re out and about

My teeth are wonky and my bite is wonky too – I don't know if it'll work for me, But this morning I bit (pardon the pun) the bullet and made an appointment for next week to see what my dentist can do for me. They've bothered me for ages so it's time to look into it!

When you say another 3 to fine-tune, was it at the dentist's recommendation or was it things that you weren't happy with?

Haha I totally get it. My orthodontist said that my teeth are great as they are and that it's not majorly noticeable, but I notice it! And it's definitely been exacerbated by this new found quest for perfection that gets shoved in your face by the media etc. I did stop myself from going down the veneer/bonding route though, I just want to make natural changes.

Very good question! I've had my retainers for years and my previous orthodontist never mentioned anything about having to get new ones. I have since found out that you're actually meant to get new ones every year or so because plastic can expand and deform. I also have Essix retainers which don't sit as tightly as Vivera retainers too.

So fingers crossed if I get Vivera retainers at the end of Invisalign, it'll retain them a lot better. And I'll get new ones every year.

Also, a huge mistake I made was doing whitening treatment as soon as my braces came off. So time spent wearing my whitening trays (which are moulded to my teeth but are flexible and don't sit flush to the teeth) meant that I didn't wear my retainer as much. And my retainers broke a few times, so each time a new one was made, my teeth had already shifted a bit. I'm sure most of the shifting happened early on, but there's definitely been some movement since then too.

So if anyone reads this, learn from my mistakes haha!

@march040324 that was on ortho's recommendation, he explained it on the scanned model of my teeth. I was happy already at the 3 months mark, when it looked straight to the eye - but there were still minor occlusions which ortho was not happy with.

@march040324 my quoted amount was exactly what I paid. I assume my dentist just decided he would call it Lite!