Anyone else doing Invisalign?

[goingtotravel]

A post-retirement 'gift' to myself was to get Invisalign to fix bite issues. I had braces as a teen but as an adult my teeth shifted quite a bit which has resulted in chips on some of my teeth due to the bottom front teeth hitting the back of my upper front teeth and all of my teeth tipping inward. After I finish Invisalign I will need some bonding and/or veneers to fix the damaged teeth. Then I get to wear a retainer at night for the rest of my life to prevent the teeth from shifting again. Probably a 2 year process until I finally get retainers but totally worth it to stop the damage to my teeth. As an added bonus my upper lip is becoming more prominent which is like a free lip flip without the botox!

Anyone else going through Invisalign treatment? If so, do you think it's worth it? (I'm on tray 18 out of 46 before I get rescanned for refinements).

 

[braumeister]

Here's a thread from two years ago:
https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f38/invisalign-101213.html

 

[goingtotravel]

Thanks for posting the link to that thread. Anyone have any updates? I see that a few people started about 2 years ago so you should be done by now. Did it all go as planned? Did you get a permanent retainer or just one to wear at night? Still wondering since I see a lot of complaints about Invisalign from younger folks on Reddit who didn't seem to understand the treatment plan/timeline/lifetime commitment.

 

[cathy63]

Things are pretty much the same for me as when I posted in Amethyst's thread a couple of years ago. I still wear the retainers every night and am still happy with the results.

 

[Mykle57]

Been about 5+ years since I've completed my invisalign. Afraid to say I haven't been keeping up with my nighttime retainer usage as of late. They are moving right back towards their original position. After a week or two without it's a bit painful to get the retainers back on.

 

[Helen]

Been about 5+ years since I've completed my invisalign. Afraid to say I haven't been keeping up with my nighttime retainer usage as of late. They are moving right back towards their original position. After a week or two without it's a bit painful to get the retainers back on.

This is why my teeth shifted as a kid. After I got my braces off my spaniel ate my positioner and I now have an overbite and crooked bottom teeth. I have often thought of getting braces again, but at this point I am 64 so I probably won't.

 

[Linney]

Anyone else going through Invisalign treatment? If so, do you think it's worth it? (I'm on tray 18 out of 46 before I get rescanned for refinements).

I'm one of the posters who commented on Amethyst's thread as well.

I am about 4 years out from finishing Invisalign treatment. It was worth it for me. I will have to wear the retainers for life each night or my teeth will shift back.

I did Invisalign because I had a lateral incisor that was slowly moving behind a front incisor and giving me an lopsided, somewhat "bucktooth" smile. My lower incisors were very crooked so we fixed that at the same time. After treatment was completed, the right front incisor still appeared larger than the left front, so the dentist finished up by shaving a very small amount off the bottom of the right front incisor to reduce its size, and doing a small laser gum removal (gingivectomy) on the left front incisor to increase its visible size.

It all came out very well. My teeth look 100% better and are easier to clean.

 

[Linney]

I'll add a couple lessons learned in the process. I had to advocate for myself because, sadly, my dentist was more interested in getting the treatment finished than getting the best possible result for me. I read up a lot on the treatment process, what to expect, what was normal/okay, and what wasn't. For example: The initial treatment left me with a small gap between two teeth and I had to insist on another round of treatment to close the gap because Invisalign treatment should conclude with a good bite and no gaps.

Invisalign can straighten and rotate teeth (to a fair degree) but it isn't good at moving teeth up and down in the jaw. So it was able to straighten my right lateral incisor and bring it forward, but Invisalign couldn't bring it lower down so it is still shorter than the rest of my incisors. Knowing that, at my age I would still have opted for Invisalign over Braces. For anyone reading this thread and deciding whether or not they want to get Invisalign, this is a good article on what it CAN and CAN'T do for you:

What Issues Can and Can't Invisalign Fix

 

[Badger]

My wife had this done a few years ago and her teeth look very nice. She is good about wearing the retainer at night and have no doubt will continue. As much as I would like to do Invisalign I would most probably not be good at taking the time necessary. I have enough to deal with implants and crowns. At 73 with enough medical issues to keep me busy I will regretfully have to pass on pretty teeth.


Cheers!

 

[goingtotravel]

Thanks for the replies. I don't hear any significant issues with the process and/or outcomes as long as the retainer is worn afterwards. .

I had to advocate for myself because, sadly, my dentist was more interested in getting the treatment finished than getting the best possible result for me.

Thank you for that advice. I went into this for bite issues but if they fix those but mess up the aesthetics of my teeth I won't be happy at the end. Luckily(?) I have a comprehensive package which provides unlimited refinements and my ortho seems super picky about how the overall smile/teeth/face look after treatment, along with the bite being proper.

at this point I am 64 so I probably won't.

That was my initial thought too. I'm in my mid-50's and wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for my overbite causing damage to my lower teeth. The good news is that I am not the oldest person in his practice but it is mostly teenagers in the office.

Afraid to say I haven't been keeping up with my nighttime retainer usage as of late.

Totally understand that's exactly why I ended up in Invisalign after braces. Hoping I do better this time.

 

[SheitlQueen]

I don't have any experience, but my husband used to own an orthodontic supply company. He said Invisalign was only for pretty mild cases. That was many years ago though, maybe they have improved.

 

[omni550]

Anyone else going through Invisalign treatment? If so, do you think it's worth it? (I'm on tray 18 out of 46 before I get rescanned for refinements).

What a timely thread. I'm on my third tray.

I have had crowns on my top front four teeth for 25-30? years. About 15? years ago, the front 2 teeth were starting to not be the same "length". The left tooth was becoming "shorter" than the right tooth, with no known cause. It was recommended to replace the left two crowns to regain the appearance of matching tooth lengths. This was done.

Recently (maybe too many Zoom calls? ), I started noticing the left front tooth becoming noticeably shorter than the adjacent right front tooth. So, whatever the [unknown] cause, it was happening again. I didn't want this shortening to progress.

My dentist did not want to mess with this tooth, as it has a root canal from 50 years ago which might prove problematic. When I asked about veneers, he said that veneers do not have good long-term adhesion performance to crowns. The orthodontist he sent me to said she could stop the 'shortening' tooth progression and move the teeth back to where they need to be.

So, I started with Invisalign about a month ago. I have 8 'buttons' temporarily adhered to my front upper teeth onto which the Invisalign trays grab onto so they can exert some downward force.

Once the orthodontist is done with moving my teeth, I will need to wear a tray at night forever to keep my teeth where they need to be.

omni

 

[goingtotravel]

Good luck Omni550! I have about 12-16 months to go.

 

[omni550]

Good luck Omni550! I have about 12-16 months to go.

Thanks, goingtotravel! And wishing you a great outcome, too!


omni