what do you know about invisalign braces??

[tylerdylan]

I saw a commercial the other day for Invisalign braces and they sound just like what I would want to get, but maybe they sound too good to be true??? I did some research and learned that price wise they are similar to regular braces. Does anyone have anything negative to say about them? Did anyone have good success with them with fairly overcrowded teeth?
I hate my teeth and really want to get them fixed BUT I don't really want real braces. I am not vain, but I am a 31 year old who no one takes seriously as it is because I look 16. The last thing I need is a mouth full of metal! But like I said my teeth are quite overcrowded (my jaw is the size of a childs). Are these type of braces really just good to straighten teeth or can they move teeth quite significantly? Thanks for your help....

[lindberg99]

I don't know anything about Invisalign but my kids' pediatrician had braces and really, I hardly noticed them. So I wouldn't worry about people noticing/commenting on your braces. I think more and more adults are getting them now.

I had some kind of mouth thing that probably was a grandparent to Invisalign (this was a long time ago!) I was supposed to wear it at night but had a lot of problems because I kept spitting it out in my sleep. I'm sure things are much different now though.

[tanyalynn]

The last time I went to the dentist, I started chatting with the hygienist (just so you know where I'm coming from--I'm not an expert, and this wasn't specific medical advice). She mentioned that the faster teeth are moved around, the shorter the roots are. She said she could tell I hadn't ever had braces because the roots of my teeth go up really high (I don't have great teeth by any stretch, but they weren't ever problematic enough to straighten). I don't know if the invisalign is faster than the traditional metal, but this may be something to look into.

[Manonash]

Resurrecting this thread...

I wore them and for the most part loved them. They worked very well and did not show. In a year of wearing them only a couple of people ever noticed. However, I am now concerned at what I may have done. I got them about 3months before I got pg with DD. I wore them nearly my entire pg. Not long after DD was born you started hearing a LOT about Bisphenol-A and birth defects and hormonal issues. The plastic that the invisalign braces are made from is proprietary and they won't divulge what they are made of. All they will say is they are made from a hard, polycarbonate plastic (which if I remember correctly are the ones associated with BPA).
I have had lichen planus in my mouth for many years and now think it is estrogen driven. As soon as I put the first aligner in my mouth, I had the worse lichen planus I've ever had (mine is mild compared to some, but it was nearly gone and came back with a vengence while using invisalign). I started soaking the aligners a week in advance before using them for the first time. It helped a lot, but I still continued to have mild oral reactions to them though. I'm now concerned about what I may have done to DDs ovaries and wonder if I increased my breast cancer risk.

I have been unable to get invisalign to talk to me; they will not talk with customers, only dentists. I emailed them trying to ask about BPA and got an email back wanting to know if I were I reporter (not sure if it was a form email, but it seemed that way.)

If I had it all to do over again, I would just go with the traditional ones or leave my teeth like they were; they were only mildly crooked to begin with. I wouldn't worry about what the metal ones look like, I've seen many adults with them. My high school chemistry teacher wore them and I never thought she looked like a teenager with them or anything. In fact, I rarely paid them any attention.

[klockdj]

My area is not orthodontics however, I had braces as an adult and asked my orthodontist about invisalign. He mentioned that they are great if you don't have need a lot of movement. Sometimes old fashioned braces are the only way to go. I would get a consultation appointment and what they will do after that is what they call records. They will take tons of x-rays and impressions for study models. Then they will do another consultation w/ the models and tell you what the best plan of action will be. Sometimes that includes extractions and or jaw surgery. It depends on your case. Good luck and let me tell you having braces wasn't bad. I had them in my early 30s and actually considered the fact that they made me look 16 a plus. I didn't have trouble w/ people not taking me seriously. I would do it ten times over again because I love my smile

[mx5alli]

I also did have Invisilign and they didn't really work for me but it was because my teeth needed to be rotated. My ortho sold his practice and the new ortho ended up telling me that Invisilign doesn't really work for rotating teeth so I ended up having braces after the Invisilign. The slight overcrowding I had was fixed with Invisilign though so it may work for you but mine was only slight. I was also a little concerned that for the overcrowding they shaved/grinded off the sides of my teeth in between to make more room for them to move. I don't think they need to do that with regular braces. They said it was perfectly ok but still seemed kinda scary to me to remove some of the outer layer of the tooth.

When I ended up having to get regular braces anyway (with clear brackets) they were so much easier to deal with. The Invisilign got a little dirty by the end of each two week period and had to be taken out when eating and every two weeks when you change them they really hurt and the plastic would cut up my tongue a little. The braces only hurt every 6 weeks so that was better. And knowone even really noticed the braces.

I also called Invisilign (because the retainer I ended up getting after the braces is made of the same material) and asked them about the bisphenol-A and they wouldn't talk to me either. They said they would only talk to my orthodontist. Next ortho appointment they told me Invisilign faxed them a copy of the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) and told them everything they used was "safe." ......so I dunno what to think...They didn't really answer the question. My ortho thinks I'm nuts for even asking but I think it is a perfectly sane question to ask what material I am going to be putting into my mouth every night when I go to bed for the rest of my life.....

[Kenziesmom]

I just wanted to chime in, I had regular braces as a kid...didn't wear my retainers, so now at 41 I'm back in regular braces. I thought about the Invisalign, but I knew if they were the least bit uncomfortable..I would yank those suckers out!!! I just have to wear them for a year this time and I'm not vain at all..plus no one really notices them!
When I went for my consultation, the Ortho told me about the Invisalign...but he didn't push them at all, I believe he said they wouldn't fix an overbite, just straighten them. And he also said that they wouldn't fix them to the extent that regular braces would...
Hope that helps...