invisalign?

[AgentSun]

i had braces when i was younger but unfortunately, i was young and foolish and really didn't follow directions. when my braces were taken off, my orthodontist told me i needed to wear my retainer for 2 years. well, the thing is, a retainer gives you a lisp and being 16 and self conscious enough for a whole country, i decided that i'd be okay and not make myself even more humiliated by wearing the retainer that would give me a lisp. so i didn't wear it and now the gaps that were in my teeth to move them to a good position are coming back...

i don't want braces and i'm worried about what i need to do about it. i'm not sure what i should do but i'm thinking invisalign could help me. does anyone have experience with this?

my parents spent a lot of money on my braces and i've always had dental issues. i don't know how dramatic my teeth need to be moved again...last time i went to the dentist, she said that the gaps were starting to come back. so i want to fix this before it gets too bad, i'm just wondering if there's a better way to avoid metal braces that are cemented to my teeth....cause that was a painful period where i had head gear and elastic things and i hate that.

[samati75]

I think Tom Cruise had it, but I haven't seen any closeup pics of him recently to see how it worked.

[fermicat]

Trust me, it won't get any better on it's own. I also had braces and foolishly declined to wear the retainer like I should have. My top teeth are OK, but the bottom teeth are all bunched together again and one is way out of line with all the others. I wish I had LISTENED. I'd like to fix it one day, but I've been saying that for 20 years now..... I probably won't ever do it.

[BrowderChick]

My neice has that and she likes them...They are invisible so she feels beeter about having them than the metal ones. They do take a little longer to correct though...You will notice a slight discomfort as they do "change" the way you talk at first but you will get used to it being there. She has had hers for about a year now and she wouldn't have them anyother way. I would definatly check into them a little farther but I would recomend them instead of the metal ones. Have you also looked into the ones that attach behind your teeth? I had a friend that had those too and she had no problems. I have not had a problem with my teeth as they were always straight but I had a slight overbite that my dentist didn't like. I didn't notice it and neither did my parents but they went along with it anyways and I ended up with a retainer that split down the middle with the screws in it. I hated it as it took up so much room in my mouth. I wore it for about 2 months and tossed it. I didn't feel that I needed it.

[JadedLegend3]

Originally posted by samati75
I think Tom Cruise had it, but I haven't seen any closeup pics of him recently to see how it worked.

I think I saw him w/o in a mag (they made a point of showing him w/o the braces and w/ his new straight teeth), and they looked good.

I had the old fashioned braces, and they worked wonders. Of course, now my wisdom teeth demand to come in, and I'm kinda in denial about that one...I'm hoping they'll just forget to come in and go away...besides, I've never been accused of having wisdom before! :goof:


Jacqui :love:

[tribsaint]

I had metal ones for three years...I never wear my retainer...I know I'll be kicking myself later but I never had much of a problem to begin with...my mouth was too small so they had to remove some adult teeth and the braces were just needed to space my teeth out after that. I got my wisdom teeth out this summer and in seventeen-and-a-half years, no cavities yet. :D

I'll come back and complain in a few years, I'm sure. But those Invisalign ads always intrigued me. I was skeptical but am glad to hear that they seem to work well enough. :)

[JadedLegend3]

Originally posted by tribsaint
I had metal ones for three years...I never wear my retainer...I know I'll be kicking myself later but I never had much of a problem to begin with...my mouth was too small so they had to remove some adult teeth and the braces were just needed to space my teeth out after that. I got my wisdom teeth out this summer and in seventeen-and-a-half years, no cavities yet. :D

I'll come back and complain in a few years, I'm sure. But those Invisalign ads always intrigued me. I was skeptical but am glad to hear that they seem to work well enough. :)

I didn't wear my retainer as long as I was supposed to, either. And my teeth did shift a bit, but they still look good, so that's okay.



Jacqui :love:

[tribsaint]

That's good. I wore mine religiously when I was forced to wear them all the time (I had a top and bottom one...although my bottom teeth were always okay..never understood) but the SECOND they said "Okay, you only have to wear them at night"...never again. LOL

[JadedLegend3]

Originally posted by tribsaint
That's good. I wore mine religiously when I was forced to wear them all the time (I had a top and bottom one...although my bottom teeth were always okay..never understood) but the SECOND they said "Okay, you only have to wear them at night"...never again. LOL

I just had a top retainer, and I think I was the same way. When they said only at night, I think I threw it out! LOL No, actually, I didn't. I kept it for a while, and tried it on a few months later, and it didn't fit. Whoops. Well, it fit, but it hurt a lot! LOL Still they just shifted a bit, they look fine...I think. Straight, single-file line. That's all that counts!


Jacqui :love:

[tribsaint]

I haven't worn mine for eight months now. I've gone to two orthodontist appts and "forgetting" my retainers. They no longer fit me either, yet my orthodontist says my teeth look perfect. So I figure, why fix something that ain't broken? They've made my mouth sore enough.

[AyuRocks]

I basically never wore my retainers. I wore them at night for a while, but I was supposed to wear them during the day as well. I never was able to talk right with them on, I just never got used to it. So I never wore them during school. I have no idea where the are, or how long I was supposed to wear them. Oh well.

Ashley

[AgentSun]

my teeth are a pain in the eema to begin with. they took like 4 of them out when i was younger (10-14 years old) because i had too many teeth and they were overcrowding...and then because i had missing teeth they said "she needs braces!" and then i spent a few hard years with a metal fence in my mouth.

and then i needed the headgear! that thing SUCKED but at least i only had to wear it at night. my poor parents had to deal with my visits, my soreness, my complaining, and they stuck by it cause it had to be done. i kept having braces. when they were finally taken off and i was released, i was told that i'd need to wear a retainer for the first 2 years, 24/7 YEAH, RIGHT! i didnt listen and my mom didn't enforce it, which was a problem. i tried for a few days and then nothing...

during thanksgiving i went to the dentist for a cleaning and she looked at my teeth and said "the gaps are starting to come back" and i was almost ready to yell and scream and cry cause i hated braces and the ortho even told me when he gave me that frelling retainer that if i didnt wear it all the time the gaps would come back....

my teeth are a pain in the eema! so i've got to bring up the topic of invisalign to my parents...grr. i dont know when and i can't do it this week cause i already went to the dentist once for something that wasn't that important. i think i'll ask them by email and then go for an appointment during spring break...

sigh...

[grapeshot]

I got braces when I was 30. That was before they had the invisalign ones, but they were WHITE, so they weren't noticeable at all. I always had to open my mouth wide before people saw them. (It might have been a different story if my teeth were bigger and more prominent, though.) It was a long ordeal, too, but it was the best money I ever spent! Afterwards I was given a retainer to wear at night. They told me that I'd have to wear them for the rest of my life. I did this more or less for about two years, but gradually kept forgetting about, until I stopped wearing it altogether. That was about 12 years ago, and my teeth are still pretty straight.

I'd recommend the white ones as an alternate. Or I'd stop worrying about what other people think of me and my damn teeth. It's only temporary anyways, and by the time you get them off, you'll be in your real life -- as opposed to school -- and traveling with a whole OTHER crowd.

[TheBladeRoden]

I say just look at Jewel. She's gots some damn ugly teeth but she still gets the millions. Better yet, look at Rodney Dangerfield.

[AgentSun]

do they still use the white ones? what are the white ones though and how do they attach to your teeth? i dont want braces again mostly because of the $$ and because they're cemented to your frelling teeth and it hurts.

[marandken]

I'm in the Ortho Biz, but NOT a Doctor. Here's what I know:

1. Agent Sun, it's not as bad as you think. Get yourself to an Orthodontist. Consults are free. If they're not, you're at the wrong doctor. Also, make sure that the person practicing Orthodontics is an orthodontist, not a dentist who took a weekend course in braces. In the US, If they are a member of the American Association of Orthodontists, then you've found one. In the yellow pages, it will usually say they're a member of the AAO. Meanwhile... back at the orthodontist.... sometimes you just need a small correction and/or a new retainer to get you back on track.

2. Haven't worn your retainer in a while? Here's your second chance: put your retainer in some VERY WARM water with some of that fizzing stuff that you use to clean dentures and retainers (get it at the drug store). After the fizzing stops, the retainer will feel (and be) a lot cleaner. While still warm, put it in your mouth. The acrylic will be a bit "bendable" and you may be able to re-set it to the contours of your mouth. I had my (second set of) braces removed about 4 years ago. Kinda sporadic for me with the retainer. The warm water trick works pretty well.

Plan B: Go to your orthodontist and 'fess up'. He/She will probably be able to adjust the retainer to fit.

3. Tom Cruise: IMHO: About 3 years ago, he was at the Oscars and I SWEAR he was wearing the Invisaligns. Then, about a year later, he's on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, wired up! (I have this picture in my office, only because of the wires) And that's what I hear. The Invisalign don't work if you have anything complicated to fix.

4. They still have white brackets, but they also now have clear ceramic brackets. And you can get them very small. That's what Tom was wearing. They also have 14K gold plated brackets. They look a lot less ostentatious than they sound. They're all still cemented to your teeth. It completely sucks. But, having bands around all of your teeth like I did in 1966 sucks even more. In fact, I still have band marks on my front teeth.

5. I try not to say anything particularly negative about Invisalign. Ask an orthodontist about your needs. If there are any complicated corrections to be made, you will probably be referred to some sort of wire treatment. Also, Invisalign is way more expensive than other treatments.

6. Next to Demoral, Aleve seemed to work pretty well with the 'adjustment pain' when I had braces in the '90's. (Not MY 90's)

Again, me no doctor. I can try to answer any more questions about materials, tho.