Your experiences with Invisalign braces?

Excellent! It is my favorite thing (luxury) I ever did for myself like that. In addition to the cherry red sports car I bought way back when. I had mine a year (2010). I got used to the imposition. I think you should brush after every meal.

I went through the process -- and paid full price -- and my teeth went back to where they were within six months of finishing. Not worth the money, time. or discomfort.

Overall, it didn't work for me. I had regular braces when I was a kid and it was recommended then that I have teeth pulled to allow them all to fit it alignment. My mother, thankfully, didn't okay that. My teeth did get mostly aligned except for one upper tooth. Then through the years my teeth buckled somewhat. I did the Invisalign as an adult, but had the same type of experience. By the time the I had finished, my teeth were largely aligned, except for the one, same problem tooth, and my teeth were so packed together there was no space between them. The orthodontist did some filing between teeth, but even so the teeth quickly bucked after I stopped.

How much does it cost?

I think I paid $2000, but maybe (probably) $4000 in 2010, I forget. The retainers are expensive for a repeating purchase. I'm still wearing mine. They are maybe $350 periodically, maybe every 6-12 months. You have to wear the retainer. My teeth weren't that bad. Like Chris Hayes' teeth on MSNBC. But I love the difference.

I think on Datalounge you'll get better advice on dentures.

It's not braces themselves you should be worried about, it's the fact that, after they come off, you have to wear a retainer every night until your dying breath or your teeth will revert to whatever state they were in pre-braces.

Mine were about 2,500 out of pocket, with my dental plan covering another 2,000. It was a lot of money to me, but the worst is yet to come. After my teeth get aligned, I need an implant for a missing molar. My dentist quoted me about 9,000 for that, with my dental plan picking up about 1/3 of it. I'm going to shop around. That's really going to be a big investment and it's a tooth no one even sees. But because there are teeth in front and back, the empty spot causes things to shift- hence the Invisalign.

How did you lose the molar, R8?

I had regular braces taken off 15 years ago, and I also needed an implant. The orthodontist I had then gave me a retainer with a partial tooth that I wore for 4 years until I could pay for the implant. I've had the implant for ten years now. The implant procedure required bone grafts and was an extremely invasive surgery. I was unrecognizable for a week because of how bad the swelling was in my face and head.

My front teeth have slowly started shifting back as I get older. I detested wearing another retainer, after having to wear one pretty much 24/7 for four years. I have a tiny gap in between my two front teeth now. I want to ask my dentist about Invisalign next week. I know she is going scoff at me for obsessing over this tiny space between by front teeth, after all the work she has done.

I get so tired of never ending dental work. I've had root canals, crowns, pretty much every kind of dental work done you can think of. I was young when I had the braces, and I was not diligent about flossing. That tooth decay from all those years ago, plus my teeth being so close together now has caught up with me. People want braces and Invisalign, but in reality they pull your teeth closer together than nature intends, which is a recipe for other dental issues.

I've wanted these for years... but I can't stand that plastic in my mouth.

I wore my upper retainer 2 years into college & had that implanted lower teeth retainer (lumps of resin glued to the back of my teeth and held straight with a wire...lovely when eating!). I had that taken off 3 years post-braces and stopped wearing my upper one at 2 years. 10 years later, everything is where it was pre-braces... so I was thinking of invisilign. I just can't imagine wearing it forever. Plus, I don't like the shape of my teeth...in some ways, I think veneers might be best - but dentists always think I'm nuts for wanting that since "my natural enamel is perfectly fine". And, veneers are like $1000 a tooth (minimum)...and sometimes they look fake.

20 years ago (roughly) - the orthodontist I saw wanted to do surgery on me to widen my arch with an expander. My mom freaked out and took me to another ortho... who said he could straighten my teeth without an expander. So, he did - but the first guy was always right. I have overcrowding & my arch is too narrow - regardless of what braces can do I think. That's partially why my teeth all moved back too, I think.

(Sorry for the dissertation).

R9 Guido the killer pimp wanted his $$ and R8 didn't pay on time.

[quote] After my teeth get aligned, I need an implant for a missing molar. My dentist quoted me about 9,000 for that, with my dental plan picking up about 1/3 of it. I'm going to shop around.

Where do you live, OP? Dental implants do not cost that much, unless yours is a special case. With upper implants, a sinus lift is done when there is not enough bone height in the upper jaw. I don't know how much that costs. If you need bone graft that's about $500. If you doctor requires a 3D scan, that's about $400. The implant itself can be anything from $2400 t0 $3000. And then you need a crown, which could be another $1800-$2000.

That's still a lot less than $9000.

My first crown only cost me $400 in 1985

R14, was it made of wood?

R10, that space between your teeth is called a diastema. I was told by a dentist that people who have this issue will not have success with braces as the teeth will always shift back to their original positions after braces are removed. Perhaps your dentist can fill in the gap?

As for the bone grafting, I think your ortho gave you an infection because I've had a few bone grafts in preparation for implants and I never had an issue. I didn't even feel much discomfort after the novocaine wore off.

Good luck.

r16, I didnt mention that I had two impacted wisdom teeth extracted during the same surgery. They cut out bone around one of the wisdom teeth, and placed it around the implant site. The area where the implant is now needed major building up because the tooth had been gone for years. All of this was very invasive as I said, and caused tons of facial swelling. The drugs where great thought, I didn't have pain.

I've had another graft since then and things went much better, as it wasn't so complicated.

They do not work; unless, you have a minimum gap. It is very likely that your Ortho has no experience, just took a course from invisalign and is ripping you off. There is no recourse if it does not work.

They work very well and quickly but as soon as you're done, the teeth go right back to where they were in the first place. Ultimately, a waste of time and money.

I had regular braces as a teen, and my orthodontist pulled quite a few teeth to fix overcrowding.

My teeth have all stayed aligned without a retainer for 20 years, and I credit his pulling the crowded teeth first.

I had it in my mid-twenties and it worked well to fix the widening gap between my two front teeth. I basically haven't worn the retainers since then and my teeth have moved a little bit but not noticeably. The invisalign itself was extremely uncomfortable/painful for the second set of retainers but after that the pressure with each new set was minor and disappeared after a few minutes. It was awkward going out to restaurants to eat because you don't look good taking them out of your mouth in order to eat but other than that I'm grateful for the technology. I just wish it were cheaper. I wonder what the actual cost is as opposed to the exorbitant fees they actually charge.

For sure, wear the retainers after you complete the invisalign, OP. My teeth haven't moved too much but I do regret not wearing the retainers when I could.

I also had braces back in middle school and the invisalign is ten times better.

R8, I had tooth decay in that molar when I was around 17 or so. After a while it got infected and they had to pull it. My mother didn't have a dental plan and couldn't afford root canal, post, and crown. So I've had the empty spot forever, so I'm not surprised 30 years later my teeth shifted due to the empty space.

What did you pay for your invisilign treatment and did they have to take more than one mold of your mouth/teeth during the process to create the invisiligns?

Do traditional braces work better? Are the results longer lasting?

I think it's time to get some dental insurance? Anybody good one - not job related. Just one a retired person can buy?

A huge waste of my money, comfort, and time.

R24, don't waste your money on dental insurance for orthodontics. Orthodontists charge different rates depending on if the patient has insurance or not. I learned the heard way. I would have paid basically the same out of pocket if I hadn't walked in with insurance.

Your six month treatment will turn into one, maybe two years, OP. It happened to me and most other people I've heard did Invisalign.

It's uncomfortable at first. My mouth and lips felt so torn up the first few weeks. It only gets better, though. Removing them to eat and needing to brush 3-4 times a day was a pain. My teeth do look better. You must be diligent.

I've been on the night time only retainers now for over a year and my teeth are still shifting. I started this whole process in Jan. 2015 with the promise of "six months." I expect to wear the retainers every night until I die if I want my teeth to remain straight.

I paid about $4000 out of pocket.