People who’ve used Invisalign, how’s your experience?
How did it feel? Was it hard to adjust to it during sleeping? How much did you shell out? I recently had a scan with my dentist and have a discussion coming up to go over my case but want to get some feedback from others who’ve had it before and be careful not to let my dentist take advantage of my lack of experience. For some context, my case is not for any severe alignment issues but to move pressure off of my jaw because apparently I grind my teeth at night. 🤷🏻♀️ TC: 355k
I started invisalign 7 months ago and I couldn’t be happier personally I had very bad mis-alignment issues. The first 2 weeks the pain was honestly unbearable, I had to take pain killers almost every day, but after the first 2 weeks, I only have had a bit of discomfort when I change trays (the first 2 days of the new trays) but its not actually painful. My teeth already look so much better and I still have 4 months to go!
Did you get yours done at a dentist or orthodontist? How much did it cost you?
I did it through ortho. Insurance wouldn’t cover through dentist. Pretty benign and effective experience overall. I remember having some headaches in the beginning, but it wasn’t too bad. I also didn’t realize how crooked my teeth were until the before and after.
Seriously? I guess my case is similar. I don’t need it but good to have to prevent potentially jaw related issues when I get older. I looked into my plan and the current one doesn’t cover ortho so I’ll have to upgrade next year. Didn’t know insurance won’t cover through dentist but orthodontist would.
Yeah I basically looked at a picture of myself one day and was like… my front teeth look really big. I went back and looked at pics from my 20s and it was a huge difference. I’ve never had braces and relatively “perfect” teeth, but when they did imaging I saw that my teeth were starting to crowd and push my front teeth forward. Also unexpected, but post Invisalign my smile is also more symmetrical. I think it was $5-6K and insurance paid half. I believe I paid 500-1K upfront and the rest monthly until it was paid off. You do have to wear a plastic retainer that is just like your Invisalign tray every night following the treatment. If I go more than 2-3 nights in a row without wearing it my teeth start to shift and I get headaches when I wear it again.
I have been on invisialign for about 8 months now.. I had a Crossbite and so it was a much longer treatment. Every 2 weeks , when I change aligners there is some discomfort for a day. You might also end up slurring your speech in the beginning. Also you need to bite down on the "chewy" real hard. When you put the brace on. In my case I went off track, and the braces don't fit me now. The orthodontist has me backtracking a couple of braces, to see if vthat will work. Otherwise I am looking at a fresh scan and new set of braces, which are going to cost me $$$ I am using a infants teether now. These are much better than the chewy to get a good fit. If braces don't fit on real tight, or they start to appear visible, then go to the dentist immediately. You may be going off track like me.
Didn’t know you could go off track with it. Whatever does it even mean?? 😟
It means your aligners didn't correct enough, before you went onto the next one. Over 3 or 4 aligners you can go substantially behind, so the new one doesn't fit any more. In my case I have a real stubborn tooth that is not moving, and I need to keep biting on the chewy to get it to move. The treatment can fail.. and you have to start again, if you are not religious enough in following instructions. They have some insurance that will cover the bulk of the costs for restarting. Check with you dentist on this before you start.
Great. And easy. It's easy to sleep in. Just brush your teeth, put it in, and go to bed
I had a pretty good experience. Maybe felt some really minor discomfort from the fact that something that's usually not in my mouth is there, but you get used to it. No pain or anything. Just think of your routine though because you have to keep them on most of the day until you finish and move to just using a retainer at night. For example, those clean private restrooms in the Amazon offices made it convenient for me to brush my teeth after lunch before putting them back on. Just fyi, there's a mouth device that you can use after you finish for snoring issues if that's something that affects you. It slightly pulls forward you lower jaw to give more airway. It's nice cuz it takes care of three issues for me (retainer, grinding, snoring). Insurance only covered I think 2k of my Invisalign treatment for reference.
Once your routine is complete, are you stuck with retainer forever? Or is there a time limit beyond which the structural changes are permanent and you don’t need retainer anymore? I’m guessing you have the advanced delta dental coverage which I read covers 2k lifetime benefit for ortho.
No you always need a retainer. There is an option to put a permanent retainer on your bottom teeth which will also keep your top teeth from shifting. The permanent retainer can be annoying. It sits behind your teeth and is just a simple bar. The other option is only wearing a retainer at night
Got is like 8 years ago at this point but I remember is being around 3K all in. Was not uncomfortable and not really noticeable when you take it off. They may install tiny bumps on some teeth, but those aren't too noticeable. Worth it if you just need minor straightening done
do they need to be worn for the rest of your life when you sleep?
I have had it for just over a year and it’s been really easy :) Most annoying part is snacking and deciding whether you’re going to brush your teeth or just pop them back in lol. I clean the traysmorning and night with some tablets and they stay sparkling clean I had really minor discomfort. Maybe the first week was an adjustment to something being in my mouth all the time / adjustment with sleeping but honestly it has been so easy I’m so glad I did it
Do it at ortho, not a dentist, even if they’re a good dentist. Invisalign is overpriced and works okay. I had to do it again a year later despite religiously wearing my retainer. It does hurt
Any reason why I should prefer ortho over dentist? Do I ask my dentist to refer me to an ortho or do I just show up at their office? Also how much did it cost you? My dentist said it takes 4-6k approx based on case. Also did your dental insurance cover it or part of it?
Yeah insurance covers a part of it upto a limit (around 2-3k)