Traditional braces vs. Invisalign

[Belle0101]

DS15 is due for braces and the orthodontist said he is a perfect candidate for Invisalign as his teeth need minimal correction. Not knowing anyone who has had Invisalign, I thought I would post here and ask about experiences, if any, that others might have had.

Cost-wise they're pretty equal - $4990 for traditional braces and $5198 for Invisalign. Those prices are before insurance and he'll be in them for two years.

The orthodontist showed us where he wore the enamel off 2 teeth already,, likely due to grinding his teeth, and the dentin is exposed. To protect his teeth he'll always have to wear a mouth guard at night after the braces are removed. (I'm a little disappointed in our dentist because they never mentioned the wear to us.)

Thanks!

 

[Happy Snowman]

I've known a few people that have had them and they regret it. One was a teenager. She wasn't very good about wearing them and her teeth looked horrible when she was done. She ended up in traditional braces a couple years later.

The others were adults and while they were good about wearing them, after they were "done" their teeth shifted back or mostly back because the process was way too fast to lead to a more permanent change, even with wearing retainers and such--well, it got to the point they couldn't wear retainers any longer.

 

[dminnie]

I would get opinions from a couple more orthodontists before deciding. We went traditional. I had a friend that did invisilign. My understanding of invisilign is that it will only straighten teeth. Traditional braces can help to correct the bite. With traditional you can move the teeth up/down etc. that could potentially help with the nighttime grinding issue.

 

[smj2610]

I've had 2 girls in regular braces and one in Invisalign we love the results of Invisalign over regular braces as it does not damage the enamel like traditional braces did but my daughter was very good about wearing them and does follow the rule of wearing the retainers every night to make sure they stay straight

 

[havaneselover]

I had braces as a teen and my teeth shifted so I got invisalign in 2010. Overall I was happy. It was very hard to get used to though (makes your mouth dry, have to take them out to eat and drink, brush teeth before putting them back in). I'd only consider them for a teen if they are extremely responsible. Even I lost one set to my dog because I left them somewhere I shouldn't have.

 

[Christine]

My DD is currently a dental assistant at an orthodontist practice.

She herself had braces as a teen. Her teeth have shifted horribly and we just didn't know what to do. Then she got the orthodontist job. She has ended up getting Invisalign because she only needs minimal straigtening and she gets a very good deal being an employee. I am not sure how it will end up but no matter what moves the teeth (metal, plastic trays, etc) the teeth are moved how it ends up does not make a difference. The worry would be if invisalign didn't move them, and it does. What happens afterward is a combination of genetics and use of good, sturdy retainers.

I will say that if she had opted for the traditional braces this time, it would have been a faster process than the Invisalign.

 

[AustinTink]

My son as an extreme Nickel allergy and was not a candidate for traditional metal braces. He has been in Invisalign for 18 months now and we couldn't be happier with the results. He is a very conscientious young man and we have never had an issue with him being lax about the strict process you must follow with Invisalign.

It really depends on the teen. Some just can't handle the extra time and steps it takes to manage Invisalign properly.

As far as the bite issue mentioned earlier... Invisalign can indeed improve your bite. He uses a system of attachments and rubber bands similar to the traditional method. His bite has definitely changed. His teeth are straight now after 18 months. They will be working on his bite for another 6 months and then he is done.

Yes, you do have to wear a tray at night after you are finished with Invisalign. But the same goes for traditional braces. People just don't always follow those directions.

We highly recommend Invisalign.

 

[minnie56]

I have 2 daughters know who had traditional braces and another Invisilign.
Both have beautiful teeth ...my daughter who had Invisilign ended her treatment about 18 months ago after almost 19 months in treatment and her teeth are still perfect. She wears one 'tray' whilst sleeping..I'm sure that's wise and it certainly isn't as unpleasant as conventional braces.

 

[morgan98]

My husband did invisalign as a 53-54 year old male. It really worked wonderfully for him. Believe it or not, he had braces way back when, but his teeth shifted horribly over time. They also never pulled his wisdom teeth, which was part of the problem as well.

My husband is a very detail oriented perfectionist. He was able to talk his orthodontist into giving him several sets at once and he would change them on schedule. This worked well with his highly demanding job and travel schedule. He was very thankful for the fact you could hardly tell he has braces and he has to do a bit of public speaking, client visits, etc. It made him feel less self conscious.

He wears his retainers every night and has had no shifting. His teeth look great. He really has nothing but great things to say about them.

 

[allie7]

I did invisalign a few years back, myself. What I loved most about it, is that I could take the retainers out and eat whatever I wanted to without restriction of normal metal braces. Often, I would take my retainers out, wrap them in a napkin while I was out and eating. Keep track of your napkin and put it in your pocket, because there has been a few times where I have thrown them out while emptying a lunch tray. My dentist gave me poor instructions of what I had to do with my night guard after my trays were finished, and my teeth ended up shifting back to their original place. It will be a little painful at first, but in my opinion, WAY better then the metal braces.

 

[North of Mouse]

DS15 is due for braces and the orthodontist said he is a perfect candidate for Invisalign as his teeth need minimal correction. Not knowing anyone who has had Invisalign, I thought I would post here and ask about experiences, if any, that others might have had.

Cost-wise they're pretty equal - $4990 for traditional braces and $5198 for Invisalign. Those prices are before insurance and he'll be in them for two years.

The orthodontist showed us where he wore the enamel off 2 teeth already,, likely due to grinding his teeth, and the dentin is exposed. To protect his teeth he'll always have to wear a mouth guard at night after the braces are removed. (I'm a little disappointed in our dentist because they never mentioned the wear to us.)

Thanks!

Invisalign corrections are sooo much better than traditional. You still have to be diligent in wearing them, but one of the greatest things about them is you keep them all, and 'if' there is a reason you need to 'back up' a little - no problem, just use the ones you have to go back a 'step' or two.

Our granddaughter has finished wearing hers and is thrilled. Also, there is no embarrassment in wearing them (a teenager thing) as you can't tell at a glance that you have them on.

 

[bellebud]

I had invisalign a couple of years ago, as a 45yo. (I had braces as a child and my teeth starting moving after I turned 40).

Anyway, while I really liked being able to eat and not worry about food being caught in my braces, I hated, hated, hated the concrete 'holders' on my teeth for the invisalign. My teeth only had to move a little, but I had so many 'holders', my teeth looked awful with or without the invisalign tray in.

My sister-in-law had regular braces at the same time, and while the metal look isn't ideal, at least you know what it is when she smiled. With my invisalign, I felt like my teeth looked weird, but people didn't know why.

I'm happy with the end result, and wear my retainers every night. If I skip a night, I can feel my front tooth has moved a bit.

I don't know if the ortho can know how many holders and where they'll be placed before he orders it from the company. Just be aware of that.

 

[CF'er]

My DD wanted Invisalign when she had to go into braces. She wasn't a candidate. Her ortho did offer invisilign type retainer and she did choose that over the traditional wire one. She now admits that had she had the invisalign she would not have worn them like she should have. She is good about wearing them at night but admits that wearing them all the time would have been a pain.

 

[Lilliputian]

My husband just did Invisalign. He loved it. He'd worn traditional braces as a teen, but he didn't wear his retainer, and his teeth shifted. He hardly ever had to go to the dentist. They gave him all his sets at the beginning, and he just switched to a new one every 2 weeks. He did end up needing a few more sets at the end, but it was no big deal.

The scheduling aspects make Invisalign very appealing. There aren't as many advantages to a teen. No one enjoys metal braces, but it's not a huge deal when you're a teen because everyone else has them. To an adult, it's a very big deal.

 

[wilkeliza]

Traditional braces here for 5 years. They were some of the worst years of my life. Invisalign was still pretty new back in the late 90s early 2000s when I had braces so I wasn't a candidate. I lost most of the enamel on the front teeth due to the brackets. My lips got torn up from the wire and no matter how many times I would get it adjusted or use wax it still would cut up the insides of my lips and cheeks. After all that damage my father thought I didn't need to finish my treatment so I never got a retainer and now 10 years later everything has shifted back. So basically I went through all the pain and teasing for nothing. My current dentist says I should try braces again and I'm praying he lets me do Invisalign.

 

[chiefmickeymouse]

We've been to three orthodontist consultations and all three have said Invisalign would be best for DD15 because she has a strong tongue thrust that hasn't been corrected over 8 years of therapy. I'm very concerned about her being responsible with them, though. We've decided to wait another year and allow her to mature a little more. She sings in competitive choir too, and she's worried braces will affect that.

 

[bear_mom]

Dd did Invisilign and she was happy with them, unless we were on vacation. Then she found them frustrating, but I'm sure there would have been frustration with traditional braces as well.

One thing that I did that she appreciated was I bought her a Vera Bradley Tech Case which was the perfect size to hold her case, a hand sanatizer from B&BW, and a few Colgate wisps (small, disposable toothbrushes). She would carry this everywhere so she was always prepared to eat and it wasn't as embarrassing as just carrying the case. We also had cases in both cars for those unexpected trips where stopped to eat.

Younger dd is planning on doing the Invisilign also.

I will say, after having braces myself, I think Invisilign is much less painful.

 

[havaneselover]

Dd did Invisilign and she was happy with them, unless we were on vacation. Then she found them frustrating, but I'm sure there would have been frustration with traditional braces as well.

One thing that I did that she appreciated was I bought her a Vera Bradley Tech Case which was the perfect size to hold her case, a hand sanatizer from B&BW, and a few Colgate wisps (small, disposable toothbrushes). She would carry this everywhere so she was always prepared to eat and it wasn't as embarrassing as just carrying the case. We also had cases in both cars for those unexpected trips where stopped to eat.

Younger dd is planning on doing the Invisilign also.

I will say, after having braces myself, I think Invisilign is much less painful.

I've had both and there's no comparison. I always seemed to have wires ripping apart my mouth and moving to a new tray is much less painful than having braces tightened.

The first few weeks with invisalign are tough though. Once you get past that, it's not awful.

With my children, my biggest concern would be the dog eating a tray or the trays getting thrown out at lunch at school (I know it shouldn't happen, but...)

I wasn't even thinking about Invisalign for my kids and have no idea if they will be candidates, but as a single mom who works full time, the fact that you don't have to have as many ortho appointment is very appealing.

 

[AustinTink]

Dd did Invisilign and she was happy with them, unless we were on vacation. Then she found them frustrating, but I'm sure there would have been frustration with traditional braces as well.

One thing that I did that she appreciated was I bought her a Vera Bradley Tech Case which was the perfect size to hold her case, a hand sanatizer from B&BW, and a few Colgate wisps (small, disposable toothbrushes). She would carry this everywhere so she was always prepared to eat and it wasn't as embarrassing as just carrying the case. We also had cases in both cars for those unexpected trips where stopped to eat.

Younger dd is planning on doing the Invisilign also.

I will say, after having braces myself, I think Invisilign is much less painful.

Man, those Colgate Wisps are a godsend, aren't they? I have to buy them in bulk on Amazon, because I can't find them in stores anymore. I just need enough of them to make to this summer. I also bought cases on Amazon in bulk for 99 cents a piece. We have them everywhere and they are so easy to toss in the dishwasher.