On this website, it shows 81% of Invisalign users think it's worth the money! Yoohoo- that's a really positive result, particularly Invisalign is pretty pricy comparing to other orthodontic treatments. :) We all know that Invisalign is not as effective in straightening teeth in more severe cases than the traditional metal braces, it's the 'nearly invisible' braces that we're paying for, not really the end results. (although end result is really important too, still, who would want to wear metal braces when they're like in their 20s?) I mean, even when you're in your teens, just imagine your first kiss with a mouth of full metal braces is quite a horrible thought. My dentist told me that invisalign would only correct 80% of my problem- I think I'll be happy with that! :)
I've gone through some bad reviews, here are some of the considerations that the Invisalign website and your orthodontist/dentist would happen not to tell you:
1. More prone to cavities- read the user experience.
Basically your teeth are covered by the plastic aligners all the time during your treatment so the salivia no longer can act as a cleansing agent for your teeth and helps prevent decay.
This is quite an understandable concern, especially for me as I'm already prone to decay (I have 13 decays in my mouth already!) and the dentist says that during the treatment, one should not have decays as it'd change the structure of the teeth, which led to the aligners not being able to fit properly.
2. Filing and shaving teeth to make rooms
"To start off what they don't tell you is that they put these clear bumps on your teeth to hook the trays on, then they don't tell you that they file your teeth to make your teeth move faster. I did NOT want my teeth filed, especially my upper. I said ok to filing my lower, my ortho ended up filing HUGE gap inbetween my upper two teeth!!! He also filed one tooth smaller that the other - you can't fix that, it not like a bad haircut that will grow back. It was terrible."
"Also my bite shifted and became very uncomfortable! For some reason they felt it neccessary to literally FILE teeth in between to make room for the teeth to move as well as to adjust my bite. "
I was a bit scared when I read it- coz I know filing/shaving teeth is definitely not what I want!
3. Having "buttons"/"bumps" on your teeth
In order to have the invisalign plastic aligners, the dentists would attach these white (scratchy) buttons to your teeth to catch/secure the aligners. The 'buttons' are supposed to match with the colour of your teeth enamel so they don't really show up! But my dentist didn't mention anything about these 'buttons'?! Nor did the video!
I can't wait for my appointment so I can view the clincheck and ask my dentist all these questions on my head.
Maybe I should read all the positive reviews about invisalign to calm myself down!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
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This is for everyone who is considering Invisalign. Do your research and get the facts because the dentist will not tell you some of the things Ivnisalign treatment requires, nor will Invisalign websites.
ReplyDeleteI can honestly say I wish I had gone with traditional braces instead of Invisalign.
I had a more difficult case so I was told at my consult I would need 19 aligners and about 4-6 "buttons." I had never heard about these "buttons from the commercials or Invisalign website. They're tooth colored rectangles that are bonded to your teeth. In my case they were put on for my 4th aligner and I have to have them up to the end of my treatment.
I decided to do invisalign and paid in full $ 5400-comparable to the cost of braces. My firts 3 aligners were button free and fit on my teeth perfectly. But when I got to my 4th aligner and they were about to put the buttons on, I found out I needed 14 buttons, not 4-6! I wanted to say nevermind I'll stick with conventional braces but couldn't because I had already paid in full and my trays had already been made.
Now this is my personal experience and every orthodontics office is different-mine is not so great at communicating-but the fact is your ortho won't truly know how many buttons you need until after they come up with a treatment plan, which happens AFTER YOU PAY for the aligners. Keep that in mind.
When they finished putting on the buttons the dental assistant gave me some "chewies" and said, kinda as a sidenote, that sometimes the trays won't sit flush on my teeth and biting down on the chewy for a "little bit" would make it snap into place. Well after the buttons were put on my teeth NONE of my other aligners seated fully on my teeth. I mentioned this and my orthodontist said I would need to use the chewy at least 4 hours a day! Again this may not be a problem for other aligner wearers but you won't know until after you get your aligners or after you get buttons put on.
Using the chewy means biting down as hard as you can for 10 seconds then relaxing. You repeat the process every 10 seconds for 4 hrous! It hurts pretty bad and the longer you do it the more painful it gets because your teeth are shifting in your gums. I didn't pay over $5000 to inflict pain on myself for 4 hours EVERY day! Whats more is you can't skip a day, not even an hour or your teeth will not shift like they are supposed to.
I am very unhappy and feel like Invisalign misrepresents their product terribly in their advertisements as they say all you have to do is take them out to eat and replace them with a new aligner every 2 weeks.
Please note that lots of people have great experiences with Invisalign treatment. If you are looking into Invisalign please contemplate whether you will have the dicipline and the time to use the chewy 4 hours a day as it MAY be part of your treatment-a possibility that is confirmed only AFTER you have paid for the treatment and your trays have ALREADY been made.