Damn, and I thought I had found a holy grail :(

Why nuts, because they prefer less visible to more visible? Not to mention there are work positions where it is almost no question that your only bet is invisible etc.

Your holy grail is Invisalign if the imperfection you have can be corrected with them (no way to know unless you consult a specialist).

If you're considering going down this route, be sure to consult with someone who specializes in Invisalign and not just someone who's heard of them or has had a couple of patients.

The biggest upside is that you can take them out whenever you want, eat as you normally would, clean your teeth as you normally would and the pain during treatment is negligible in most cases (compared to more traditional forms of correction)

I assume every time you take out you prolong the total treatment time?

great news mate. i haven't seen anyone with braces over the age of twelve in recent years I think many use invisalign and those comparable devices, but if i had a choice, i would spend one year w braces instead of 2-3 with invisalign.

Correct, it just gives you that extra flexibility and makes eating/brushing/flossing easier.

Downside: Drinking. Clear liquids only unless you take them out. (but at least it steers you towards healthier choices when it comes to hydrating...i.e. water)

For some perspective, my friend had straighter teeth than me before starting his treatment and he opted to go with invisalign

Looking at him before he started, it looked like he had perfect teeth, but there was a very slight overlap on a couple of his teeth he wanted to get fixed

we both started at the exact same time

Mine was done in less than 12 months, and his was supposed to be done around that time as well

He went back, and there was just 1 tooth that was still a bit crooked, so he has to wear invisalign for another 4-5 months

If he was on traditional braces, it could have been corrected in 1 month

That's why invisalign is usually best for people with very slight overcrowding type issues.. If you have any sort of problem that requires a bit more of teeth movement, your best best is traditional braces... In my opinion of course :2 cents:

i actually need to get braces as a adult, im probably going to go for invisiline tho heard its better and no brace face :)

Not good for me, Friday is my dark beer night :winkwink:
And I drink tea daily :Oh crap
And when you think that majority of people drink coffee or tea it makes it not a good choice for most of the people, should start with this thing when presenting those :)

Well, as it's been explained to me - unless it's someone that is like a celebrity or has some job where they'er appearance is very important - they are usually crazies. She said she figures it's because they are so incredibly self-concious about their looks but she's not sure exactly why. In every business you get crazy customers. In ortodontics, it's for example ones that go from doctor to doctor until they hear an answer they want to hear - that teeth don't need to be pulled or all the doctors except one say that the person needs surgery on jaw. So WHY exactly they are nuts we can't say, but there is definitely a correlation between crazies and wanting invisible braces.

Pros and cons to everything. It all comes down to what's important to you.
Good luck w/ whatever you choose and congrats OP for completing your treatment. :thumbsup

Can't drink anything hot with invisalign in either, because it can melt/warp the plastic

general rule is anything but water is not allowed with invisalign in

Wow, now I understand when somebody say that you must be nuts to choose this option.
Out of the question, no doubt about it :)

Fun fact: Tea is way worse than coffee when it comes to staining your teeth.. Especially black teas

I guess that's why people in the UK have a reputation for having bad teeth

Strawwwwwwww.

I just picked up my whitening tray. I start tonight. I'm a little scared.

It helps but a straw wont stop staining on the back of your teeth. Your teeth are opaque, back stains will show through to the front. Good luck with the whitening, going to be super sensitive later!

What's the best for of whitening? Is zoom whitening effective or is it just a gimmick that dentists offer?

The whitening process which incorporates UV is exponentially more effective than just the trays by themselves

I've been using the sensi repair toothpaste to prepare for it for the last 3 weeks. My teeth are sensitive to cold which does seem to have gotten better using the toothpaste, so I hope it's not going to be too bad.

I don't think my dentist has the UV light or they would have offered it. That would be so much faster!

That was my motto.

29 extractions later...shazam - perfect grill now. :)

My wife had them. They weren't really noticeable. I think it beats wearing braces a year or two over having fucked up teeth

If your teeth are sensitive now they're only going to get more sensitive unfortunately. It will be pretty uncomfortable for a few days.

Wouldn't you know I forgot to do it last night! Eesh.

A pain free day still. =)

Do they go back to their normal sensitivity after a few days though? I assume you've had this done.

I have to go to dentist next wed. Maybe they can put something on my teeth to take away the sensitivity. Wishful thinking.

I'd highly recommend Invisalign, I've used it a few years back and it worked perfectly, plus it's nice to be able to take them off to eat and brush your teeth. The nice thing is that my dentist also gave me some bleach to put into the trays to whiten also.

The only thing that they don't tell you about invisalign is that they use cement to create little notches on some of your teeth to give the trays more leverage to help move the teeth, it matches your tooth color, so it's not so bad though. I'd do it all over again if I had to.

Flouride treatments and sensodyne before and after is what the Doc recommends. Theres really nothing you can do to numb the tooth when the dentin tubules are exposed.

I am actually thinking about getting implants for some of my missing teeth in the back of my crazy head. LOL Lost them years ago due to a stupid brawl and since no one can see them I let them go. But others are starting to chip around them, plus I want a "Hollywood smle"...

So I go to a dentist here in NYC last week and the price for this kind of work (caps, implants, etc etc): $32,000. Surgeries, down time, etc: 18-24 months to look People magazine-ready.

Sigh. Dentures anyone?

Why not send your records to a few different dentists (or the treatment plan they gave you) and see what it will cost in other places.

May be worth the trip to Philly to go to Temple where the students are. They probably have the same thing in NYC.

SCREW a LONG treatment plan. I want my shit done that day!

Yeah I agree. There are one-day options out there but that's pretty extreme. Philly is not far, plus we have good dentistry schools here in NYC (Columbia, NYU). But the real savings could be going to Thailand or some such place and getting the same shit doen for $10,000 or less. Of course, if shit goes wrong you're in a foreign country, and we are talking surgery here....

I briefly considered the implants...but the cost was too insane. I was gettin' quotes of $1200 per tooth. We had the money at the time - but I just couldn't justify it. Plus the procedure of putting 32 screws into my jaw made me somewhat squeemish.

I've never regretted the dentures.

Straight teeth is not self improvement. I have done lots of dumb stuff over vanity but it is always good to know that is what you did.

Straightening your teeth is not self improvement?

I'd like to hear your reasoning here

I remember gap teeth were trendy at some point

The more I read your comment, the more absurd it seems

Looks like the only option, just to double check - those white ones, they are not from that "plastic" which melts if you drink hot and colors if you drink colored drinks as it is with Invisalign braces?

How do you eat steak with braces on? I hate that.

No the thing melting I was referring to plastic retainers. They look identical to invisalign trays. Google invisalign tray and you will see what I was talking about.

The braces were not fragile at all. They tell you not to eat certain things but as long as you're careful you can eat anything you want.. Except maybe stuff like candy apples etc


Steak was also no problem at all ^