Braces VS Invisalign

Hi Everyone,

I had my braces on two months ago and just hope to expedite my treatment.

I saw Invisalign and regretted of having braces. Just to check with everyone out there.

Is there any results difference between Invisalign and Tradition braces after the treatment?

The straightened teeth looked the same??? As i saw people after Braces, their teeth look very nice, neat and straight well as for invisalign that i saw through the Internet is not as nice.

Which treatment is longer???

Can any kind soul please advise me.

Went for an initial assessment today with my orthodontist who gave me the option of fixed ceramics or Invisalign braces. The major difference is the price HKD$40,000 for Invisalign and HKD$20,000 for ceramics.

Invisalign also takes longer, its all computerised at the beginning of your treatment, a course of braces are made for you in advance so no adjustments can be made as you go along. You swap to a new brace when the teeth have moved into place with the current brace (hope that makes sense!). With ceramics the adjustments are done manually by the orthodontist at your monthly appointment, so it can be more personalised therefore quicker. He said the average time for ceramics is 9 months compared to Invisalign 12 months.

Also initially the treatment with Invisalign takes longer as all your moulds etc have to be sent to California and made to order, apparently this can delay treatment by about 2 months.

Plus Invisalign is not completely invisible in all cases it depends on the texture and smoothness of the teeth to start with.

As I haven't started any treatment I cannot speak from experience with any of this information only pass on what I was told in my consult today.

At the moment I'm thinking I will probably choose ceramics too, mostly due to the cost! Anyone else have any comments/thoughts on this as I'd be interested too?

[Tammy]

I have just finished the invisalign program and would have to disagree.....I had an intial assesment from an Orthodontist for my MINOR crowding and he recommended 2 years with braces at a cost of $6500.00 CDN or a dentist told me 6 months with invisalign for $3500.00. I went with invisalign. It is not for everyone, depending on the severity of your condition. I never had delays in my treatment and have been finished for over a month now and could not be happier. At 32 I could not imagine going 2 years with metal braces....I feel alot of orthodontists, who are not trained with invisalign will give you no option but metal braces. The one I saw would not do it for less than 2 years...No matter how minor the problems were. MONEY HUNGRY! I am done and would do it all over again in a second! 6 months, PERFECT teeth and very little discomfort. Also, I had several comments about how unnoticable they are.

[Sunny]

I got braces in my late 40's and wanted invisalign, but it was never an option due to the bite problems my teeth have.

Instead my ortho offered ceramic, gold, metal or ibraces (lingual) brackets. The ceramic, gold or metal were the same cost and the ibraces a little more expenses. Time frames for all four was the same.

I choose to go with ceramic and metal, and love them. The ceramic look amazing with coloured ligatures and you can colour co-ordinate, or for discretion my ortho will use white coated wire ties. He also has white coated archwires for people who really desire discretion.

My ortho is a trained invisalign provider, but will only use invisalign for people requiring mild correction. He's found that about 50% of his invisalign patients choose to finish with brackets, as the refinements they request are not able to be done with invisalign. He still believes in offering invisalign, due to the advantages the system offers for some people.

[angelbabiez9700]

I have seen results of invisalign correcting rotation, crowding, and gaps in teeth and they do work well. Also, my dentists' dental assistant told me that invisaligns were cheaper, I didnt pay the full price because my mother in law works for my dentists, but I did pay 1600.oo. I think it depends on the dentist you go to, there is a dentist here that does teeth for different prices for families who cant afford to get braces or certain procedures. Also, the universities offer free dental work and discounted prices for braces, ect. as the students use the practice in clinicals and stuff. The only thing about metal braces that I have seen, is some staining on the teeth and depending on the type you get, some metal brackets are really big and noticeable. I dont know why they have the staining, maybe they didnt get their teeth bleached afterwards or address that issue. I have also seen some really neat looking brackets, I guess they call them ice, or invisable braces. There is alot of options out there

[Sunny]

Originally Posted by angelbabiez9700

The only thing about metal braces that I have seen, is some staining on the teeth and depending on the type you get, some metal brackets are really big and noticeable. I dont know why they have the staining, maybe they didnt get their teeth bleached afterwards or address that issue.

The staining is due to not cleaning your teeth properly and although having brackets on your teeth may make this a little more challenging, it's still only necessary to clean your teeth two or three times a day to prevent this.

Some people do have soft enamel that is more prone to colour change problems and the same with bacteria issues. This means that some people will have more cavities than others, due to the bacteria in their mouths reacting to food left behind, whereas for most of us this takes a long time to happen, which gives us plenty of opportunity to clean it away.

If you have staining on (in) your enamel, tooth whitening/bleaching will make this appear worse. Tooth whitening affects the surface and does not allow for mottling of the teeth.

Bracket size varies very little between manufacturers, the more obvious difference for a person who's staring at teeth, is that some teeth are smaller than average and some are larger than average. Also the colour of a persons teeth affects how the brackets shadow on them and how they appear. The slightly larger brackets are the more comfortable ones, as they spread the pressure on the insides of your cheeks and lips more, making them easier to get used to and they cause less irritation.

[Mini]

I just had my consultation a few days ago. I am going to get ceramic braces for a few reasons. One is the cost. I think it is too expensive to get Invisalign. Another is that invisialign takes longer for the treatment. The main one for me though, is the fact that you can remove invisalign. It may seem like and advantage, but you have to be complient and need to keep them on. I think that if they started to get uncomfortable for me, I would just take them out. But with the ceramic braces, you can't take them out whenever you want to, so your only job is to go in and see the orthodontist. So I think ceramic braces are better for me. But, some people are better with directions and are more complient than me. So if you think you could keep them in during points in time where you have discomfort, then I think invisalign is a good alternative for traditional braces.

[Zoso]

Originally Posted by Mini

I just had my consultation a few days ago. I am going to get ceramic braces for a few reasons. One is the cost. I think it is too expensive to get Invisalign. Another is that invisialign takes longer for the treatment. The main one for me though, is the fact that you can remove invisalign. It may seem like and advantage, but you have to be complient and need to keep them on. I think that if they started to get uncomfortable for me, I would just take them out. But with the ceramic braces, you can't take them out whenever you want to, so your only job is to go in and see the orthodontist. So I think ceramic braces are better for me. But, some people are better with directions and are more complient than me. So if you think you could keep them in during points in time where you have discomfort, then I think invisalign is a good alternative for traditional braces.

You show a lot of self-awareness, Mini. You're definitely right that using Invisliagn, or indeed any other type of removable appliance requires self-discipline on the part of the patient, and some of us have it, but others don't ... some of us have a lot less of it than we'd be willing to admit, even to ourselves! But anyway, this is one reason that many providers remain fairly reluctant to use Invisalign for teens (not saying you are a teen, of course) even after all the adult teeth have fully erupted.

Another, somewhat related reason that some people opt for fixed appliances over Invisalign is that Invisalign needs to be removed to eat - even snacks - and they are concerned about getting enough hours of wear/day without changing their eating habits drastically. Usually it is possible to fit in a normal routine of meals and snacks, and the appropriate cleaning, but then still, some people feel this is a bit of a hassle, and fixed braces do paradoxically seem easier for them.

Then, of course, without a doubt, there are simply cases that Invisalign will not be able to handle well, or with any acceptible degree of predictability of success.

Originally Posted by Sunny

If you have staining on (in) your enamel, tooth whitening/bleaching will make this appear worse. Tooth whitening affects the surface and does not allow for mottling of the teeth.

I'm not sure why you'd say this, Sunny. Surface staining, obviously, is readily removed by a routine hygiene appointment. True whitening, of course, treats the tooth to a deeper level. And more than one dentist has told me that it's impossible to predict whether whitening will accentuate or whether it will even out the appearance of white spot lesions that some people experience due to inadequate oral hygiene while in braces.

[Snowy]

Interesting post, and responses. In the UK, I was originally quoted 18 months and 5,000 pounds ($10,000 dollars) for ceramic braces. After moving to Canada, my dentist recommended Invisalign and quoted $5,000 dollars and 10 months, plus refinement.

Needless to say, I went for Invisalign. It's not ideal for everyone but my teeth are a good case. I have experienced some staining on attachments, but my dentist supplied me with bleach and I've been able to correct that relatively easily.

Invisalign is still a serious commitment, and in some ways more so than metal braces. It demands that you have the self-discipline to cut down on snacking, and brush and floss when you eat. But honestly, to my mind, that's worth it - especially as I work in a public role where I'm teaching and training and my teeth are on display all the time.