I'm really glad I found this website. I do not know anyone personally who has used invisalign. Could anyone share their personal experience and let me know a)Is invisalign really as invisible as their website claims; in other words, do most people not notice you're wearing them? b)How much do they affect your speech? Do they cause you to speak with a lisp all the time or do you just have to get used to them? I appreciate any and all info I could get. Thanks!
Senior Member
I know several people now that hav ethem, and I never notice they are wearign them, until they actually take them out to eat in front of me.. ewwOriginally Posted by ali_531
No lisp, because it is not a traditioanl type retainer that has the piece in the roof of the mouth.
It is some great technology, however I feel it works only on mild and simple cases... adn the price could be better!
I just got my third set of aligners...
honestly, this set has hurt the worst so far, mainly because I just had my attachments put on. The other two sets have been fairly "invisible", this set is a little less, but my ortho said that as the week/s go on and they settle in, it will get better. No one has really noticed...or at least said anything if they had- except a couple of people who know people who have them or have had them themselves. I have seen a couple of people look at me like i have something in my teeth. iIwork the front desk at a dr.'s office so I see lots of people everyday I work. It's always interesting to see people's reactions. I work p/t, so I try to put my new set in when I don;t have to work b/c I do have a bit of a lisp for the first day or two. It's almost like a whistle. as the teeth start to move & conform to the aligners, it gets better.
I hope this helps a little!
Good Luck! This board helped my when I was first looking into Invisalign!
I'm on my 2nd day and 1st set of aligners....
So far, my experience has been pretty good. Yes, they are totally clear! Unless you are an inch away, you can't see them at all. I loved my orthodontist and everything has been a lot less painful then I thought it would be.
I went to the orthodonist about 3 weeks ago to get the x-rays taken. My top set off teeth weren't cooperating, and I had to take 7 molds on the upper half until they got an OK one (that's 35 minutes with my mouth wide open, it hurt!) Then, last week I got a call saying that my aligners were in. I went to the office yesterday and they inserted the little notches on four of my teeth, and showed me the invisilign. My speech really isn't affected, only a bit. I do feel mild soreness, but I know that means they're working. Luckily, my teeth didn't need too much work so I only need 10 sets of aligners. So far, I would recommend the Invisilign to anyone. Hope this helps!
I have been wearing Invisalign aligners for 20 weeks. This is my experience.
Visibility. They are less visible than braces, but not totally invisible. If people are three feet away or more, they can't tell you are wearing them. If they are closer, they may be able to. They may see the "attachments" (little bumps the ortho puts on your teeth to help keep the aligners on and to help them pull on your teeth) or they may see the aligners themselves. You should ask your ortho upfront where your attachments will be. If they need to be put on your front teeth, they will be visible and you should really think about whether you want to proceed. Mine are not on my front teeth, but they are on teeth that are visible. Someone noticed one once and asked if I was wearing Invisalign. Overall, you should think of Invisalign as much less visible than traditional braces, but not as invisible.
Speech. I lisped a lot for a couple of days when I first started wearing them, and a little for a week or so unless I focused on not lisping. After that, if I left the aligners out for a long period and then put them in, I lisped for a few minutes until I got used to them. Now I do not lisp at all.
Discomfort. With my first couple of sets, I felt no discomfort. With every set after those, I have felt significant pressure when I first put them in. I would not describe the feeling as pain -- just intense pressure. I always put a new set in at night. By morning the intense feeling is gone, but I still feel pressure for a few days.
Taking them out. I was told to wear them 18-20 hours per day minimum. I have modified this somewhat without slowing things down -- I wear them 18-20 hours for the first few days, then less. I change aligners every two weeks, and by the end of two weeks I probably wear them no more than a total of 14 hours a day and sometimes less. I try to put them in for 20 minutes or so periodically all day, as opposed to going to long periods without wearing them. I go by how much pressure I feel. If I feel a lot of pressure after leaving them out for awhile, I know I've overdone it and I wear them more.
Care. You should not drink anything colored while wearing your aligners, because they stain. You cannot eat while wearing them. You are supposed to brush them after every meal. Sometimes I don't, which is kind of gross but has not caused any problems. I rinse them frequently, because if I don't they start to feel slimy.
Progress. After 20 weeks, my teeth are considerably straighter. I hope to be done with my upper teeth in six weeks, although my ortho has told me that the schedule is a target, not a guarantee. We may decide to keep going with more aligners if we think more straightening would be good and if she thinks aligners can accomplish anything. She has also warned me that I may get to a point where aligners will no longer do anything and to accomplish total straightening, I would have to wear traditional braces for a few weeks. I do not plan to do that under any circumstances.
Overall satisfaction. I am very pleased. I would do this again.
Last edited by byryr; 12-21-2007 at 09:46 AM.
great review! thank you, I'm sure this helps out...
Junior Member
your experience will depend on your case and skill of your doctor.
My case is 50 trays, that's about 2 years of treatment. And during this time I felt considerable pain, on certain days I had to take painkillers. My gums were swolen, my mouth was cut (tray plastic can be quite sharp). Don't expect an easy ride.
Quality of treatment. As many have said, invisa only works for mild cases. Unfortunately, doctors tend to be over optimistic. Seek second opinion before you begin treatment. Once again, understand that while you're wearing invisa trays nothing could be adjusted. Doctor designs (on a computer) how you mouth will look before the molds are made. He can only tell you whether or not your teeth are moving along (tracking) the origianal computer layout. He may (and many do) finish your treatment or stop in the middle to make some additional trays to correct/adjust a particularly hard tooth(s). Remember, invisa can't turn/grasp the teeth as well as metal wire
By all means, do not go with the cheapest doctor. Saving $2000 and having a lousy doctor is such disappointment that you will loose hair. Be prepared to wear the damn braces 23 hours a day for the best result. Dont listen to people who say you can take them off for 4 or 6 hours and achieve something. You'll be doing yourself a very bad favor, moving your teeth back and forth like an idiot. A smart doctor will tell you.
If you persist, select a decent doctor and are prepapred for some pain, then invisa treatment should be as good as a tradional kind of braces.
Two questions you may want to ask yourself before you get Invisalign are:
Do you mind having your teeth filed?Do you mind wearing a retainer for the rest of your life?
These are two things my dentist neglected to tell me before I went through the whole process, and from what I've read on various forums it looks like this is standard operating procedure amongst most dentists. These would have been deal-breakers for me if I had known as my teeth were only slightly crowded on the bottom and it wasn't that big of a deal to me.
Also, the initial treatment plan may not completely correct your teeth and you may have to go through a "refinement" process, which my dentist said is no extra charge. From the various forums I've read, this also seems to be normal procedure - and most people do end up needing to go through the refinement process.
To answer your specific questions, these are my answers:
a) They are not completely invisible - but it would be a bit absurd to expect them to be. They are clear plastic, so if someone is pretty close to you and they are staring at your teeth they will probably notice something is up. They will either see the aligner (or at least notice that your teeth have a shiny sheen to them) or they will see the "handles" on your teeth if you have to have them put on your front teeth. But most likely in a normal everyday situation a person probably would not be able to notice them on your teeth, but they may notice that you talk a little different if they interact with you on a regular basis, which leads to...
b) You will usually adjust enough to not talk with a lisp after a few days (or a week) but IMO you will always talk a little funny. My coworkers all know I have them and they definitely notice my speech is different while I have them in. Also, in long conversations you get a little exhausted from talking with them in, so I usually take mine out in those instances. I also find I frequently get "tongue-tied" with them in. It can definitely be frustrating at times.
Basically it will come down to whether the inconvenience will be worth it for you. Everything has it's ups and downs and Invisalign is no different - they're not perfect, but once your done hopefully your teeth will be straight. Expecting to go through the whole process without anyone finding out might be a bit of a stretch though. Remember, you have to take them out when you eat, brush your teeth and the aligners after you eat, etc...
Senior Member
I have stainless brackets and three ceramic brackets ... and my lowers needed IPR, my upper front teeth will also need some IPR to allow them to come together without a gap ... so this is not something that is just used with invisalign, but is used by many (probably most) orthodontists. My feelings about IPR, is I'd rather have small amounts of enamel removed from some teeth, than have 'whole' teeth extracted and much larger gaps needing to be closed.
Every person who has orthodontic treatment needs to wear their retainers for life ... if they want their teeth to remain where they were the day their braces came off. Teeth will continue to move for as long as we're alive, so it's a simple choice ... retainers for one or two nights a week, or waste a few thousand for a year or two of having a good bite and then ...
After 5 years, 11 months and two days of stainless steel brackets ... my teeth now have upper and lower bonded, gold wire, retainers and removable clear retainers!
my initial thoughts
well, I just started my invisalign treatment a couple of days ago...so far, so good...I don't feel like it took me a lot of time to get used to wearing them...they hurt the first night but by morning I felt fine...however, it is PAINFUL to take these things out...I just about had a mini panic attack the first time because I felt like I was pulling my teeth out...each time since then has been just as painful and awkward but at least now I know that they will come out okay...I will say this; my snacking habits are definitely going to change since I don't want to take these things out any more than I have to...well, that's my report for now : )
Senior Member
Fantastic that it's going well for you Ali!
Hope it's not long to you're enjoying your new smile and bite!
After 5 years, 11 months and two days of stainless steel brackets ... my teeth now have upper and lower bonded, gold wire, retainers and removable clear retainers!
I had a very hard time getting them out the first couple of times, including when I was still at the ortho. They still hurt a bit, but they feel better now. It's been one week since I started, and I barely notice them now. Of course, I'm sure all of that will change next Monday
-Brenda
I'm afraid you're right, Punkin. During my treatment I changed aligners every two weeks. I quickly just resigned myself to the fact that the second day of a new aligner would hurt. Removing it, I often wondered if my teeth were coming out, too. I found a good shout while I pried them out always helped a little ...It's been one week since I started, and I barely notice them now. Of course, I'm sure all of that will change next Monday
What was interesting is that it hurt more to HAVE THEM OUT. So I guess the pain ends up being a great motivation to leave the aligners in as much as possible.
Junior Member
I'm on week 6, 3rd set of trays. I go in on Monday the 7th to get my next 3 sets. I haven't had any real pain to speak of. I have felt like my teeth were in a vise the last set but that was short lived. It passed over night and all was fine. I'm looking forward to the next 3 sets as I can look at the sets and see the differences in them (hopefully)
Im 1/4 the way through this experience. I only have to wear mine 6 months. 13 trays both upper and lower. My issue has been more crowding and I had to have IPR's done on the front upper teeth.
Hey there.
1) Yes. I almost can't believe I'm typing this as when I first got my Invisalign, I had to have attachments on 8 teeth and was horrified by how obvious I thought they were. Over time, I've had to adjust to the idea that they're mostly obvious to me. Only two people have spotted them independently in four months. I'm also totally open about having them, and most of the people I tell peer like crazy and then only just notice. They really are invisible, except to those of us wearing them.
2) The lisp...this was my major concern, as I work as an IT trainer. Yes, when you first get your Invisalign, you will lisp like crazy. However, 48 hours later your lisp won't be noticeable to anyone but you. The best piece of advice I got was to practice saying the word "statistics" over and over...if you can say that smoothly, everything else is fine. And as someone who was more worried about the lisp than anything else...yes, you'll get it. But it goes away really, really fast. It's just a question of getting used to it, and when something's on your teeth 24/7...it doesn't take long.
Posting Permissions
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
