Is it worth it?

calindi

I had braces for 8 years when I was a kid.  Then my wisdom teeth came in and pushed all my teeth out of alignment.  My top teeth are still pretty much fine (not perfect, but fine) but my bottom teeth are messed up.  My bite is fine, but the front of them are so crammed that it actually is causing gum problems, and they ache sometimes from pushing against each other (like when I exercise and my blood pumps, my bottom teeth ache.  Weird, I know).

So I've decided I want braces.  It takes 12-15 months, and we want to get married in 24 months, so it'd be nice to just get it out of the way before we had to worry about any of that.

Has anyone done Invisalign?  Or had braces as an adult?  Any suggestions or opinions?  I'm not thrilled with the idea of having braces on my top teeth for a year, but Invisalign could straighten them without the noticable silver smile of braces (or the annoyance of flossing between a wire).  But the price!  Yipes, the price hurts a little.

Here are my options:

1) clear braces on the top, regular silver braces on the bottom

2) invisalign on both top & bottom

3) regular silver braces on just the bottom

Option #1 costs $4300

Option #2 costs $5400

Option #3 costs something around $2800

It's not so much the blatantly expensive price tag as the, "Is it worth it to do it all and get them all straight, or just the bottom teeth?  Is it worth it to cough up the extra money for vanity to have the Invisalign vs. the silver braces for a year?"

katanne9

I would do bottom only.

Unless you wear a retainer forever, it's likely the top ones will end up shifting a bit anyways and if they aren't bad I would save the $$$.

leia1979

I'm not voting 'cause I'm not really sure what to pick.

I've heard awesome things about Invisalign from people who've gone through it. If I ever decided to straighten my teeth a little more, I'd do it. I had braces plus a permanent retainer for ten years. I've had some shifting since, but not enough for me to really bother with. However, the metal braces caused a nasty reaction that led to the decalcification of my molars, so personally I would never do metal braces again.

It all depends on how much work you need. If you're only bothered by the bottom teeth, how about Invisalign just on the bottom?

loopy82

I'd say just do the bottom since they are causing you pain. My wisdom teeth have moved my teeth around too, irks me to no end, but ehh what can you do?

loves2shop4shoes

My brother got the invisalign and loved it.  They worked really well for him.  Somehow he was able to have it covered by the insurance company, so my mom didn't have to pay a dime for it.  I vote the invisalign.

DanieMarie212

I do not know much about invisalign.  However if you do braces on bottom teeth only, you can ask them to do a lingual retainer.  I had one.  My orthodontist said he did lingual retainers, because your bottom teeth move faster than your top teeth.  You can also get a clear retainer for top and bottom that looks like invisalign. I ended up having one for my top teeth, because i pushed the metal retainer out in my sleep.  Honestly they are more comfortable than the metal retainers.

jemmini6

You sound exactly like me.  My wisdom teeth came in and messed up my bottom teeth again.  (I had the awful 'key' spacers on both the top and bottom when I was younger).  I still have yet to actually get my wisdom teeth removed, I need to, but they aren't really bothering me so I can't justify spending $1000 for it (I don't think my insurance covers that much for oral surgery).

I'm at a point now where I'm fine with how my teeth are, even though they aren't perfect, but maybe in a few years I'll re-invest in them.  I think if I ever decide to do it, I'd go for the invisalign.  I already suffered through almost 3 years of metal braces, If I have to do it again, I'm gonna go for the good ones.

calindi

Yes, he did promise to do a permanent retainer on the back of my lower teeth when he's done, and that's included in the cost of treatment for either option.  My top teeth aren't going to move anymore as I have a nightguard that I wear every night, so that helps maintain their alignment.

And no, my insurance won't cover it.  I can finance it, which is pretty reasonable (18 months at $300/month with no interest).  I'm just stuck between whether it's worth just getting it all done now and done perfectly, or just doing my bottom teeth.

[Deleted User]

Only thing I can say about the permanent retainer on the bottom teeth - make sure they don't leave it on too long.  My doctor left mine on for 4 years after my braces came off - 2 probably would have been just fine.  By the time he took it off, the bottom teeth were already somewhat out of alignment.

raw1299

i had invisalign from when i got my braces off (at the age of 10) up until i was 15. number 1, invisalign is more of a gradual straightening of your teeth, it could take up to YEARS and years with invisalign on, depending on how bad your teeth are.

also, they might tell you 12-15 months for silver braces, but realistically it doesnt happen. i was only supose to have my braces in for a year, and it came out to be over 2 years.

did you get your wisdom teeth out? maybe if you get them out, your teeth will start to move farther apart naturally.

calindi

Timeline:

I had braces from age 5-13
My wisdom teeth started to come in when I was 15
My teeth were crooked and my retainer didn't fit anymore at that point
I had my wisdom teeth out when I was 16
At 17, I got a nightguard for my top teeth

Yes, the extended time is definitely a concern.  The whole idea is this is the only time we plan to be in one place for 2 years continuously (otherwise I'll be following him around to military bases on a flexible schedule).  Plus we plan to get married in 2 years, so I'd like to have it all done by then.  Even if it takes a bit longer than they predict, it should still be done by 2 years from now.  But still, that's one reason that Invisalign is appealing because even if I wasn't done, I could just take them out for that one day (sure, set my treatment back, but worth it for a wedding!)

Ugh, so much to think about!  Right now I'm leaning towards bottom braces only.  Grrr....

Bec20

I know a PP said people never get their braces off early, but I did.  It was estimated I'd have mine on for 22 months and I had them on for 19.5 months.  This was even with them pushing my teeth out for 3 or 4 to make room for fake upper canines (I'm missing mine) before deciding it just wasn't worth it to cause a bigger overbite and make me have jaw surgery and switching back and pushing my teeth in.  I got my braces off at 17.5, right before I graduated high school.

If your top teeth are pretty much good, I would only do the metal braces on the bottom.  I heard the same thing about invisalign being slow, so I would worry that you'd end up with it a lot longer than you were hoping to.

nannewmur

I manage an orthodontic practice and have worked in this area for many years.  Everyone's teeth shift through out their life (average is 5-7%).  One common reason for relapse of the lower anterior teeth is due to lack of expansion of the upper jaw.  Look at yourself in a mirror and give a big broad smile.  Do you teeth fill your entire smile line or do you see like dark triangles because your smile is not wide enough? And example of someone who had a nice wide smile is Julia Roberts while someone who does not have a wide enough smile is Jon Lithgow or Jack Nicholson's Joker character.   Many orthodontist do not expand because it cost more money and the general public look for straight teeth, not how the teeth fit together.   Very seldom is one arch of teeth where they need to be and only braces are needed on one arch.  Invisalign is a joke and at an Invisalign  doctors conference last year the drs were told their patients need to go in braces for 6-12 months then go to Invisalign, for the results to be right.  If they are telling the providers this, just how stable can Invisalign only be?    Many Invisalign patients feel their teeth look great at the end but notice a lot of relapse after being out of the aligner for several years. 

As for the permanent retainer, I would have to ask why you need a permanent retainer if the bite is finished in the right position.  If finished in the correct bite, a removable is normally worn for a period of time of up to two years, 24/7 the first 6 months then you taper off to not at all between months 6 to 24 months.  Retainers should never be a forever thing and many times patients who are given linguals have a lot of relapse after removal because the teeth are not moved to the proper position. 

Many orthodontists offer no charge evaluations-I would seek two other opinions before making this type of financial commitment and make sure you see before and after pix of their patients.  This might sound silly, but make sure you are going to an orthodontist, who has recd an additional 2-3 years in  growth and development training and not a general dentist who does braces on the side.  Huge difference in treatment results and stability!! 

Good luck!

calindi

Thanks for the advice from someone with professional experience!

Yes, my jaw is a little small, and has always been.  I've had it expanded (and expanded and expanded) and there's no way I'm doing that again.  And all my teeth fit well on my top jaw now - the canines are slightly twisted, but everything fits.  But I have an overbite and my bottom teeth are super crunched in front.  My braces before were done by an orthodontist, but I wasn't the best patient and I was still really young when I got them off.  Over the years, the bottoms have really shifted.  The top have shifted a little, but nothing major.

And yes, I'd definitely only go to an orthodontist (not a dentist) and ask for lots of 'before and after' pics and testimonials.  I've gotten 3 consultations so far, and they're all pushing Invisalign simply because it's less work on their part and it's cosmetically less intrusive on your life, but I am starting to think that just bottom braces would really help what I need without costing an arm and a leg.  I'm also not the best patient so I bet I'd have a hard time keeping the Invisalign on - if I'm paying for it, though, that's a good motivator!

raw1299

yes, my teeth have definitely shifted since i last had my invisalign, 5 years ago. you have to be commited to the invisalign, even if you miss a few days, your teeth feel really tight in it. for me, i only had to wear them at night, i guess if you wore them 24/7 it would be quicker results.

Acrosthec

I had to get bottom braces again when I was in college.  My top teeth shifted a tiny bit after I got my braces off (at 14/15...I forget), but my bottom teeth never did quite fit and shifted as soon as I stopped wearing my retainer, even though I wore it religiously in high school and figured after 4 years I'd be ok.  HA!

I just got them on the bottom, and have been fine ever since.  I had them about a year and everything was fixed.  It wasn't worth the money to me to get the invisalign just for the bottom since my smile/top teeth covered it up pretty well, and my top teeth didn't bother me even though they aren't perfectly straight.  They put a permanent retainer in, but it popped off because they put it in wrong, and within a week my bottom teeth had shifted just a tiny bit.  I wasn't willing to pay to get a real retainer or pay to put the braces back on, so they just made a permanent retainer to the shape my teeth were in at that time.  It is still on 8 years later and my bottom teeth haven't moved.  I think as long as you have regular dentist visits and take care to clean and floss around the permanent retainer, it's fine to keep it as long as it'll stay.