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calindi
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Orthodontia as an Adult
Would you do it? Get braces again, or Invisalign?
Do you like your teeth? Have you ever had braces? Would you want to have braces now?
I had braces for 8 years (not a typo) as a child, and then shortly after I finished, my wisdom teeth came in and moved everything around. They're not terrible, especially my top teeth, but I don't love my smile like I used to, and it's actually causing issues - my gums are sensitive and irritated because food gets stuck in there easier and it's harder to floss. I currently have gingivitis, and I brush twice a day religiously and floss several times a week! And for whatever reason, my bottom teeth hurt when I'm exercising hard, something about the blood flow to the area making the teeth push against each other because they're crooked.
So I priced out Invisalign and braces. Yep, was willing to put metal brackets back on for a few months at least to ease the troubles and give me straighter teeth! Braces were only $500 cheaper than Invisalign, so I didn't see the point. But Invisalign was too expensive.
Today I went to the dentist and they asked if I was going to go ahead with the Invisalign from our consultation a few months ago. I said no because of the price. They asked what I was willing to spend, and I told them, and they told me they could work with that budget! So I think I'm going to do it. But it's a big commitment - I have to wear those things constantly for the next 12 months. It'll hurt, there will be days when eating really sucks (about 2 days every 2 weeks, when I switch trays). Basically it's a clear plastic tray that snaps on your teeth, and you only take it off to eat and brush your teeth. But I won't have gum problems anymore, my bottom teeth won't hurt, and I'll have a stunning smile - in time for my wedding, no less! I have a second job teaching sailing that I took on for fun, but my salary from that would be able to pay for this over the course of a year.
Thoughts? Would you do it?
Do you like your teeth? Have you ever had braces? Would you want to have braces now?
I had braces for 8 years (not a typo) as a child, and then shortly after I finished, my wisdom teeth came in and moved everything around. They're not terrible, especially my top teeth, but I don't love my smile like I used to, and it's actually causing issues - my gums are sensitive and irritated because food gets stuck in there easier and it's harder to floss. I currently have gingivitis, and I brush twice a day religiously and floss several times a week! And for whatever reason, my bottom teeth hurt when I'm exercising hard, something about the blood flow to the area making the teeth push against each other because they're crooked.
So I priced out Invisalign and braces. Yep, was willing to put metal brackets back on for a few months at least to ease the troubles and give me straighter teeth! Braces were only $500 cheaper than Invisalign, so I didn't see the point. But Invisalign was too expensive.
Today I went to the dentist and they asked if I was going to go ahead with the Invisalign from our consultation a few months ago. I said no because of the price. They asked what I was willing to spend, and I told them, and they told me they could work with that budget! So I think I'm going to do it. But it's a big commitment - I have to wear those things constantly for the next 12 months. It'll hurt, there will be days when eating really sucks (about 2 days every 2 weeks, when I switch trays). Basically it's a clear plastic tray that snaps on your teeth, and you only take it off to eat and brush your teeth. But I won't have gum problems anymore, my bottom teeth won't hurt, and I'll have a stunning smile - in time for my wedding, no less! I have a second job teaching sailing that I took on for fun, but my salary from that would be able to pay for this over the course of a year.
Thoughts? Would you do it?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Orthodontia as an Adult
My dentist and my ortho told me not to do the Invisalign... it's not a permanent fix. Instead, they opted I do ceramic/porcelain or clear braces for adults. That may just be for my kind of ortho problem, however. You may be able to get away with it!!
[QUOTE]I also need to get braces at some point. I keep putting it off (I don't want them in e-pics or wedding pics!) but I know I need to do it. My dentist and my ortho told me not to do the Invisalign... it's not a permanent fix. Instead, they opted I do ceramic/porcelain or clear braces for adults. That may just be for my kind of ortho problem, however. You may be able to get away with it!!
Posted by CocoBellaF[/QUOTE]
Yeah, they said it's not for everyone. Because I've had braces before, my teeth are more or less in the right spot, just at weird angles, so apparently I'm an ideal Invisalign candidate. I'd be happy to stick braces back on if needed, especially if it was cheaper, but the cost was basically equivalent, so I'd just as well have the clear ones.
Life is good today.
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Orthodontia as an Adult : Yeah, they said it's not for everyone. Because I've had braces before, my teeth are more or less in the right spot, just at weird angles, so apparently I'm an ideal Invisalign candidate. I'd be happy to stick braces back on if needed, especially if it was cheaper, but the cost was basically equivalent, so I'd just as well have the clear ones.
Posted by calindi[/QUOTE]
I'm totally considering Invisaligns. I had braces for 9 months when I was 19/20 years old. Stupidly, I did not wear the retainer and though my teeth look a million times better than they did as a kid, I gotta do something about the shifting.
I quoted you because I got a similar mention, that I was a good candidate for Invisalign.
Step 1 for me is getting my wisdom teeth pulled (just two, both out and all sorts of annoying). But I'm scared to get something ripped out of my body. At least they are not impacted, I hear that can be much worse than what I'll have to go through.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on getting Invisaligns. Do you believe they will ache more than standard braces did? Or just in general.
I'm not 100% happy with my teeth right now, but I don't think I'm unhappy enough to go through braces again. I think if anything, I'd opt for a little reshaping to give the appearence of a straight line.
I do think that if your teeth are causing you pain, then it'd be totally worth it to do the invisalign.
[QUOTE]Yes. I would absolutely do it. I never had braces, and I hate my teeth. M<strong>y dentist asks every few years if I want braces - including when I was a child, but my parents wouldn't pay for it (they would for my sister, but not me...real fair Mom and Dad)</strong>. At this point, I can't afford it, but when I can I'll be getting them for sure. I'd prefer Invisalign over braces, just because I look really young as is, and I think braces would only make that worse.
Posted by Beads921[/QUOTE]
<div>Change sister to brother and there's my situation. Eventually, I probably will do Invisalign. I went to the dentist over winter break, and they said there was pretty serious premature wear on my lower teeth. They're very cramped, but mom and dad won't pay for it, so it'll sit until I can afford it. </div><div>
</div><div>Dear Cost of Invisalign,</div><div>
</div><div>Please don't go up dramatically. Especially since you're probably going to have to be worked into a wedding budget, and we're broke.</div><div>
</div><div>Love,</div><div>Me.</div>
Now I have the 'Madonna gap'.
This photo was about 2.5yrs ago, it's gotten a little worse.
I'd love to get that fixed. I have a little crowding on the bottom, too.
I'd wear braces all over again to fix it, I just don't want to pay for them.
I feel like shiit about it now. My parents scraped their pockets to get me braces.
I've never worn braces before, but my wisdom teeth have pushed my front, bottom teeth together a little too much. Nobody else ever notices, apparently, but when I see pictures of myself, it's all I notice. My dentist thinks that I should be able to fix it with a retainer I wear only at night, but I have to wait until I'm working again before I can get it.
I don't wear my retainer and I haven't seen a big difference. I haven't worn it in about oh two years and I don't have a gap or anything.
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I've been debating back and forth about jaw surgery though. My jaw is messed up so it pops in and out of place every time I open my mouth. Most of the time I barely notice it but sometimes when I'm eating it hurts and it occasionally gives me really horrible headaches. But I don't really want to spend the money or go through all that jaw surgery entails like drinking through a staw for a month.
I've heard good things about Invisalign. I had some problems from the metal braces I had when I was younger that I'm still dealing with (just got some enormous fillings replaced with partial crowns), so I personally don't recommend traditional metal braces.
I haz a planning bio
If I don't wear my retainer for a few days or a week and pop it in the pain is the same I remember when I had braces. It hurts, but it's not unbearable. And like a PP said, you can take pain killers. I don't have problems with eating, so you should probably be fine.
I do remember being in tears trying to eat a cookie right after my braces (I really wanted that cookie...). I don't think anything is comparable as far as pain threshold when it comes to the first few days of braces. I don't think switching trays will cause pain like that...it's probably just like getting your braces tightened or wearing tighter elastics.
Anyway, you had eight years of braces as compared to my two years so I'm sure none of this is news to you!
I had a huge gap tooth pre-braces. I kind of miss it, even though it starts to come back after if I skip my retainer for too long.
It can't hurt any worse than braces and you won't need to get those darn spacers again like with braces.
Once that is taken care of and any cavities are filled or whatever, I would seriously consider Invisalign. I am not sure about full-on braces, but that's also something I'd at least think about.
My top teeth are not noticeably crooked, but I do have a cross-bite. I'd love to get that straightened out just for comfort. My bottom teeth are somewhat crooked, with one very obvious out-of-place tooth right in the front crowding everyone else. I'd like to get it straightened out... BUT....
I'm 27 years old. My smile is what it is. I don't hate it. I have taken good care of my teeth, they're fairly white, they are in good shape visually (brush twice a day, floss a few times a week). I just dont know if my fanciful idea of someday straightening my teeth out would outweigh the costs.
I guess I'll decide once I actually visit the dentist in a few months, get these horrible wisdom teeth out, and find out exactly what could be done, what it would take, and how much it would cost.
But, I will certainly consider it. And I will get my kids braces if they need them- my parents never had dental insurance of any kind, so my brother and I had to do without. Although by the time my younger sister was a teenager, things had changed for my folks, so she had braces and even got her wisdom teeth out long before they could cause her any issues.
Oh, well. That's life.
Kidding...I just got some amazing dental insurance, so I foresee braces/invisalign one of these days.
That being said, I never had braces as a young adult because I played French horn and was pretty darned serious about my music. Braces would've destroyed my livelihood
But I still want pretty teeth
[QUOTE]I want 'em. Can you pay for them? Kidding...I just got some amazing dental insurance, so I foresee braces/invisalign one of these days. That being said, I never had braces as a young adult because I played French horn and was pretty darned serious about my music. Braces would've destroyed my livelihood :) And my lips. Basically. But I still want pretty teeth :)
Posted by Blue & White[/QUOTE]
Yeah, my dental insurance won't cover them. And the dental insurance I'll be on next (TriCare with the military after we're married) doesn't cover adult orthodontia either, so I figure I'll just suck it up. I negotiated a much lower rate, so it's something I can pay off this year. I figure if I can pay it off by the time I'm done with it, then it's not too much to spend.
My teeth aren't awful at all - they're still mostly straight. If it weren't for the gum issues and the discomfort, I probably would just ignore it and be fine. But I figure if I'm ever going to do it, and it seems like it's a good idea for my comfort and gum health, then I might as well do it so I have pretty teeth in time for my wedding! Plus this is the only time I can guarantee I'll be in one place long enough to do it - once the military starts moving me around, it might get tricky.
I advise anyone if you're going in for Invisalign - negotiate! The dentists do very little work, as they just take impressions and then they send them to the lab to have the trays made. The lab apparently costs a little over $2000, and the rest is almost all profit for the dentist. It can obviously change depending on how many trays you need and so forth, but I was originally quoted $5000 - obviously a large chunk of that would go to the dentist, and that was wayyy too much for me to pay. My budget was closer to $3000, which I thought was impossible as I had 4-5 different Invisalign providers quote me over $5000, but when I mentioned it to my dentist yesterday, she said, "Let me see what I can do." Wham! That easy!
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Orthodontia as an Adult : Yeah, my dental insurance won't cover them. <strong>And the dental insurance I'll be on next (TriCare with the military after we're married) doesn't cover adult orthodontia either</strong>, so I figure I'll just suck it up. I negotiated a much lower rate, so it's something I can pay off this year. I figure if I can pay it off by the time I'm done with it, then it's not too much to spend. My teeth aren't awful at all - they're still mostly straight. If it weren't for the gum issues and the discomfort, I probably would just ignore it and be fine. But I figure if I'm ever going to do it, and it seems like it's a good idea for my comfort and gum health, then I might as well do it so I have pretty teeth in time for my wedding! Plus this is the only time I can guarantee I'll be in one place long enough to do it - once the military starts moving me around, it might get tricky. I advise anyone if you're going in for Invisalign - negotiate! The dentists do very little work, as they just take impressions and then they send them to the lab to have the trays made. The lab apparently costs a little over $2000, and the rest is almost all profit for the dentist. It can obviously change depending on how many trays you need and so forth, but I was originally quoted $5000 - obviously a large chunk of that would go to the dentist, and that was wayyy too much for me to pay. My budget was closer to $3000, which I thought was impossible as I had 4-5 different Invisalign providers quote me over $5000, but when I mentioned it to my dentist yesterday, she said, "Let me see what I can do." Wham! That easy!
Posted by calindi[/QUOTE]
<div>
</div><div>I have TriCare. They suck, you gotta watch 'em. They're tricky. BUT, they will pay for PART of my invisalign if I decide to do it, because it is "medically necessary". You just have to have your dentist put in that it's medically necessary for you to have invisalign, and they'll pay for a certain amount of it.</div><div>
</div><div>ETA - That's why it didn't drop the price significantly! I didn't realize it only cost the dentist $2000. I think TriCare covers like...$1000 or $1500</div><div>
</div><div>Basically, if ANYTHING is "medically necessary" they'll at least pay for part of it. I once got a free contact exam because an opthamologist decided it was "medically necessary" that I have one. Granted, it was a slow day at Bethesda, but still.</div>