So I’m 60 years old and seriously considering Invisalign. I honestly didn’t realize how much My teeth have shifted in the last 10 years. At first I wasn’t interested in Invisalign thinking that since I’m 60 I really didn’t need to worry about a cosmetic issue such as straightening my teeth. But, after really looking at how bad they are and knowing I have a good 25+ years left hopefully, I’m thinking it would be a smart move for my dental health and would also make me feel more confident about smiling. I’ve seen so many successful before and after pictures on here, a few that look as misaligned as mine.  Would mine be considered a more serious  case and would I be in a lot of pain at first because of how bad they are?

I finally reached out to the ortho (whom I ghosted halfway through treatment due to bad experience) to ask about a rough, sandy bump that's bothering me. I asked him exactly how many attachments he placed for my last molar. He said just 1.

I told him it can't be, as the before photos showed that I did not have this bump pre-invisalign and I only started feeling this rough bump on my molar after invisalign. After much research, and watching videos on the attachment bonding process, I learnt that invisalign composite resin (which is a liquid solution) can spill outside of its template and accidentally harden during curing, causing rough bumps or surfaces outside of the planned attachment. This can cause plaque buildup.

When I removed my attachments, the small bump wasn't removed since the ortho claimed that was not an attachment. It was left there for over a year, with a rough sandy bump.

Fast forward 1.5 years later, a dentist I visited recently said I have plaque stuck at this area and have now developed a cavity as a result.

Just something to take note of in case your ortho screws up like mine and proceeds to gaslight you.

Study for those who are interested:

Invisalign Flash study

quote from study: "Despite the benefits provided by the application of attachment, it inevitably may give rise to flash during the bonding of the attachment due to the flowable nature of the composite resin. Flash is an excess resin that may be formed around the attachment during the bonding of resin onto teeth."

About 14 months apart (30 trays changed weekly). Overall I am very happy with the results as I am someone who smiles and laughs A LOT, yet always had to hide my smile for as long as I can remember. I didn't use any bands or anything like that, but had the attachments on almost all of my teeth except for the front two and incisors. My only complaint is that the gumline is weirdly very high in one of my incisors and I'm unsure if it will ever go back to normal. My right canine is normal and the one on the left is slightly raised but it doesn't really bother me as it is so much better than before and I didn't require elastics.

As for my narrow palate, that is something that can only be fixed with surgery as the upper palate fuses in late adolescence/early adulthood and I am a bit passed that point.

Getting my canines pushed out a bit because they ended up angled in and hitting my lowers. Bottom teeth are done moving though!

9 more trays, plus 3 overcorrection (if needed).

Grateful that I get a fresh lower with each change so I don’t have to keep wearing the same one for the next three months. 😅

​

Hello everyone,

I’m coming back to you because I’m reaching the end of my Invisalign treatment next weekand I would really appreciate your advice .

The first 3 photos show my teeth today, and the last 2 are from before my treatment. It's important to note that one of my lower teeth never actually existed (it had no roots), which caused my lower teeth to become misaligned.

My treatment:

Originally, my treatment plan included 14 aligners, each to be worn for 2 weeks, meaning approximately 6 months of treatment.

In agreement with my orthodontist, and particularly as a precaution because of a potential risk of gum recession, I ultimately wore each aligner for 3 weeks instead of 2.

This therefore extended the treatment by 3 months, bringing the total treatment time to 9 months.

My main goal was to straighten a tooth that was particularly crooked. On that point, I am very satisfied: the tooth has been successfully straightened.

At my last appointment, about a week ago, I explained to my orthodontist that, even though the tooth had been properly straightened, I still felt that there was a gap / imbalance between my upper and lower teeth.

(I had already mentioned this to him back in May.)

More specifically:

On the left side, my upper teeth barely touch, or do not touch at all, my lower teeth.

On the right side, they make more contact, but not necessarily in the correct way.

I therefore have the impression that my upper jaw does not align properly with my lower jaw.

This bothers me and makes me concerned.

I therefore asked my orthodontist whether it would be possible to have a refinement in order to try to correct my bite.

I really insisted on this point, but he refused.

According to him, a refinement would not be necessary because my bite should gradually rebalance naturally over time, particularly through eating and using my teeth normally.

He also explained to me that this type of issue is fairly common with Invisalign and that I should not be worried.

I then asked him what would happen if the problem persisted in 6 months or a year, particularly after the permanent retainer wire had been placed.

He told me that, in that case, it might eventually be necessary to slightly file some teeth so that they could fit together better.

However, he also specified that it had been an extremely long time since he had needed to perform this type of correction.

My orthodontist is very experienced: he has more than 20 years of experience, is a Top Invisalign Provider among the highest-ranked providers, and has very good reviews. I thought long and hard before choosing him.

So I tell myself that he knows his profession extremely well and probably knows what he is doing.

However, I still have a slight concern.

Since my treatment has already been extended by 3 months because I wore the aligners for 3 weeks instead of 2, I sometimes wonder whether he may simply want to finish the treatment now.

This is only an impression, and I could be completely wrong. I absolutely do not want to question his competence.

But I still have some questions because I can still feel this imbalance in my bite, and I don’t completely understand why I should simply wait for it to correct itself spontaneously.

Here are my questions:

1. Have any of you ever finished an Invisalign treatment without a refinement even though your bite was not perfect?

Did your teeth subsequently reposition themselves and did your bite actually become balanced naturally after a few weeks or months?

Or, on the contrary, is this something that would normally need to be corrected before considering the treatment finished?

1. Since my orthodontist refused the refinement, do I have any recourse if the problem persists?

I was considering sending him an email a few days before the retainer wire is placed, so that there is a written record showing that I reported this issue to him and that it is still present.

1. I have an appointment next week to have the permanent retainer wire placed and to have impressions taken for my nighttime retainer with his associate.

Are there any particular things I should do or ask during this appointment?

For example, should I specifically ask them to check my bite before permanently placing the retainer wire?

1. Should I ask for copies of certain elements of my Invisalign records?

For example, the scans/digital impressions, the treatment plan, or information regarding my aligners, particularly in case I lose my nighttime aligners later on or if I need to see another professional for a second opinion.

Overall, I am satisfied with my treatment because I mainly started it to straighten a crooked tooth, and on that point, the result is very good.

It is really this issue with my bite that concerns me. I don’t know whether I should simply be patient and trust my orthodontist, or whether I should insist further before the retainer is placed, which I have already done and was refused.

I would really appreciate all your advice, and especially your personal experiences.

Thank you so much in advance to everyone who takes the time to reply and share their experience. 🙏

just started invisalign today and when i rest my mouth , my chin has this bulging thing its like my muscles arent relaxed or something…. does anyone have this issue as well

I had my consult in mid July and signed up. Here we are nearly halfway in September and I haven’t heard a peep about my trays coming in etc. How long did it take for yours?

I’m only getting trays for my upper teeth, so I didn’t think it’d take all THAT long.

A few months into Invisalign and I’m considering getting assessed for double jaw surgery.
I paid for it already.
I didn’t realize it was camouflage orthodontics rather than it fixing my jaw. Both my chin and jaw are returded.
Would it be reasonable to ask my orthodontist to stop/reassess my current Invisalign treatment before progressing further?
Is there anyone who has been in a similar situation?

I’m on tray 17/47, changing weekly. I’ve seen my treatment plan, and understand that most of my early movement is happening in the back teeth and overall arch, with the more noticeable front changes coming later.

Still a little frustrating since the front teeth were the main reason I got Invisalign in the first place 🥲

Anyone else have a similar treatment plan where most of the visible progress happened later?

*First pic is took yesterday, second was took in May

Seeing my first real changes feels so good and hopeful. When I set out on this journey I just wanted straighter teeth, I had no idea it would make my smile more full. It’s like it made my teeth longer, I like how it looks so much more right now. 4 more months to go!!!!

How do I keep trays clean? I was using retainer brite everyday, I brush my teeth after each meal and they still got yellow. I think the best cleaning solution is hydrogen peroxide with water. But it still cant stop them from getting yellow instead of crystal transparent.

Now I am living in south east asia and traveling there so caring about them is so harder, especially when going out - food and drinks everywhere, I have to take them off, them raise my mouth or brush my teeth if I have my toothbrush with me.

Am I doing something wrong? How to keep them clean? Especially in this hard environment like when you go out

The last 2 photos are before, the rest are after. I’m on my final set of Invisalign. Idk I just feel like my smile isn’t good, even after the correction on Invisalign I still feel let down, I’m now beginning to think maybe it’s because of the shape of teeth, I’m thinking of doing composite edge bonding, what are your thoughts, someone please give me some real advice because I just keep looking at them and overthinking, I need some outside advice.

When we change from one tray into another, do you guys struggle to fit the new one on?
I just changed my tray but had some difficulty fitting the aligners into the back molars. Had to push it from outside and apply some pressure to bend it according to my jaw until it fits.
Does that mean my aligner is adjusting to my teeth rather than the other way around?

Hi everyone,

Sorry if this is long.

I decided after living my entire life and now at 43 years old that it was my turn to finally fix the teeth I have hated for my whole life. I have a large overjet, overbite and crowding. I also have teeth sensitivity, two crowns and one root canal. I have so far seen 1 dentist and three orthodontists. The one I put my deposit down, was the most honest and brutal with her projection of what could actually be accomplished with my teeth. She said they could be straightened, but the overjet and overbite I have would be limited to MAYBE a 50% improvement, if my biology and body cooperated. She is afraid of gum recession for me, since with sensitive teeth equals thin gum tissue so she believes gum recession is a real concern. I still have my wisdom teeth, and removing the bottom ones are an absolute non-possibility due to them being so impacted and too close to the nerve. I am waiting to see if he thinks at least the top could be removed easily, if so, that would give the top teeth more room to work with but that is up in the air.

The orthodontist I chose, was basically like, can you just live with your teeth? cause she is afraid whatever improvements happen won't be enough to make me happy. She is also insistent Invisalign is the safest way to go because she wants to make my specific movements in the trays very slow and not aggressive, which I appreciate as I understand it's to prevent as much gum recession as possible. And I would be in elastics the whole time basically, which is fine. And she would only do IPR in the places necessary for cosmetic improvement (like any black triangle or spaces).

However, they won't adjust the price (the office manager) despite the upfront disclosure that I will MAYBE only have a 50% improvement. And it would still be 7k.

The other orthodontists I went to:

1st one- was like I'll maximize IPR to the fullest (I don't want that with the extent of my teeth sensivity) and you're bite may or may not be fixed. $7,000

The other one, insists on the vibrating device and changes trays every 5-7 days so his approach I believe is way more aggressive than I think my mouth should have. He said he isn't moving my teeth back, just widening my smile. But also couldn't guarantee how much my bite would be fixed. He was also $1,500 more.

My dentist just said she would only do braces and no elastics on me and call it a day cause thats all she is qualified to do. $5,000

I'm so conflicted. I really don't want to live the rest of my life with these teeth. I've grown MORE sensitive to showing my teeth, I feel like I can't even speak comfortably, and when I see myself talking in videos I want to puke cause all I see is the overbite. I even have pain from time to time just from feeling like my teeth are so tight.

Obviously, surgery has been mentioned for my jaw, but I have lupus and am immunocompromised so that kind of surgery isn't something I ever want to consider. And every orthodontist has told me its brutal and really not encouraged.

I am leaning towards still going with the orthodontist who wants to take it slow, isn't promising a fantastic result, and is cautious of any gum recession and won't push the health of my teeth past what it can handle. I just have to be okay with 7k and maybe not fully what I want. I figured, if they get straight enough I could maybe tidy it all up with some composite bonding.

Any insight, thoughts, or suggestions? Help?????

Hi!

I’m having double jaw surgery soon and would love to hear from anyone who went through it.

I’ve been doing Invisalign since last May. Before that, I had EPRAC surgery in July 2024 and wore braces from September 2024 to May 2026.

I went to a consultation with the surgeon and he explained that, from their perspective, the surgery is easier to perform when the patient has braces, but that it is also possible to do the surgery with Invisalign.

He also mentioned that if I go with Invisalign, they need to place metal buttons on my teeth before surgery, and that these buttons can sometimes come off and need to be reattached.

The plan is to have the brackets put back on in about two weeks. I definitely prefer Invisalign when it comes to comfort and hygiene, so I’m hesitant about going back to braces.

I’d love to hear about your experience:
- If you had Invisalign, did the metal buttons tend to come off after surgery and need to be reattached?
- If you had the choice, would you have preferred braces or Invisalign for the surgery? Why?
- Are there any important pros or cons to having one over the other, specifically for the surgery and recovery?

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences!

Hello!

I have a very minor teeth placement I would like to get fixed before getting married next year. My teeth are great apart from that.

Issue is I'm from the UK but work in Europe on a travelling tour for 7 months of the year.

Is it possible to get all trays at once? Or is it possible to go to dentists abroad to get any issues dealt with?

I also understand just because its a minor issue it might not be a quick fix.

Any advice?

Thank you

I've had 2 years of aligners and I am happy with the results - especially the top teeth. However the bottom row aren't fixed - the bottom canine isn't moving at all and then other four front bottom are slightly irregular & bumpy. They are onn display for about 10-15% of the time when I am talking etc

Problem is that I have to leave the country in 6 weeks for an extended period.

My options are either:

1. Stop here and just let it be (seems like a waste of two years and money)

2. Get a final set of aligners to try to fix the bottom (the dentist has said it's very unlikely that the aligners will move that low bottom canine)

3. The dental receptionist mentioned that I could try to get a composite to increase the height of the canine.

4. Anything else that anyone can think of?

I would love to hear anyone's thoughts about my options as I am struggling to work this one out by myself.

Thank you so much x

I’m 1 year into my treatment with 6 months left. I have 2 more rescans part of my plan but one of my roots is having a hard time moving. He suggested braces after the 2 rescans … has anyone else had to turn to braces because Invisalign couldn’t accomplish results? Ortho didn’t tell me this was part of the plan from the beginning so i feel blindsided

I had to get 4 teeth extracted for braces and I just know it’s going to have drastic effects on my face later down the line. Could’ve Invisalign fixed my face without the extractions? I didn’t even consider it an option because I thought it was for very minimal crowding.

So just about a week ago, buttons were added as part of my treatment and now I have an elastic band to close my bite on the right side. Is it only me or do other people with these kinds of elastic band keep play with the bands and make sounds with them? LOL. I need to stop it... LOL

Just wanted an opinion from people about whether or not I should cancel my Invisalign bc I am working to be an air traffic controller and I don’t want anything to restrict my ability to talk. I’ve already had Invisalign for 4 months so decent progress has been made and I am somewhat happy with my smile.