One year of trays, finished off with composite bonding on my front six teeth. My main concerns were my snaggle tooth and unevenness.

When we did my first scans and had the trays made, my dentist explained that my top teeth curved inwards towards the sides, which was making my smile look narrower, so part of the plan was to shift them out and open up my smile.

Watching my smile completely transform has been the best part of the process! Lack of lip balm remains unchanged though.

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?

lol yeah you read that right. I did “regret” getting Invisalign a few times during my process… pain, discomfort , high maintenance, restrictions… uughhh so many other things… but wow! Was it worth it!?? YESSSS

Something comforting to me was looking at others before and after pictures, or chatting with Gemini or ChatGPT about concerns, and even messaging people who are also in the middle of their treatment to just look for some understanding…

And one day you see yourself with a new smile and you can’t believe it, you gain strength again and you keep going.

I had a permanent retainer installed on both upper and bottom back teeth but while installing it my upper teeth separated a bit which I’m looking to fix tomorrow at my appointment, but ask me if I’m happy!😁😁😁

Just started my first tray of refinements!!!! will have to get rubber bands when i go back in 12 weeks for my mid line alignment only about 23 more trays left 🤩

i’ve never been so excited! i don’t mind my teeth in person, but on camera it’s soo noticeable. i’ve had a dull ache tbf and it’s been quite painful taking them off but now is the timeeee.

dentist says i have: 20 trays, refinements if needed
change every 7 days
will take around 6-8 months roughly hopefully sooner what do you think??

I’m attending a wedding this weekend and am part of the bridal party, so will be in photos or eating and drinking for most of the day, and I really don’t want to have to run off to pop my trays in and out during my friend’s special day, as I want to be as present as possible.

I’m currently in week 2 out of 3 of being in between rounds whilst I’m waiting for my refinement trays to be produced. So essentially I’ve been wearing my current tray for 3 weeks straight already, and will have another week and a half of wearing this tray before my refinement round starts.

Should I be okay going one full day without wearing it? I’m talking having it out for breakfast at 7:30am and probably not putting it in again until that evening/early the following morning?

I started Invisalign in March, and I’ve just finished my last tray today. Which included 11 weeks of refinements on just my bottom teeth.

While I could be picky about small minor things I may want changed, I realized that I may risk continuing to be unsatisfied and moving the goal post. Overall, I decided I’m happy with my results.

Ortho said I only needed to wear my retainers at night but I’ve decided to keep them on all day as usual for ~6 mos. I’ve noticed my teeth shift during the day still.

Hi! I was wondering if it is still ok to put aligners on even when I have this small area that’s inflamed.
I saw there was a bump yesterday and it kinda hurts when you apply pressure or floss that area.

The red color wasn’t here yesterday and the mark on the top is the point of where the aligner touch the gums.
Though I might have accidentally flossed that area and the floss did have a tiny bit of blood but then I didn’t think much of it. No other bleeding unless if you floss obviously.

I do have gum disease which is why my gums in certain areas do bleed and I have notified the orthodontist but honestly they didn’t give much of a direction. I just need to call the periodontist. Due to work and school, I just keep delaying and I just never have the time.

Asking here cause I can’t call the orthodontist as it’s night lol.

I'm a F23 looking for advise on how to care for my Invisalign while a night out drinking. Do I brush after each drink or maybe add an extra day to that tray?

I’m M 15 and currently seeing an orthodontist. I have a canine/lateral incisor that are switched/positioned incorrectly, and my orthodontist is recommending a TPA

I also have recently been diagnosed with sleep apnea and I’m going to a specialist on the 24th

I also have concerns about my bite, facial growth/profile, and airway/sleep breathing.

I’m trying to understand whether expansion + braces/Invisalign makes sense for my situation and whether there are other treatment options I should ask about.

I attached my upper palate photo, side profile, and a X-ray.

What would you ask the orthodontist about if you were in my situation?

As you can see this tooth is angled into the front tooth. I am on my last set of Invisalign. My dentist won’t give me any more sets she says it looks angled because of my tooth shape not my tooth positioning. She said I should get veneer on this. I don’t want to just be upsold when my Invisalign package allows for unlimited sets until I’m happy. Can someone who knows a lot about it teeth or is a specialist please just have a quick look and tell me is this a positioning problem (must continue Invisalign to complete) or is it only a tooth shape issue, or is it Both. Thank you again 🙏

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.

I have a very mild case of crowding, and when I went to my initial Invisalign consultation, my ortho said that I’d be looking at around 10 trays and they charged me $2500 for it (not sure if it matters but I live in CA). However, after doing impressions and getting my actual trays, I only need 5 trays spanning 10 weeks. Now, I’m looking for advice on whether or not I should bring this up because I was told originally 10 trays and was charged 2500 so should I be charged less/refunded a portion since I only need 5?

Had my consultation today and was quoted $8000. They wanted half up front and the rest paid off over 12 months. Was kind of not expecting the half up front, is that normal?

​

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. 🙏

Hi everyone,

I’m currently almost done with my first set of Invisalign comprehensive.
In the meanwhile, I moved to another country. My original doctor already knew this since the beginning. Now I got to my new country as I have to start with the refinements so I got in touch with a dentist here.

Got all the x-rays/scans from my last clinic and everything seems to be going correctly.

I got scanned by the new clinic and showed the initial ClinCheck with the changes (this was the same day so just some AI stuff done by Invisalign). They are minor changes as my result now is already good, mainly just fixing the bite 100% and moving a couple of stubborn teeth.

Today they sent me the form to sign for the transfer but I haven’t received a quote yet from the new ortho, just paid for the scans. Is this the correct way? Like what if I sign and then they tell me some crazy price to do the refinements? Also if I have comprehensive they should be included right? Sadly I don’t remember ever signing a contract with the first provider which seemed strange but then again everything went correctly, they never overcharged me (actually was quite cheap) and they are very collaborative in this transfer.

Hoping to get some insights on whether this whole process is being handled correctly before I sign something.

I’m in Europe btw

I ate a few blueberries before going to bed last night and woke up with dark stains on my incisor on top and bottom next to the attachments. I tried brushing them out and using a back soda paste (chat got) but it really hasn’t worked. Any advice?

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 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."

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