Braces (invisalign)

persa

Has anyone had braces done as an adult?

I'm thinking about invisalign, but the bit which puts me off is the metal wire that my dentist wants to fix behind my teeth.

Has anyone not had the permanent retainer put in, and if so, what were your experiences? I think I can compromise on wearing a mouthguard at night to keep my teeth in position, but I am really against the metal wire and I don't know if that means I've just permanently ruled out braces or not. I'd like straighter teeth, but I think I'd dislike the wire more.

Have come to terms with the price and the length of treatment, it's just the "what happens afterwards" part that I'm still debating!

Many thanks.

Toothsmith

After spending that money, and taking that time, how long do you want the lovely straight result to last?

It will last the longest with permanent retention.

With night time retainers, you will start off all keen and diligent, and wear them every night.

Then, after a week or two, you'll forget a night, then you'll go away for a weekend and forget to pack them. Then you won't bother taking them on holiday with you for fear of losing them. Then you will realise they are getting a bit worn, but won't want to spend money on getting them replaced - so you will think a boil & fit sports guard might just do instead. Then - before you know it, the teeth will be starting to cross a bit and turn a bit - and it won't quite look as good as it used to.

Obviously, what you do afterwards is completely up to you. I'm sure the dentist would be happy to take your money and do the treatment whatever you want to do afterwards. But you will be warned that unless you opt for permanent retention, the final result cannot be guaranteed to last forever.

j.e.j.

I can imagine having a wire attached permanently to the back of your front teeth will make you talk with a 'lithp' for the rest of your life.

However it is also true what toothsmith says about people getting a bit lazy about wearing the retainer at night! It's probably also a bit of a passion-killer, having that contraption in your mouth at night time :rotfl:


If I ever had the money to get my gnashers straightened I'd be wondering the same as you OP, - what to do afterwards..

brook2jack

Wire retainers absolutely do not make you lisp for life. They are the gold standard for retention and after having worn braces which are a lot more bulky for a considerable length of time most people adapt to a wire retainer very quickly.

No retention means the teeth will most probably move and any money you've spent on a brace is a waste of time.

selement

I had invisalign and never had any metal! It must depend on what exactly needs to be done? I do have to wear my plastic retainers nightly for life now

Reams

Hi persa, I am almost 70 and am wearing braces. Three days in I could see them changing. Having seen that, my daughter is having Invisalign with the same Orthodontist next week courtesy of mum!
This is all costing a great deal of money but I'm concerned she may not wear them for the required 22 hours per day.


The Invisalign method takes a great degree of self control. After a while the teeth look straight so leave them off? Leave them off too long and the course has been lost.


As to a fine wire behind your teeth?
Whatever method, you have lived with wires and brackets or a mouth full of plastic that's cost you £4,000.00 plus for twelve months and you're concerned at a fine wire?


If that fine wire worries you, do not enter in to having your teeth straightened. You are not a candidate for whatever method.


For anyone who questions the wire? There was a picture of Prince William showing that retaining wire. But what would they know?

persa

brook2jack wrote: »

Wire retainers absolutely do not make you lisp for life. They are the gold standard for retention and after having worn braces which are a lot more bulky for a considerable length of time most people adapt to a wire retainer very quickly.

No retention means the teeth will most probably move and any money you've spent on a brace is a waste of time.

I'm not suggesting no retention, I'm suggesting wearing a mouthguard/plastic retainer (sorry, not sure of the correct term) at night only. Given I apparently grind my teeth at night, a mouthguard is something I should get anyway, so having a specialist one would kill two birds with one stone (although I suppose I might have to replace it more often than a normal person due to increase wear).

I appreciate that a wire is the gold standard, but I also get the impression that this dentist (she's not my regular one, but at my regular practice and I do have confidence in her) thinks it's necessary because all her patients lie to her about how much care they take. Toothsmith seems to be of the same school of thought.

selement wrote: »

I had invisalign and never had any metal! It must depend on what exactly needs to be done? I do have to wear my plastic retainers nightly for life now

I was told that people didn't always have a wire put in previously (whether after invisalign or regular braces) and because they didn't bother to wear plastic retainers nightly, their teeth have all moved back now. So it wasn't best practice previously, but it is now because most patients lie.

How long ago did you have the treatment and do you feel your teeth are still straight? I think like you I'm happy with the compromise of nightly retainers, but I just don't want to wear a wire.

Whatever I do, I'm a bit unhappy at the lack of aftercare. Even if I have the blasted wire put in, as soon as the treatment is complete, I get nothing. I mean, I don't mind paying for replacement nightly retainers etc, that sounds reasonable, but if I think there's a problem with my teeth, I get nothing. And what happens if invisalign go bust? Can someone else make me a plastic retainer?

Reams wrote: »

Hi persa, I am almost 70 and am wearing braces. Three days in I could see them changing. Having seen that, my daughter is having Invisalign with the same Orthodontist next week courtesy of mum!
This is all costing a great deal of money but I'm concerned she may not wear them for the required 22 hours per day.

The Invisalign method takes a great degree of self control. After a while the teeth look straight so leave them off? Leave them off too long and the course has been lost.

As to a fine wire behind your teeth?
Whatever method, you have lived with wires and brackets or a mouth full of plastic that's cost you £4,000.00 plus for twelve months and you're concerned at a fine wire?

If that fine wire worries you, do not enter in to having your teeth straightened. You are not a candidate for whatever method.

For anyone who questions the wire? There was a picture of Prince William showing that retaining wire. But what would they know?

In my case, it would be more like 6 months with plastics on my lower set only - I know everyone always thinks they're "a simple case", but my dentist actually seems to think I am.

I fundamentally dislike the idea of putting something foreign in my mouth - with fillings, fair enough, that's my fault. With this wire, I have a choice. (Although that choice may come at the price of ruling out invisalign.)

My hygienist agrees that it will make my teeth harder to clean. Although with that said, he doesn't think it will make it impossible to clean. I just feel like it's correcting one problem (slightly wonky teeth) and creating a brand new one (build up of plaque and ugly wire).

Someone I know has an ex who had invisalign done. He claims the wire didn't bother him, but he also said it was very visible. Given my teeth are only a little wonky, I'm weighing up whether that's more attractive or less attractive than a wire.

Given we're talking invisible braces rather than the old school visible kind, there's clearly an element of vanity here...

Thanks for all your posts so far. Certainly food for thought. I'm still undecided but leaning towards the camp of 'don't get it done and live with wonky teeth'. The more research you do into teeth straightening, the more you realise it isn't a magic wand, you have to consider whether you can live with the 'ever after' stage...

brook2jack

In general the "easy" , only correcting a minor problem orthodontic cases are the ones more likely to relapse in a way that's noticeable. Personally speaking cases like this I put a wire on and make a set of pull down retainers to wear in case wire comes debonded to hold everything together until wire can be stuck on.

It's not that "patients lie" , but in the decades that follow things happen, retainers get lost, eaten by dogs, etc and finding the time or money to make the two appointments necessary to have a new retainer made ( any dentist can make a retainer, it's just the active parts of treatment that are particular to Invisalign) may not be at the top of someone priority list for a number of reasons. In some patients teeth start to shift after a few days, in others even without a retainer they may not shift, but in general leave a retainer out for a while and teeth will move.

yes you may need to wear a gum shield as well for grinding , but a grinding gum shield is a lot thicker and more heavy duty and few people wear them every day because of this.

System

When my teeth were corrected (c.1987/8) I wasn't asked to wear a retainer, nor to have a wire put in. The teeth have not moved back to their original position before wearing the brace, but they may have moved a little over the years, mainly forwards and with some overcrowding.

brook2jack

It's only in the last few years the problems with teeth relapsing has become apparent.
The advice to everyone now is if you don't want your teeth to move you need to wear some sort of retainer permanently. Some people may be ok but you can't tell who may be and who won't so just about everyone is told about retainers now. Particularly for those who have brace systems (Invisalign, 6 month smiles etc) that just correct the front teeth these are much more likely to relapse because they don't have the ability to move teeth as well as the longer , conventional train tracks type of treatment.

GwylimT

I had the fitted wire but I found it very uncomfortable, I also had to visit the dentist every three months for a deep clean as it wasn't possible to keep it completelt clean myself, I had it removed after a year. I wear a retainer after I have brushed my teeth in the evening, I only take it off before morning if I drink something other than water.

Your plastic retainer can become loose over time so they so need replacing, I don't know what your dentist charges but I pay £45 for a replacement which is very reasonable.