Hi friends! As some of you may know, about 10 months ago I started using Invisalign. I have tried to update you during this journey on Instagram, but I thought it would be beneficial to write a post about what I experienced- plus you guys asked me so many questions about Invisalign the other day on stories!
Let me give you a little backstory first- growing up I never had braces. I always had easy dental appointments and actually never had a cavity- weird, I know! My teeth weren’t perfectly straight, but the dentist advised my parents that I was no where near needing braces (thank goodness for that because my younger siblings all did haha!) My mom literally told my brother the other day at dinner that he had a “$10,000” mouth- GEEZ LOUISE. Anyways, as I have gotten older I have noticed that my teeth were starting to crowd, especially on the bottom, and I was becoming very self conscious about my smile. I felt like my bottom teeth were so crooked and I always thought it was so noticeable. About one year ago, I went to my dentist and told him that I wanted to learn more about my options for straightening my teeth and that is really how this entire process started.
I met with the team at Gluck Orthodontics in the summer of 2018 and, after learning about my options, decided to move forward with Invisalign.
This past Monday, I had my final check-up with my orthodontist, Dr. Gluck. We removed the attachments by buffing them off and then he was able to file down my canines which were a little pointy. I am literally over the moon excited about the result and have never felt more confident with my smile!
Finally, let me show you a before and after of my teeth:
I know it may be hard to tell a difference because I am not really showing my bottom teeth in the after photo, but let me tell you- it’s a huge difference! My teeth are much more straight and my smile is so much better! Thank you to Gluck Orthodontics for all of their help and guidance! By the way, if you are local I cannot recommend them enough! If you have been thinking about Invisalign, I would definitely set up an initial consultation visit to learn more about your treatment options and see if it is right for you and your budget!
So many of you reached out with questions about Invisalign, so while I was at my appointment I made sure to ask Dr. Gluck. I included the most asked questions and his answers below:
1. Do people ever just get Invisalign on the top or bottom? Not both? Absolutely! It’s all patient specific, but we’ve definitely treated some patients just top and just bottom.
2. Do you always need to get the attachments on your teeth? Just about every patient will have some attachments on their teeth (unless it’s an insanely simple case). These are very important. I have a short video on our pages describing attachments (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj5rjwkSqHs) What’s important to know if that attachments are a pivotal part of aligner treatment, they’re customized by the doctor for each patient’s specific teeth.
3. What if I have wisdom teeth? Can I still get it? Absolutely!
4. Can I move during the process- like move to another city and start seeing another Orthodontist? Yes, of course. That said, one of the great things about Invisalign is the long appointment intervals (10-12 weeks) so at our practice we are currently treating a lot of patients who live out of town…they’re in college, or grew up here but live in another city. We’ll see them when they come home for school breaks, to visit family, etc. We even have a patient who’s a Southwest flight attendant and will call us when she’s flying through Nashville for work. In the event one of our patients decides to transfer their care after moving, we are part of a network of over 120 of the top orthodontic practices in the country and have friends everywhere. This makes a big deal to transfer your care to an office that your prior orthodontist has a personal relationship with. Goes a long way!
5. How long after impressions will I receive the Invisalign product? We no longer take “impressions,” and instead do a video scan of the teeth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USi3TkZN-L0. It usually takes about 2-3 weeks to have the treatment plans created. Then 1 week for Invisalign to manufacture the aligners and ship them to our office.
6. Can I redo the series if they are no longer attachments on my teeth? Yes, you can redo it, but it would require visiting the orthodontist to get a new scan, new treatment plan, etc.
7. Can I whiten my teeth with the attachments on? Yes, you can use any at-home whitening product. That said, the most effective option is to get prescription strength whitening gel from a dental office. You can use this while in Invisalign treatment as the gel will permeate underneath the attachments and whiten the whole tooth.
8. How does this compare with Smile Direct Club? SDC = flying on autopilot, without an actual human pilot…would anyone actually do that haha? Seriously though-this is a very large topic and would take a long time to discuss. In a nutshell, SDC is “doctor overseen” but there’s no actual correspondence with the doctor (who could be a dentist – which is not a specialist), and my suspicion is that the treatment plans are created completely by a computer algorithm, which is far from perfect in moving teeth. Furthermore, there’s minimal screening for gum diseases, cavities, or other possible problems. We have seen patients who’ve had their bite messed up by SDC as well.
9. Will this help overbites? Great question, yes. That said, correcting overbite is challenging and needs to be done by an orthodontist (a specialist) who does a lot of Invisalign and knows how to do it properly. Most dentists do not have the expertise to treat these cases properly.
10. Does insurance cover? Insurance may cover a portion of the fee, but not the entire thing. If you have dental coverage, your provider can probably tell you if there’s orthodontics included and if so, how much the benefit is.
The rest of the questions you guys asked were more about my experience with Invisalign and I have answered those below:
- What is the cost of Invisalign? This is always the #1 question, so I am going too go into some detail here- Each treatment plan is different because all of us have different teeth, so pricing is going to be different person to person. I would recommend making an appointment with a reputable Orthodontist where they can do an initial consultation and tell you exactly what price you would be looking at- from what I gather, these consults are typically free! Never hurts to just go check it out! *I actually went to two different consults before choosing Gluck Orthodontics and both were no out of pocket cost to me. I actually highly recommend going to a few consults just to see if different orthodontists are charging slightly different prices (bet they are haha!). As far as insurance, again- its varies depending on what type of plan you have, but mine did not cover anything. With that being said, once the cost is determined, most orthodontists offer different payment plans- usually you place a down deposit first and then can make payments on a set schedule depending on your budget.
- Is talking hard? Did you have a lisp? Can’t lie here- talking was definitely a struggle in the beginning. Obviously, the first few days were the most difficult as I constantly felt something on my teeth. Saying “s” sounds and “th” sounds were difficult for me (sometimes still is haha!), but I think I noticed it more than anyone else around me. Generally speaking, when you guys saw me on Instagram (stories and photos) I was not wearing the trays- I would take them out quickly to film stories and then put them back in. Mainly I just felt like I was talking a little different, and although it got better over time, I just liked talking without the trays in more. Side note- when I was working in the doctors office as a NP I had Invisalign and would wear them all day while talking to patients. I would let them know that I may sound a little different because I was wearing Invisalign haha- everyone loved it!
- Is it painful? Did you get headaches? The first two days were really tough- not going to lie. My teeth felt really “tight” if that makes any sense and my jaw was killing me. I was taking ibuprofen pretty much around the clock which definitely helped! After the initial two days, I got used to it. I changed my trays each week and every time I switched to the new retainers, I did experience some “tightness,” but it was not uncomfortable.
- How long was the process and how often are follow-ups? My Invisalign treatment was for 46 weeks, but timing varies person to person depending on how your teeth initially look- more complicated cases equal longer treatment plans. I followed-up in office about every 3 months during treatment.
- Do you drink with them in? Yes, but only water. If I drank anything other than water I would take them out.
- How many hours a day do you wear them? Do you wear them in public or when you take photos? Invisalign should be worn 22 hours per day- this allows 2 hours of eating time. If I am being 100% honest, my days would definitely vary. On days where I was working from home, I would reach this goal. When I was out in public I would wear them, but when I was shooting photos I would take them out. My smile looked different with them in, so I chose to take them out for photos. Also, trips were tricky especially when I was hanging out with friends eating and drinking. For instance, for New Years I went to Chicago and I only wore my Invisalign at night while I was sleeping- not during the day. This happened again when Scott and I were in Italy- I only worn them while I was sleeping. I was supposed to change my trays every week, but if I slacked off and didn’t wear them like I should, I would wear them a few days longer.
- Are they comfortable to wear? In the beginning, I felt like there was something on my teeth and it made my mouth feel really tight. After a few weeks, I rarely noticed them!
- Do they file your teeth? Yes, they filed in between my teeth to make room for the teeth to move. I had a lot of crowding on my bottom teeth and they needed to make room between them so my teeth could properly align.
- Do I need to brush after meals? Yes, this is a must! After I ate, I would always brush my teeth before putting my Invisalign back in. If you don’t, food particles and bacteria can get on the Invisalign causing them to smell (yuck!) and give you bad breath (okay, major yuck!).
- Do you wear a retainer after? Yes, I was given a few retainers and each should last up to 2 years if I take proper care of them (which I will!). I will wear these at night while I am sleeping to make sure my teeth do not start shifting again.
I hope this post answers any of the questions you may have about Invisalign, but you can always reach out to me via the comments below, e-mail, or on Instagram with any other questions!
As always, thank you for reading! -A
So helpful! Thanks girl☺️
Of course!
I want to make sure that my teeth are aligned nicely. I had no idea that invisalign worked so effectively! The fact that people can’t see it while it’s in is nice, since it’s less embarrassing.