Invisalign Review

Hi friends! As some of you may know, six months ago I started using Invisalign. I have tried to update you during this journey, but I thought it would be beneficial to write a post about what I have experienced so far- 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 Friday, I had my 6 month check up with my orthodontist, Dr. Gluck. Thankfully, he gave me an A+ and said that my teeth were looking great! I cannot believe that my journey will be complete in just a few more months and I am so excited to see the final result. I kinda feel like 2019 is the year for straight teeth for me! Woohoo!

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:

1. What is the cost of Invisalign? Each treatment plan is different, 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! 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.
2. 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 notice it more than anyone else around me.
3. 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 more used to it. I change my retainers each week and every time I switch to the new retainers, I do experience some “tightness,” but it not uncomfortable.
4. How often are follow-ups? Right now, I follow-up about every 3 months. I just had my 6 month follow-up last week!
5. Do you drink with them in? Yes, but only water. If I drink anything other than water or eat, I have to take them out.
6. How many hours a day do you wear them? Do you wear them in public or when you take photos? I am supposed to wear them 22 hours per day- this allows 2 hours of eating time. If I am being 100% honest, each day can vary. Some days, especially when I am working from home, I usually reach this goal. When I am out in public I do wear them, but when I am shooting photos I take them out. My smile just looks different with them in, so I choose to take them out for photos. Also, trips can also be a little tricky especially when you are hanging out with friends eating and drinking. For instance, for New Years we went to Chicago and I only wore my Invisalign at night while I was sleeping- not during the day. We basically spent our days eating and having drinks and I didn’t want to keep taking my Invisalign out and then have to find a public bathroom to brush my teeth so I could put them back in. I am supposed to change my retainers every week, but if I slack off and don’t wear them like I should, I just wear them a few days longer.
7. 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. Now, however, I rarely notice them and find them really comfortable!
8. 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.
9. Do I need to brush after meals? Yes, this is a must! After I eat, I 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!).

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!

I am honestly so happy that I finally decided to do this and I cannot wait to see the finished product! As always, thank you for reading! -A