Invisalign when it's optional - can't decide! (For DD)
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Anonymous
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My DD 16 has almost perfect teeth and never needed braces. She does have some small gaps on the side teeth that can't be seen unless her smile is abnormally wide or laughing huge. Or dental equipment is pulling it back. From the front or almost all angles it looks great! She randomly started complaining about the gaps and asked for Invisalign. Two orthos said it works work (a year $5800 for brand) and the other uses in house aligners. My fear is my DD will hate, lose, won't want to wear (she's social and always out at games or a party or dinner) and she has ADHD. Or she will regret one day in and all of this money and headache for minor gaps that aren't in front. She also seems a little worried it will be noticeable. She is easily bothered. Would you wait? Or just pull the trigger? It's a lot of money and time when her smile is totally fine. Metal braces she doesn't want and the ortho said that would be major overkill. |
Anonymous
| patient compliance is the number 1 issue we see with aligner orthodontics - if there is a doubt she will follow directions, keep the aligners in for 22 hours / day etc etc --> if you have doubts about compliance, it will most likely not work. |
Anonymous
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Never mind the smile, is food getting stuck in the gaps? Is she at risk of cavities there?
Three in our family have done the aligners, including 2 with ADHD, and compliance has not been a problem at all. But mine are boys and they do not care about the social angle at all. That said, I believe that the primary issue with non compliance during the day (social) is that it will take longer to achieve results, so it's not the end of the world. |
Anonymous
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And, remember that she will need to wear retainers for a couple of months 22 hrs a day and then pretty much every night.
Must be consistent or it all reverts back. 
I have 2 boys, both had regular braces, one wears his retainer very consistently, the other does not and now it doesn’t fit and teeth have already moved. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
| If you can afford it and it’s not a stretch, then do it. Long term her confidence is more important than the money. |
Anonymous
| I would get them assuming you can afford it. |
Anonymous
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Given what you wrote, probably not.
If considering, I'd want to know: Does it increase the risk of cavities while using it? Is there a risk that getting the teeth moving could create gaps in more obvious places? Is there pain? What's the total amount of time needed, if use is perfect? What's the total amount of time needed if use is pretty good, but not great? |
Anonymous
Yes I'm so worried about gaps in obvious places!! I just texted my DD that lol. There can be pain but she knows that. Pain like braces. I asked about time already. My only concern now is trading a small issue for a bigger one |
Anonymous
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Why don’t you take her to a cosmetic dentist.
They might have a cheaper and easier solution. |
Anonymous
| I am honestly sorry I gave into my DS's tantrum about wearing braces. He would have been done in a year. Instead, he doesn't wear his Invisalign enough and now we are 2.5 years out and far from done. |
Anonymous
| Nope, I wouldn’t if I wasn’t sure she’d be compliant. She can get regular braces if she wants perfect teeth. They’ll be off before college. |
Anonymous
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I would try to talk her out of it. It sounds like her teeth are stable, so she can always get it done later if it continues to bother her.
Invisalign is a pain, literally and figuratively. The active treatment period, especially, but also having to wear and clear retainers every night forever. Also, while not as noticeable as metal braces, you can definitely see the aligners and attachments up close. As far as any concerns about getting food stuck in the gaps, just get her a waterpik. I only got Invisalign done because I was marrying an orthodontist and it was (a) free and (b) important to him not to have a wife with a snaggle-tooth. |
Anonymous
Yeah, I wish my daughter had gotten the metal/traditional braces. The aligners are a pain to take in and out for snacks and meals. Esp w/ adhd, I think they would be risky. But, on the other hand, if she only wears them part of the day, would they be effective, just more slowly? |
Anonymous
| Get a few opinions. Ours varied wildly to it was necessary to it was cosmetic. We choose the ortho who refused to do them on my husband and I each for different and good reasons but he was about $1K more but his staff and location are well worth the extra price as they've been great. He said my child was 100% cosmetic. It's been about a year and they will come off in a month or two and even though the teeth looked ok, like your child, minor issues. We decided to get it done (our child was hesitant so I went in and had them put on the same day so they couldn't say no). We debated between invisalign and metal but the ortho said metal were better for kids as most have good intentions to brush more and don't and more risk for cavities. He also preferred metal as he has more control over the movement and can make changes based off what he sees, not just a one time projection. The metal surprisingly don't look terrible and he was right as brushing was an issue. If you do, what ever you choose, bump up the cleanings to 3 times a year vs. 2 to try to prevent cavities. |