Anyone wear braces?

[neeter]

I've been needing braces for years, and I think now's the time (well, I guess there's never really a good time, but I've been putting it off for so long). I'm debating between the traditional clear braces or invisalign. Anyone here been through either?

The price difference is about $1000, so I'm wondering for those with the traditional braces, did anyone give you a hard time about them? Maybe I shouldn't care so much about what others think - ha!

Thanks!!

[rlu]

I wore them in high school a long long time ago so invisalign was not an option. Since I wasn't alone in wearing them back then, not really teased.

I have known several adults who wear braces and while the initial smile may catch someone's attention, most adults are just that, adults and don't tease. Personally I rather have "tracks" for two years than crooked teeth.

I smiled so much more after I got my braces off than before I had them.

Hopefully someone can give you their experience with braces as adults - and with invisalign. The closest I come to them is knowing someone who used to work at Align Technology (the manufacturer).

[brittone2]

I got mine off toward the end of my pgcy with DD (she's now almost 2). I started in Invisalign and we finished with traditional braces (clear brackets). From my initial consult on I was aware I might have to finish in traditional braces because I had one tooth that was pretty rotated.

DH did Invisalign at the same time but he only needed 6 months of treatment. I think mine was over a year...not sure now exactly how long. The price we paid was based on our projected length of treatment regardless of whether we used Invisalign, traditional orthodontics, or a combo.

When it came time to put on my regular braces, my ortho strongly encouraged me to do the Damon "speed braces". However, she didn't really spring that upon me until I was in the chair ready to get my braces on (someone missed the boat...we were supposed to discuss it well beforehand apparently). She showed me a Damon bracket (all metal, but smaller than a traditional bracket) but I just couldn't do it. I opted for the clear brackets. Looking back, I'm not sure if I had it to do over if i would have opted for those over the Damon, but having to decide under pressure made it tough.

No one really teased me, although I look young for my age and felt *really* young with braces on (and was perceived that way by strangers who didn't know I was 27ish when I had them on). Being preggo with braces made me feel like I was perceived a pregnant teen sometimes!

Invisalign did get my teeth much straighter than I thought it would, although I still ended up having to do traditional orthodontics for a few months. In my case, I needed several "speed bumps" on my teeth to give the aligners a better chance to push/pull on the right areas. DH had fewer. The speed bumps are more noticeable on some people than others.

It was nice being able to brush/floss without regular braces. However, aligners give the *worst* morning breath. Blech.


I still wear a retainer from Invisalign on the bottom, and a similar type of retainer on the top (not from Invisalign...done in office). I only wear it at night (ditto DH). I also have a lingual retainer (on the backs of my top teeth) to help keep the rotated tooth from returning to its previous ways :)

I got used to having them after a few weeks. Both are uncomfortable in different ways, kwim? After a few months I wasn't as self conscious, although I was certainly glad to get them off.

eta: there was an "adults with invisalign" group on Yahoo that was helpful to me in the initial stages.

[neeter]

Thanks, both responses are really helpful!! Since you've had both the clear brackets and the invisalign, which would you opt for?

[pinkmomagain]

I have traditional clear braces right now. Hopefully they will come off in about 4-6 months. I've had them since January. I originally wanted Invisalign, but my regular dentist urged me to get regular braces. He felt that I would just get done with them faster. So I did. I really do not enjoy wearing them. I do feel a little dorky....especially around people I'm meeting for the first time. My husband LOVES to make fun of me. When you go in for adjustments, it can be sore for a few days. That said, if I had the Invisalign, I *might* want to skip wearing at times, which would push back my progress.....this is obviously not an option with traditional braces. Ultimately, the way I look at it, is that the braces are just temporary. I'm able to live through one year or so of my life looking a little dorky for a beautiful smile.

eta: I'm 41 yo!

[brittone2]

I have traditional clear braces right now. Hopefully they will come off in about 4-6 months. I've had them since January. I originally wanted Invisalign, bThat said, if I had the Invisalign, I *might* want to skip wearing at times, which would push back my progress.....this is obviously not an option with traditional braces.


This is a good point. I was really good about wearing mine consistently and pretty much as prescribed, but...if you are going to be super tempted to leave them off for more than meals, you might want to go with traditional orthodontics. Even though Invisalign is removable, you are supposed to wear it pretty much constantly, other than meals and brushing.

[pinkmomagain]

Yes...my next door neighbor got lazy and kept hers out and didn't get to the ortho for several months and it really set her progress back quite a bit.

[swrc00]

I had clear braces about 4 years ago. Two things I wish I would have known were that they stain easily and the glue used is harder to remove from your teeth than the traditional ones. It take several cleanings to get the glue removed. I still am glad that I chose the clear, just brush right after eating.

One piece of advice that I was told by my ortho, don't get clear bands (stain easily) get the glow in the dark. They don't stain and I never had them glow either!

[neeter]

Thanks for all your advice!!! I really appreciate it!!!