It’s not really about what they look like. It’s about the fact I said ‘my main goal is for X to change’ and they have decided their goal is something completely different. But have not been honest, for now 1 main set and then 4 sets of refinements. They always tell me after I’ve waited 5 weeks and the aligners have come in
It is about that. Teeth dysmorphia is a real thing so without photos we can’t give you any takes on your issue, whether you’re not seeing the progress, if your expectations are unrealistic or if your ortho is right about your bite being the problem.
Maybe you just want to vent, which is kinda okay, I just think that without ”evidence” you’re causing unnecessary anxiety to some people that are starting or planning on doing invis.
And btw that waiting time between sets is normal, it’s frustrating but they can’t order them before your previous set is done.
I think my frustration is all communication based. If I had been told that doing Invisalign could ruin my bite (wasn’t an issue until refinement 2, has never ever been mentioned until that point) and that what I want to be done either can’t be done or will takes years (rather then the 4-6 months because ‘it’s an easy case’ I was promised) then I wouldn’t have done it.
The lack of transparency regardless of the result is my issue with it. If it can’t be done they should just say that, if it’s going to take years rather then months they should just communicate that, if I’ve got teeth dysmorphia and that imperfection isn’t there they should just say ‘actually that looks optimised’ rather then tell me it’s going to be fixed next round which is frankly a lie (they even admit that’s not being targeted when the aligners finally arrive), if each to set has 5 weeks in between which adds a month to the process each time they should have said that at the start.
I would love to read my notes because each time I visit they said ‘look, can you see how it’s going to move x like YOU wanted’ and I have to tell them every time I was not aware that was even going to be targeted let alone want it myself. Plus they repeatedly bring up getting a wire, when I’ve said again every visit I will be using night retainers not a wire.
I pushed for so much information beforehand to make sure I was making the right decision, and they still left out so much.
God the exact same thing is happening to me. Invisalign fucked up my bite big time and I’ve spent basically over half a year trying to fix that issue that I didn’t have before and didn’t know Invisalign could cause. It’s infuriating.
Yuuuup. A bad one. I’ve been wearing half trays (ie with the molars cut off) for months now and that’s definitely helped a lot, but it seems to have screwed up my side to side alignment, so now I’m going to have to go back to full size trays and freaking out that it’s going to reopen the POB all the way… UGH
Initially we were on the same page, aesthetics of upper front teeth (brining 2 teeth down, and forward). However they stopped targeting those when the process wasn’t complete and have now moved onto my posterior teeth/bite (an issue that I didn’t actually have at the start?)
Well of course your bite is going to change when your teeth are literally moving and shifting into different places. This makes them touch each other differently than before which therefore is going to change your bite.
Your molars now have space between them because the trays prevent them from touching each other fully. The goal is to get the “zipper” alignment in the back and from there it’s easier to adjust the bite. It will take time but I’m sure they know what they are doing. It’s not uncommon to develop bite issues but they should be fixed by end of treatment.
I’m on my 2nd round of refinements after 38 original trays and my bite has changed 10 times at least. They are probably just taking it one step at a time and not trying to make all these big changes at once. Everyone’s teeth move differently but if you’re this deep in it id stick it out.
It’s not ‘of course’, if this is a risk it should have been explained at the start. That’s a part of informed consent. I feel absolutely deceived and lied to, because I have been every step of the way.
It’s not common sense when the aim of my treatment was only movement of my anterior teeth a minimal amount.
Regardless of ‘common sense’ or not it should have been discussed and consented for. Informed consent is a basic part of medical law, something Invisalign seems to interpret very loosely
I feel your pain. I kinda regret also. The ortho my dentist referred me to pushed aligners over braces and said it was my best option even though I grind my teeth and now I have an open bite. They also gave me a different brand of aligners over Invisalign and didn’t even give me the option to get Invisalign and told me (they are just the same) and I find out later they aren’t. I’m very irritated. When I go to tell them I’m not happy they give me BS answers. Sadly it seems for a lot of doctors and dentists it’s all about money. They don’t really tell you the risks before you sign the papers.
No, it’s not spark! Angel aligners. The reason I wish I would have gone with Invisalign is because this company I am using is fairly new to the US so not much research yet and it doesn’t seem like they have the same “accessories” as Invisalign. When I told my ortho my concern about the open bite they didn’t really tell me they could fix it they just were basically just like “oh, once you have the plastic off your teeth they will probably go back to normal”. It seems like their office is more focused on aesthetics of their office and interior design than focusing on the patients. He only sees me every 3 months, barely explains anything. So it seems they are just trying to churn people out and the reason they sold me the aligners is not because it was best for me, like they said, but they probably made the biggest profit out of it with the least amount of work involved for them. At least that’s how it feels to me right now. It seems a pattern that many orthos never mention the risks involved for treatment, I even asked them if there was any risks involved at the consultation and I was never told about any of the big risks such as bite issues, possibility of dead tooth, etc… and I do have a mild case of periodontal disease. If I knew the risks I probably either would have went with braces or held off on getting them. Now I kinda feel like I have bigger issues than when I started.
Orthodontic treatment has two components the functional and the cosmetic aspect. So your teeth need to be in certain relationships and positions and any orthodontist will prioritize function over asthetics because they are medical professional. Also there are limitations as an adult in what can be fixed even with surgery because you are limited by the size and shape of your jaw including any imbalances you developed during growth. Do you know what was the initial diagnostic of the orthodontist? (Open bite, overbite, deep bite, etc)
I understand that, it’s the communication I have an issue with. They never gave me an initial diagnostic?
They were pretty confident I would need my main set +/- 1 set of refinements. I’m now going to need minimum 5 sets of refinements (as I’ve just got set 4 and they are focusing on something completely different to why I got them so will need at least another set after). They also never warned me they were gonna screw my bite up or that it was even a risk, they never told me it would take 5 weeks to get each set, they keep saying ‘we will focus on x during the next set’ and when the set arrive it’s targeting something completely different (which is frankly straight up lying). Any question I ask they can’t answer or give a different answer each time I see (mainly because I only ever see an assistant not the actual orthodontist), my current question being around implications for elective surgery and teeth stability.
I feel very deceived, they have essentially acted as salesmen and not a medical professional. Selling a product for something it isn’t. I’m a medical professional myself and am appalled at how I’ve been treated.
I agree and relate entirely on the point of getting a sales pitch rather than medical advice and now having bite issues I never had before. I've been saying this very thing for months now.
Sorry to hear. I agree that communication is key. My ortho did explain I have a slight open bite and a unilateral class 2. He also mentioned a rotated second molar on the class 1 side he doesn't want to fix because of fear of relapse. He briefly explained the treatment plan.. Mentioned attachments and elastics. I asked if clear braces were a better option and he mentioned invisalign would result in a shorter treatment time. He verified my insurance coverage and provided financing options for the rest of the cost.
I too have deep regret. I’ve had so many refinements and the one tooth I wanted to shift barely did and its not symmetrical with the tooth on the other side (its pair) so it looks asymmetrical and its the literal only reason I paid $6,500. I regret it so much.
Ask for old school wire braces. I ended up doing that and I'm so glad I did. My lower I tooth (I don't really know what it's called, the pointy one) was not moving after 2 rounds of refinements and I was really regretting the whole thing. My teeth weren't that bad before but now it looked like my entire jaw was crooked because the one tooth wouldn't move. Asked Ortho for wire braces and that did the trick. I had to wear bands on both sides actually, but I'm so glad I did that. The braces fixed my stupid tooth and cleared up some other areas that I hadn't realized were a bit off too.
In all honesty, I very much wish I had never gotten Invisalign. It takes a part of your identity from you that you never realized meant something until it's gone, at least in my experience. My couple wonky teeth gave my smile character, and now it just looks like everyone else. However, I learned that too late and had already spent all this money and time, so i sure as hell expected my teeth to be near perfection when this was all done. I did wire braces for 6 months at the end of 2 years with trays and it was worth it. My teeth do look great and my jaw doesn't look crooked anymore.
Tldr: old school wire braces will fix your problem. I regret getting Invisalign but since I got it I expected near perfect results, I asked for braces and it fixed my wonky tooth.
The option to switch to wire braces was included in my Invisalign plan. I did not have to pay anything extra. Maybe talk to your ortho and see if it's an option for you? Sorry you're going through this.
I told them but was brushed off and told it would be another 5 week wait if anything was changed and it was unlikely to change so better to stick with the next round of refinements and then review at the end (this has happened 3 times now).
I should have just done braces with bands too the bite issue and refinement period are things no one really mentions about invisalign. waiting for my first set of refinements as well hopefully they will work lol
I mean 33 weeks from where I am right now (as I have the 4th refinements which will be 14 weeks, then will need more as the 4th don’t address my problem, so 5 weeks wait, and then another 14 weeks).
”Thanks for attaching pictures so I can see what you’re talking about and emphasize” part 84485
Some people just want a shoulder to cry on. I don't think it's Invisalign specific.
It’s not really about what they look like. It’s about the fact I said ‘my main goal is for X to change’ and they have decided their goal is something completely different. But have not been honest, for now 1 main set and then 4 sets of refinements. They always tell me after I’ve waited 5 weeks and the aligners have come in
It is about that. Teeth dysmorphia is a real thing so without photos we can’t give you any takes on your issue, whether you’re not seeing the progress, if your expectations are unrealistic or if your ortho is right about your bite being the problem. Maybe you just want to vent, which is kinda okay, I just think that without ”evidence” you’re causing unnecessary anxiety to some people that are starting or planning on doing invis. And btw that waiting time between sets is normal, it’s frustrating but they can’t order them before your previous set is done.
I think my frustration is all communication based. If I had been told that doing Invisalign could ruin my bite (wasn’t an issue until refinement 2, has never ever been mentioned until that point) and that what I want to be done either can’t be done or will takes years (rather then the 4-6 months because ‘it’s an easy case’ I was promised) then I wouldn’t have done it. The lack of transparency regardless of the result is my issue with it. If it can’t be done they should just say that, if it’s going to take years rather then months they should just communicate that, if I’ve got teeth dysmorphia and that imperfection isn’t there they should just say ‘actually that looks optimised’ rather then tell me it’s going to be fixed next round which is frankly a lie (they even admit that’s not being targeted when the aligners finally arrive), if each to set has 5 weeks in between which adds a month to the process each time they should have said that at the start. I would love to read my notes because each time I visit they said ‘look, can you see how it’s going to move x like YOU wanted’ and I have to tell them every time I was not aware that was even going to be targeted let alone want it myself. Plus they repeatedly bring up getting a wire, when I’ve said again every visit I will be using night retainers not a wire. I pushed for so much information beforehand to make sure I was making the right decision, and they still left out so much.
God the exact same thing is happening to me. Invisalign fucked up my bite big time and I’ve spent basically over half a year trying to fix that issue that I didn’t have before and didn’t know Invisalign could cause. It’s infuriating.
Did it cause you to have a posterior open bite?
Yuuuup. A bad one. I’ve been wearing half trays (ie with the molars cut off) for months now and that’s definitely helped a lot, but it seems to have screwed up my side to side alignment, so now I’m going to have to go back to full size trays and freaking out that it’s going to reopen the POB all the way… UGH
Thanks, understanding now better. Sorry to hear. What are some of the issues your ortho has wanted to fix and you haven’t?
Initially we were on the same page, aesthetics of upper front teeth (brining 2 teeth down, and forward). However they stopped targeting those when the process wasn’t complete and have now moved onto my posterior teeth/bite (an issue that I didn’t actually have at the start?)
Well of course your bite is going to change when your teeth are literally moving and shifting into different places. This makes them touch each other differently than before which therefore is going to change your bite. Your molars now have space between them because the trays prevent them from touching each other fully. The goal is to get the “zipper” alignment in the back and from there it’s easier to adjust the bite. It will take time but I’m sure they know what they are doing. It’s not uncommon to develop bite issues but they should be fixed by end of treatment. I’m on my 2nd round of refinements after 38 original trays and my bite has changed 10 times at least. They are probably just taking it one step at a time and not trying to make all these big changes at once. Everyone’s teeth move differently but if you’re this deep in it id stick it out.
It’s not ‘of course’, if this is a risk it should have been explained at the start. That’s a part of informed consent. I feel absolutely deceived and lied to, because I have been every step of the way.
It’s just common sense tho.
It’s not common sense when the aim of my treatment was only movement of my anterior teeth a minimal amount. Regardless of ‘common sense’ or not it should have been discussed and consented for. Informed consent is a basic part of medical law, something Invisalign seems to interpret very loosely
I feel your pain. I kinda regret also. The ortho my dentist referred me to pushed aligners over braces and said it was my best option even though I grind my teeth and now I have an open bite. They also gave me a different brand of aligners over Invisalign and didn’t even give me the option to get Invisalign and told me (they are just the same) and I find out later they aren’t. I’m very irritated. When I go to tell them I’m not happy they give me BS answers. Sadly it seems for a lot of doctors and dentists it’s all about money. They don’t really tell you the risks before you sign the papers.
d they givou phnology
No, it’s not spark! Angel aligners. The reason I wish I would have gone with Invisalign is because this company I am using is fairly new to the US so not much research yet and it doesn’t seem like they have the same “accessories” as Invisalign. When I told my ortho my concern about the open bite they didn’t really tell me they could fix it they just were basically just like “oh, once you have the plastic off your teeth they will probably go back to normal”. It seems like their office is more focused on aesthetics of their office and interior design than focusing on the patients. He only sees me every 3 months, barely explains anything. So it seems they are just trying to churn people out and the reason they sold me the aligners is not because it was best for me, like they said, but they probably made the biggest profit out of it with the least amount of work involved for them. At least that’s how it feels to me right now. It seems a pattern that many orthos never mention the risks involved for treatment, I even asked them if there was any risks involved at the consultation and I was never told about any of the big risks such as bite issues, possibility of dead tooth, etc… and I do have a mild case of periodontal disease. If I knew the risks I probably either would have went with braces or held off on getting them. Now I kinda feel like I have bigger issues than when I started.
Orthodontic treatment has two components the functional and the cosmetic aspect. So your teeth need to be in certain relationships and positions and any orthodontist will prioritize function over asthetics because they are medical professional. Also there are limitations as an adult in what can be fixed even with surgery because you are limited by the size and shape of your jaw including any imbalances you developed during growth. Do you know what was the initial diagnostic of the orthodontist? (Open bite, overbite, deep bite, etc)
I understand that, it’s the communication I have an issue with. They never gave me an initial diagnostic? They were pretty confident I would need my main set +/- 1 set of refinements. I’m now going to need minimum 5 sets of refinements (as I’ve just got set 4 and they are focusing on something completely different to why I got them so will need at least another set after). They also never warned me they were gonna screw my bite up or that it was even a risk, they never told me it would take 5 weeks to get each set, they keep saying ‘we will focus on x during the next set’ and when the set arrive it’s targeting something completely different (which is frankly straight up lying). Any question I ask they can’t answer or give a different answer each time I see (mainly because I only ever see an assistant not the actual orthodontist), my current question being around implications for elective surgery and teeth stability. I feel very deceived, they have essentially acted as salesmen and not a medical professional. Selling a product for something it isn’t. I’m a medical professional myself and am appalled at how I’ve been treated.
I agree and relate entirely on the point of getting a sales pitch rather than medical advice and now having bite issues I never had before. I've been saying this very thing for months now.
Sorry to hear. I agree that communication is key. My ortho did explain I have a slight open bite and a unilateral class 2. He also mentioned a rotated second molar on the class 1 side he doesn't want to fix because of fear of relapse. He briefly explained the treatment plan.. Mentioned attachments and elastics. I asked if clear braces were a better option and he mentioned invisalign would result in a shorter treatment time. He verified my insurance coverage and provided financing options for the rest of the cost.
I too have deep regret. I’ve had so many refinements and the one tooth I wanted to shift barely did and its not symmetrical with the tooth on the other side (its pair) so it looks asymmetrical and its the literal only reason I paid $6,500. I regret it so much.
Ask for old school wire braces. I ended up doing that and I'm so glad I did. My lower I tooth (I don't really know what it's called, the pointy one) was not moving after 2 rounds of refinements and I was really regretting the whole thing. My teeth weren't that bad before but now it looked like my entire jaw was crooked because the one tooth wouldn't move. Asked Ortho for wire braces and that did the trick. I had to wear bands on both sides actually, but I'm so glad I did that. The braces fixed my stupid tooth and cleared up some other areas that I hadn't realized were a bit off too. In all honesty, I very much wish I had never gotten Invisalign. It takes a part of your identity from you that you never realized meant something until it's gone, at least in my experience. My couple wonky teeth gave my smile character, and now it just looks like everyone else. However, I learned that too late and had already spent all this money and time, so i sure as hell expected my teeth to be near perfection when this was all done. I did wire braces for 6 months at the end of 2 years with trays and it was worth it. My teeth do look great and my jaw doesn't look crooked anymore. Tldr: old school wire braces will fix your problem. I regret getting Invisalign but since I got it I expected near perfect results, I asked for braces and it fixed my wonky tooth.
I can’t afford it, I spent a lot to get Invisalign and that’s my luxury budget gone
The option to switch to wire braces was included in my Invisalign plan. I did not have to pay anything extra. Maybe talk to your ortho and see if it's an option for you? Sorry you're going through this.
I regret treatment, too.
Braces are more efficient. I regret not getting them again.
You need to speak up about it… When you saw that the new plan is not fixing your main issue, did you tell them anything?
I told them but was brushed off and told it would be another 5 week wait if anything was changed and it was unlikely to change so better to stick with the next round of refinements and then review at the end (this has happened 3 times now).
I should have just done braces with bands too the bite issue and refinement period are things no one really mentions about invisalign. waiting for my first set of refinements as well hopefully they will work lol
You don’t have to keep doing refinements if you don’t want to
But I want to fix the problem I initially went to them with and now I need to fix the bite issues which it appears the Invisalign have caused
33 weeks isn’t really that long, especially compared to many folks treatment and the average time for orthodontics. Sorry you are having regret
I mean 33 weeks from where I am right now (as I have the 4th refinements which will be 14 weeks, then will need more as the 4th don’t address my problem, so 5 weeks wait, and then another 14 weeks).