Invisalign Treatment Reviews

I have definitely found that as I am now over half way through my treatment, the aligners are fitting in a lot better with my lifestyle! The best tip I have is to buy denture cleaner tablets (sounds odd but does the trick) and every morning I will soak the aligners for a few minutes while I brush my teeth and they are fresh and clean and it gets rid of that icky morning feeling. I find that my voice has completely adjusted now as I was so worried about the lisp at first but it went away quite soon. I wear my Invisalign at least 20 hours a day including at work and at the gym – I am still very aware that they are there but I know that others aren’t so I don’t struggle as much with being self-conscious. The most inconvenient part is taking them out to eat, especially when you go to events where they are bringing around platters or food and drink and after trying a few times I no longer wear them to events but make sure to have them on me and put them on for the trip back so I don’t lose as much wear time. I also struggled with wearing them during sickess ie. Flu/tonsiltis and asked for advice for my practice who recommended to clean them more often and try and wear them when possible – when I was really unwell it just wasn’t possible to have them in all the time but worst case scenario you can extend your treatment a few days. I am definitely seeing improvements in my teeth alignment, I am up to aligner 23 out of 37 so I still have a while to go but the look of my teeth has changed drastically which is pretty exciting. I have found that as im now in the latter half of my treatment, my teeth seem to be adjusting to new aligners quicker and with less pain.

I know that I probably represent about 1% to 5% of people who have used Invisaligns but I should let everyone know the potential dangers of using them and what to do if the same thing happens to you. I started Invisaligns about 3 1/2 years ago at the age of 53 on the advice of my dentist's assistant and then my dentist. Within a few days of starting them my ability to sleep all but disappeared. I was getting about an hour's sleep every second night for weeks on end. This slowly improved to about 0 to 4 hours sleep (with the help of medications) by the end of the year, which was still not even close to the 7 - 8 hours I was use to prior to the start of the treatment. My doctor tried several different sleep medications but none would work. Stupidly I continued to use them with the hope that once my teeth were straightened I would go back to getting regular sleep again. However, after the one year procedure ended the pattern of about 0 to 4 hours sleep continued and has to this day. One thing that is very noticeable after 3 1/2 years is how much I've aged. I look and feel like I've aged 10 years during that time. Sleep is so important to your immune system and I've also had a multitude of health problems since that time.

My intent here is not to dissuade people from starting Invisaligns but to be aware that if you react in this way to stop using them right away. They are a great way to straight your teeth without anyone noticing you're wearing them - and nobody notices!

At the time this started happening to me I started reading online reviews from other people who reacted in this way as well. One person insisted that the teeth be reversed back to their original position. This would require going to your dentist and demanding that Invisalign provide you with position #0, the original position of all your teeth. I suggest you keep all your used braces back to #1 and clean/sterilize and store them in case you need to reverse the process at some point. In my case I would have to go though another full year of reversing and bending my teeth in the hopes that this would work and the bending process was so brutal for me, I can't go through that again. I hope this review provides some advice to those who are impacted with this reaction. For people like myself, veneers are the only answer to straighten teeth.

Brand response:

Hi jeffconnell,

We are sorry to learn about the discomfort you experienced during your Invisalign treatment.

Side effects such as your experience are rare. However, should any patient experience side effects of treatment, we encourage them to report it to their treating dental provider immediately, and notify them if they have had changes to their health history including any medications prescribed by another medical practitioner.

Your treating dental practitioner can best advise on any concerns, and may need to revise your treatment plan or can suggest alternative options if Invisalign treatment is not suitable for you after commencing.

We appreciate you taking the time to provide your feedback on your experience.

Kind regards,

The Invisalign Australia team

Getting used to the Invisalign has become quite easy. At first I was a bit embarrassed but pretty much everyone (even strangers) have been really understanding when I’ve had to take them out/put them back in during public events/settings. I have an aligner container at work, in my everyday handbag and at home to make sure I always have one close by. I have forgotten the containers now and then when I’ve gone out if I’ve changed handbags etc but otherwise I’ve been pretty good. Haven’t lost any aligners yet! I would say wearing them for the amount of time needed is the biggest obstacle. You should really only have water while wearing your aligners and you’re meant to wear them 22 hours a day. So if you have breakfast and lunch and then you go out to a dinner where maybe you have a pre dinner drink, then some appetizers, then mains, then dessert you’re definitely not wearing them for the full 22 hours. So I try to put them back in between courses and only have non water drinks while eating. It’s a small change but I have noticed if you do have them out for a while your teeth do move back quite quickly so it’s important to keep the aligners on.
The app which I scan my teeth through to show the doctors my progress also showed me a 6 month before and after the other day. I found this really exciting and watched it repetitively because there already was such a big difference. This made me aware how much my teeth had already moved and excited for them to straighten more.

My Invisalign experience so far is certainly not what I expected! It was marketed to be super convenient, discreet and hassle free but during this first stage I have struggled to see any of these things and have actually found the experience quite difficult! I did find that the dentists and staff at the ortho practice were very informative and lovely every time I came in which was a bonus. However, I feel as though I was lead astray with the attachments – the dentist definitely underplayed this process and just said there were just going to be a few little invisible buttons but on my teeth. Next minute I look up and there are about 7 sharp noticeable bumps on my teeth which then when aligners were put on top made them stick out and took away from the whole idea of the retainers which were to be as discrete as possible. I understand the buttons are meant to help move teeth but I feel like they really need to be explained more because I probably would’ve reconsidered treatment if they had told me how many I needed. I was also given an attachment hook in the back of my mouth for a band (I was never informed bands were part of the Invisalign treatment) and this fell off within the first week meaning I had to go back in again. The actual retainers themselves didn’t fit right at the start but I did find the rubber chewies to help a little bit – but not as much as the dentists make them out to. In terms of pain it will be very painful the first few days but then it becomes almost pain free as you adjust – the buttons also smooth down over time. The hardest part for me was how much it impacted my speech. I work as a receptionist and I found I couldn’t pronounce my words correctly to the point where I was so embarrassed that I would not wear my aligners at work, uni or around friends. I can honestly say it got to a point where I looked into how I could discontinue treatment. Now I am up to set 7 after 2 months and my speech is only just starting to sound normal-ish! I still get very self conscious about the aligners and every time I wear them around friends they notice them and ask about them. Having to take them in and out to eat is also inconvenient and really difficult if you go out to eat/socialise a lot like I do. Wearing them 22 hours a day is also a ridiculous expectation and just not possible to follow but I do try my best to keep them in as much as I can. I usually clean them morning and night with just a bit of soap or toothpaste when brushing my teeth. I have found the dental monitoring app amazing as I do a weekly scan which they send to my dentist meaning I don’t have to go in all the time and she can access up close images of my teeth and track progress. I can easily email or message the dentist if I have concerns – however you may need to be patient with the app – one of my scans took 24 hours to upload meaning my treatment was delayed a day as I have to wait for approval to move into the next set. I do think this is the toughest stage and it is getting easier and easier as the weeks go by but feel like I was kind of sucked into it during my consultations and only really informed of the favourable elements of the treatment.

Brand response:
Hi aussiebabes,
We are pleased to hear that you’re progressing and persevering through your Invisalign treatment but sorry to hear that the initial stages were not as you expected.
We would like to reassure you that some of the initial concerns and discomforts you may experience at the start of treatment can improve over the course of your treatment.
The customised attachments created for Invisalign treatment are slightly larger in size when sitting inside the aligner vs what is bonded onto your teeth, so they may become more noticeable from a patient perspective once the aligners are in. These attachments are a feature that is associated with the aligners to help deliver the movements that your orthodontist would have mapped out in your Invisalign treatment plan.
With regards to pain, there can be some discomfort when changing into a new set of aligners. A tip for helping to reduce the impact you may notice when changing aligners is to swap to the new aligners at night time (and also check with your Doctor on your best option for over-the-counter pain relief). This gives your teeth time to adjust to the new aligners while you are resting.
Speech can be impacted (this is usually only a temporary adjustment) and it is worth noting that changes to your speech are always more evident to you than to others. There are also some tips that can help to adjust to wearing your aligners. One simple tip can be to drink with a straw which helps your mouth and soft tissue adjust to movements while the aligners are in place. Check with your orthodontist for any other tips they may have.
We do hope that as your treatment progresses that you experience the benefits of Invisalign treatment that were conveyed to you before starting treatment, and look forward to hearing your next update!
Regards,
The Invisalign Australia team

I’m now well into my Invisalign treatment, and am absolutely LOVING IT!

I did experience a tiny bit of difficulty when first trying to put on my first set of aligners, hours later, putting them on my teeth became second nature. Taking them off was also a little tricky at first, but again, it only took a few hours before taking the aligners off my teeth were just as easy as putting them on. My ortho’s clever trick to get them off has proved to be gold! (If you’re having issues with getting your aligners on and off, definitely get them to walk you through it a few times.)

What I wasn’t 100% prepared for was the mild gum tenderness you feel when moving on to a new aligner, but after a few aligner changes, you are more than used to it, and it usually disappears after the first day!

A few aligners in, I also had to get a bit of dental polishing in between a few teeth just to make space for this movement, and as weird as this may sound, it was over before and I knew it and it was completely pain-free. So if your ortho tells you you need it done, don’t freak out!

A few months in now, Invisalign has probably been one of my best beauty decisions to date. I can now start smiling with confidence (even with them in, people don’t even notice I have them in!) and I can already seen massive changes to my teeth.

I’m so, so excited to complete my treatment!

I've never had conventional braces and my teeth have never been dead straight. The bottom ones were always slightly crowded but you can't see them when I smile so it was never a big problem. I have slightly prominent top front teeth but people have always said I've got a nice smile so that never worried me.
Over the past couple of years my dentist noted that the crowding of the bottom teeth was getting slightly worse and earlier this year suggested a short course of Invisalign to rectify it.
He told me it would cost about $2K and I found that my health fund would cover the entire cost of this treatment so I decided to go ahead. The dentist took a mould of my teeth and sent it off to be analysed. That was slightly uncomfortable and didn't taste great but there is no pain involved in that part of the process.
A couple of weeks later the results came back and it was decided that I'd need 5 sets of aligners for my bottom teeth and 3 for my upper teeth. I wasn't really looking to change my top teeth so I was a little wary about this but the dentist reassured me that it wouldn't change the look of my smile much.
I got my first set of aligners and was told to keep them in for at least 20-22 hours per day and that was it! I made an appointment for 2 weeks later to pick up my next set.
The first time you put in a new set of aligners it can be quite uncomfortable, even painful. I had one set in particular that had a slightly jagged edge and it kept cutting into my tongue and gums. As time goes on your teeth move to conform to the shape of the aligner so generally it gets less uncomfortable, and when you're due for your next set, they should fit like a glove.
The positive thing about Invisalign is that they are less noticeable than conventional braces. I found that they made me talk with a bit of an lisp at first but this went away quickly as I got used to them. You can't really see them but I think people can tell there is something different about your mouth.
The most annoying part of using Invisalign is having to take them out when you are eating and drinking anything other than water. I like to graze so I found this frustrating. You also have to make sure to clean them well otherwise they don't look or smell pleasant! In fact, in the morning there tends to be a build up of saliva, which is quite gross. They seemed to make my mouth drier than usual too.
I actually was never given much specific information about keeping them clean so I had to do a bit of research on my own to find out what to do. I don't know if that was just because of my own dentist's way of doing things though. I found that other people had taken little kits of toothbrush, toothpaste etc everywhere they go because you're supposed to brush your teeth after eating before putting the aligner back in, otherwise you put your teeth at risk of bacteria and decay.
You really do need to make sure that you wear them for the required amount of time otherwise they won't work as well and may cost you extra time. In my first set, I was a little slack and ended up having to wear them for an extra week because my next set wouldn't go on very easily!
My dentist was kind enough to give me a couple of sets at a time after the first one so I didn't have to go back to see him every 2 weeks, but otherwise that's what you're in for, for the duration of your treatment. I'm lucky only to have needed a short course, but some people need scores of sets of aligners over a year or more!
As my treatment course drew to a close I noticed that my bottom teeth didn't quite get to the straightness that the computerised result predicted. When I saw my dentist I highlighted this concern and he said he'd have to send another mould to the lab and they'd either send me another set of aligners or some customised wire retainers. That's another thing my dentist never really mentioned at the beginning of the treatment. After you have your aligners, you have to wear wire retainers on the back of your teeth for maybe years after to make sure they don't move back. I ended up having to wear the last set for an extra couple of weeks waiting for the result and also had to wear my last upper set (tray number 3) for close to 2 months as I had 2 extra trays on the bottom to get through. They ended up quite weak and split towards the end.
Putting the wires on is painless, they just bond them to the back of your teeth. I've currently got the wires on my teeth and they are a little annoying, food gets stuck in them sometimes and they feel weird so it's hard to get used to. You can't see them and they don't interfere with tooth brushing or flossing as they're made that way. Even though it's only been a few months, I've already had to go back to have one side re-attached as it came loose from the bond.
Even though it took a bit longer than I was expecting, overall I'm pleased that my bottom teeth are straighter but slightly disappointed that they didn't end up looking completely straight like predicted. Considering I only had a short course I don't know if I had an unrealistic expectation or if I could've had a better result with an extra tray, or if I was stricter with the time I had them on (I might've lost some weight this way too as a bonus from not eating much haha).
Considering the amount of money they cost I would've expected to be slightly happier with the outcome but I can see how they would really help someone with greater need for straightening of their teeth than I had. Again, not knowing if it is just my dentist's way of doing things but it would've been great to have all the information I needed at the beginning so I could've made my decision fully aware of everything involved in the process. I probably would still have done it anyway because my teeth are straighter and this will prevent problems as I get older.

I first heard about invisalign a few years ago in highschool, when it was really popular. Quite a few of my friends had it and I had always been curious but never took the steps to go and get it done - i'd always heard it was really expensive and was deterred by the time it would take for the process to be complete. I chose invisalign clear aligners over normal braces as I definitely don't want the noticeable look of braces and want something discreet that I can feel confident wearing in my daily life - in the gym, in public, at work, uni ect. My teeth concern is crooked front and side teeth which have always bugged me when i look back at photos or see myself smile in a mirror. My first consultation was at The Ortho Practice and I was greeted by the extremely lovely staff (shout out to Tristan!) They made me feel really comfortable. I first had to get some photographs taken which was a bit uncomfortable as they had to poke and prod to get the right pictures inside my mouth - but it was all over very quickly. I was then talked through the process very diligently, shown some model aligners and given a quote. I chose to use the payment plan provided which is comprised of paying a couple of thousand upfront and then splitting payments up per month over a 24 month period (mine worked out to a couple hundred a month). This makes it manageable and affordable for me as I am a uni student so only work part time and can't afford to pay the lump sum upfront. Its also interest free which is awesome!!! Next was my scan appointment. This one was cool! They put a camera all around my teeth and I got to see a 3D image projected onto the screen. It was great to actually see my teeth and see what needed correcting and how it could be fixed. Overall I'm super happy with the starting process and am excited to begin my treatment.