Teeth !

paul_the_red

my sister is looking for some advice on getting her teeth straightened by the process of "invisalign", anyone know about this, price etc ?



shes been looking at a place in Helens Bay, Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland - http://www.helensbaydental.co.uk

Shes 22 and she's just looking for some advice on this subject

paul_the_red

anyone?

Zapho

Dunno man but I'd be interested to see how it fairs out for her. If you're looking for advice I'm sure that website has a phone number

Dellgirl

lomb is a dentist, maybe he will be able to help you. He has given advice in the past without any grumbles!

paul_the_red

thanks guys,she rang them up and was told it would cost 5k :eek: .... i'll get on to lomb,thanks again lads

joejoem

If you go to other countries its much cheaper, I think there are english tour operators and in the north too that doo package deals, I know this because I had major surgery on mine and it cost me €4500 and someone told me afterward that you could get it done for a third of the price in other countries (bulgaria is one I think, and there standards of practice are very high so I wouldnt worry about being left with one tooth!) - in case of curiosity, I had a tooth knocked out when I was 15 and as a result had to have my 5 front teeth removed (well shaven down) and crowns put in, they look great though, a big cheesy smile!

paul_the_red

joejoem wrote:

If you go to other countries its much cheaper, I think there are english tour operators and in the north too that doo package deals, I know this because I had major surgery on mine and it cost me €4500 and someone told me afterward that you could get it done for a third of the price in other countries (bulgaria is one I think, and there standards of practice are very high so I wouldnt worry about being left with one tooth!) - in case of curiosity, I had a tooth knocked out when I was 15 and as a result had to have my 5 front teeth removed (well shaven down) and crowns put in, they look great though, a big cheesy smile!

holy jasis , how long did that take? :eek: i hate going the detest

joejoem

paul_the_red wrote:

holy jasis , how long did that take? :eek: i hate going the detest

about a month and a half overall, just that (lomb dont kill me) dentist facilitys etc are ****e in Ireland wo a cast was take and took three weeks to send away and get the teeth back, the worst part was the time inbetween haveing the teeth shaved down and having the new ones put in, I was given these temp teeth that felt like they were made of chalk and were really brittle and were the colour of cigatette butts. Talk about low self esteem!

ravenhead

paul_the_red wrote:

thanks guys,she rang them up and was told it would cost 5k :eek: .... i'll get on to lomb,thanks again lads

Tell you sister not to bother, I looked into this over in the states because my teeth had moved after my wisdom teeth came down & had already spent over £2500(at the time) on Ortho treatment. I was told that it takes twice as long as ortho treatment, a lot more expensive & the results are not as good. Needless to say when I came home I started looking into Ortho & I've got them on since march & they're due to come off in the next two months & it's only costing €1700 for my whole mouth! the results are brill too

Straightteeth

I am a third of the way into my Invisalign treatment, which is projected to be 28 weeks. My teeth are moving as planned, but I do wish I did more research before I went this route (I did nearly none...I'm impulsive:o ). Here are the pros and cons -- more cons than pros. I am in my late 40's, and have had bite problems and related headaches for years, which had increased as I got several crowns (tooth grinding had cracked all my molars) that locked the bad bite into place.

Note on bite problems -- The Invisalign dentist (not an orthodontist, which I should have seen) told me that Invisalign probably wouldn't work for a bite problem like mine, but Invisalign came back with the opposite opinion. I decided to give it a try, thinking that I could revert to wires if it didn't work. The questionable part is that Invisalign can't move the back teeth...only braces and headgear can do that. So I will have some gaps between front and back teeth that will have to be filled with bonding or veneer, and I will need to have some bite adjustment done on the back teeth (i.e., grinding).

Pros of Invisalign:

It's faster than wire braces. A woman I know who had a similar correction had to wear braces for 18 months.
You can take the trays out to clean your teeth thoroughly and get a short break from tooth straightening.
The trays act as a bite guard for tooth grinders.

Cons:

They are not as invisible as is claimed, especially if you have attachments (bumps glued to your teeth to help them move). I have eight, and they look like food stuck to my teeth when I'm not wearing the trays. They scratch the iside of my mouth when I eat. I was not warned about this. All but one of the attachments fell off when I first had them done, and I had to have them replaced (lost hours of my time). Then more fell off, and I couldn't close my mouth all the way to chew because one attachment bumped into an opposing tooth. Very frustrating.

You are very aware of having stuff in your mouth, especially at first. My first set of trays had rough edges, which cut my mouth (I sanded them down with a nail file). I am constantly thirsty when wearing the trays, and feel as if I have horrible breath. This aspect is miserable for me.

You need to brush -- and floss -- your teeth four or five times a day, perhaps more. I had to switch to a milder toothpaste because of gum irritation from all the brushing. I use an enzyme mouth rinse as well.

I'd hoped that I would loose weight with this treatment, since it's a pain to clean your teeth for a small snack, but I am actually hungrier while wearing the trays than I am without them!:mad: I suppose a doctor could explain this, but something about having the trays in my mouth seems to trigger hunger.

Your speech is impeded. Don't let anyone tell you it's not.

That commercial that shows a woman with perfect teeth popping out her trays and running out the door to dine out...not! What really happens is you wear the trays to the restaurant, pop into the restroom and remove them after you've ordered, eat your dinner (trying to keep the food from sticking to your attachments), go back to the restroom and clean your teeth, replace the trays, fix all your smeared makeup, and reappear at the table 15 or 20 minutes later.:eek: After all, you are supposed to keep the trays in for as many hours as possible.

Invisalign is slightly more expensive than conventional braces. Mine were $5700 US (including dentist visits and two retainers when the treatment is finished), while the aforementioned braces-wearing acquaintance paid just under $5000 US for her treatment.

So...there you have it. I'd recommend consulting more than one doctor, and definitely work with an orthodontist rather than a dentist if you decide to do Invisalign. This treatment is only for people who will be dedicated to maintaining perfect oral hygiene for the full duration of treatment. The trays block your saliva from washing your teeth! You might as well kiss your choppers goodbye if you put trays on them for 20 hours a day and you've got food stuck in there, or tartar.

I'll post updats as my treatment proceeds.

Glowing

Invisalign is not quicker than wires. Invisalign is just generally used for less severe cases than wires - it is only supposed to be used for very mild cases actually.

You really need to see an orthodontist for correct treatment, they'll be able to inform you of any possible bite or jaw problems. If you are a candidate for something like invisalign, then they will refer you.