Re: Alternatives to Braces

March 7, 2004

I could be wrong, but I seem to remember my ortho telling me that you

can't do Invisalign if you're going to have surgery because (1) the

amount of movement required for the surgery is too major for

Invisalign's minor range of movement (he told me that invisalign was

really for people who had slightly crooked teeth or small spacing

problems like a gap between front teeth), and (2) they use the braces

during the surgery to stabilize your teeth and after the surgery to

hold your jaw steady while it heals. Believe me, I explored this

alternative because I was so irritated by having braces again at age

34 (had them for 8 years as a kid)! Yeah, boo hoo for me.... The

braces still suck, but you pretty much get used to them. Can't help

with the ortho/surgeon question, as I'm in Texas. Good luck with

your search! --Amy

> Has anyone undergone treatment/surgery with Invisalign rather than

> traditional braces? What has been your experience with it? I'm

sure

> some of you have seen or heard of this, but for those who have not,

> it basicially is a plastic molding you place on your teeth which is

> removable for eating, brushing, flossing, etc.

>

> I think I've mentioned this before, but I'll try again, does anyone

> know of good oral surgeons in BC?

>

> Any help/advice would be appreciated.

>

> =)

March 7, 2004

Can't help you with a Seattle surgeon. Hope someone else can...

Meantime, ask your dentist, ask your ortho... Ask friends who have

children having wizzies removed, for some leads.

As for Invisalign. I can't think of one person who wouldn't welcome

the removable nature of them, for the sake of cleaning, and for the

appearance factor -- although I don't think I'd have had the

willpower to leave 'em in long enough to work.

Now. Some folks, I think, have used Invisalign for at least part of

their treatment. But I don't know anybody who's made it all the way

through the surgery without either brackets and wires or arch bars

(do an archive search on those) and for my money, traditional

brackets and wires are preferable to the arch bars, although I never

had the latter.

If you're really determined, and wanna pay more and wait longer for

the work to be done, ask about lingual braces. I suspect that they're

also nasty -- I don't believe I could have ever become accustomed to

them -- but they're not visible, and some who've used them thought

they were wonderful.

Honestly, the look of braces is unimportant to anybody but you, and

most won't notice it at all, or pay any attention, unless they're

thinking they need work, too.

After going through the drill with the brackets and wires, surgery,

etc., I now have retainers which are -- guess what? A heckuva lot

like the Invisalign things, at least to my untutored eye.

Cammie

> Has anyone undergone treatment/surgery with Invisalign rather than

> traditional braces? What has been your experience with it? I'm

sure

> some of you have seen or heard of this, but for those who have not,

> it basicially is a plastic molding you place on your teeth which is

> removable for eating, brushing, flossing, etc.

>

> I think I've mentioned this before, but I'll try again, does anyone

> know of good oral surgeons in BC?

>

> Any help/advice would be appreciated.

>

> =)

March 7, 2004

Invisalign would work to straighten the teeth.

HOwever teeth are put in braces presurgery to make sure they do not

move. I didn't have crooked teeth and I still had to go through the

course to makesure they were stable and would not shift. That can't

really be done with those removable types.

Also with any surgery there runs the risk you may be wired.

I need upper and genio done, I have perm wires however I stil have

to get braces back on as they need them for surgical positioning,

potential wiring and for after care adjustments and fine tuning of

the bite.

TRUST ME IF WE COULD AVOID THE BRACES WE ALL WOULD!

Shiloh

March 8, 2004

I was 31 when I got my braces on, and also hated the idea of having

to go through that now. I got Clarity clear ceramic braces. You

have to be within a few feet to see more than the silver wire going

across. I've had people face-to-face with me, talking for ten or

fifteen minutes, suddenly say, " Hey, you have braces! Let me see

those. " Which sort of defeats the purpose of making them as

invisible as possible ... But they really are hard to see. The day

I got them on I went to a meeting and sat around a table with a lot

of people who know me well. Not a single one of them noticed.

Some people say the clear ones break during surgery/wiring. I'm not

going to be wired, which is maybe why I was allowed to have them?

I've had two pop off on their own (swallowed one) and they didn't

splinter or break in the process.

Anyway, they were worth the extra $$$ I had to pay out of pocket.

Kris

March 8, 2004