Ten Things You Should Know Before Getting Invisalign

Invisalign can be a great alternative to metal braces. But, there are a lot of issues with Invisalign that I wasn’t aware of until I started my treatment! If you’re considering Invisalign, you should read this article before you start treatment so you fully understand what you’re getting into.

Here are ten things I wish I knew before getting Invisalign.

1. You’ll need to wear a retainer for the rest of your life

I was shocked to learn that even when your Invisalign treatment is “over”, it really isn’t over. If you want to keep your teeth in the position that you’ve spent thousands of dollars to get them into, you’ll have to wear a retainer at night for the rest of your life. Now, this isn’t as bad as wearing Invisalign for 20+ hours per day, but it’s something that no one told me about when I was considering Invisalign. Having to do anything for the rest of your life is kind of a big deal that you should know about.

2. You might want to talk to an orthodontist before getting it

Many regular dentists offer Invisalign, but I would recommend that you consult an orthodontist for treatment instead. After my Invisalign treatment from my dentist, I still had an interference in my bite and I’m currently seeing an orthodontist to fix it. I wish I had gone to an orthodontist, who specializes in this type of stuff, first instead of my dentist (who is great at other things but doesn’t specialize in moving teeth).

3. Your treatment could go way, way longer than expected

My Invisalign treatment was supposed to last 14 weeks but ended up going for over a year. Pretty much everyone I’ve talked to who had Invisalign said their treatment took way longer than expected, often over a year! One person I talked to had his treatment take over two years!

4. You could have unwanted long-term side effects

Reader Tracey points out that Invisalign can cause “gum recession, which sometimes shows up as black triangles between teeth, for some people”. This is especially true if you are not absolutely religious about brushing and flossing before putting your aligners back in. In a small percentage of cases, the aligners can cause the roots of your teeth to shrink. Again, not a good thing.

5. You probably will need “buttons” glued to your teeth

No one mentioned this when I got Invisalign, but I had to have some “buttons” (small protruding bumps) glued to my teeth before treatment. The purpose is to give the aligners something to “grab” to move your teeth. They feel kind of weird but are not a huge deal to most people, although they were a surprise to me. I had to have several sets attached and removed during my treatment. This made what I thought would be quick visits to get new aligners take a lot longer. Ask your dentist or orthodontist about these.

6. You can forget about drinking coffee or snacking all day

When you have Invisialign, you can say goodbye to sipping coffee for hours at a time, or snacking all day. You can’t eat or drink anything when your aligners are in, and you have to floss and brush after eating anything before putting them back in.

Drinking coffee all day is a big deal to some people, so this is a good one to know beforehand.

7. Eating in restaurants is a pain when you have Invisalign

Unless you want to remove your aligners at the table, you’ll need to excuse yourself to take them out and rinse them out in the restroom.

After eating, you’ll need to excuse yourself again to floss and brush before putting your aligners back in. If you’re at a nice restaurant, maybe that’s not a big deal. If you’re at a busy In-n-Out where people are waiting to use the one sink in the restroom while you’re brushing, it can be a pain.

8. Eating outdoors is an even bigger pain

Eating anywhere that doesn’t have clean running water is a pain with Invisalign. For example, if you want to eat during a hike, bike ride, picnic, etc. Or, if you want to eat food from a food truck or to go window.

Basically, you have to carry some bottled water with you to rinse your aligners when you take them out (they get very gross if you don’t). After eating, you’ll need to find a discreet place to brush your teeth using your bottled water. There were a few times when I had to brush my teeth in my car because we got food to go and I didn’t have a sink available. I just spit out the water on the street.

9. You’ll need to carry a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and a case wherever you go

I ended up keeping multiple sets of toothbrushes, toothpaste, cases, and floss in my car and in my jacket pocket. Basically, you’ll need to carry all of this wherever you expect to be eating. Add in extra bottled water for when you’re not near a restroom.

If you’re a guy like me who is used to carrying everything in your pockets, it might be time to get a “man purse” to carry all of this stuff.

10. You’ll probably lose some weight

Finally some good news. Since eating with Invisalign is such a chore, you’ll probably lose some weight due to not snacking or drinking anything between meals.

Conclusion

All of this might make it sound like I’m an Invisalign hater. I’m not. It’s an amazing technology and way better than metal braces! I’m just trying to alert you of some of the issues with Invisalign that I wish I had known when I started.

How did your Invisalign treatment go? Please leave a comment.