Invisalign Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I get Invisalign?:
A: You need to have a consultation with an orthodontist or a certified dentist to see if you qualify for treatment. I suggest having at least 2 to 3 consultations with different doctors to compare price and to make sure that you feel comfortable with who you choose.

Q: How much do they cost?
A: This has to be my most frequently asked question. The answer depends on the dentist or orthodontist that you see. I suggest getting more than one consultation to compare prices. It seems the average cost in the USA is around $5000 for a complete treatment. That amount should include all of your regular visits as well. This will probably change in time as Invisalign's competitors start emerging.

Q: Can I get Invisalign for just my top teeth?
A: This depends on the doctor that you see. I had two consultations and was considering getting just my tops done. One doctor said that the would not treat just one arch and the other was willing. As it turns out, I wouldn't have saved much money by doing just the top so I went for it all.

Q: How long do you have to wear Invisalign?
A: That depend on the severity of your case. You are given plastic trays to fit over your teeth that have slight adjustments in them. They are changed every two weeks. I had 16 sets of tray plus I had 3 sets of refinements. My total treatment time was about 10 months. You should be wearing them daily for around 22 hours.

Q: Will I have to wear a retainer?
A: Yes. Your last set will be your retainer (unless your doctor does it differently). I am currently wearing my retainer to bed every night. This may possibly be a lifelong thing, but I'm not sure yet. My orthodontist mentioned about possibly doing ever other night in the future. I honestly don't mind as I want to protect my investment.

Q: Can you eat with your aligners in?
A: No. They must be removed for every meal.

Q: Is it true that you have to brush and floss before you put your trays back in?
A: Yes. Unfortunately this is the part about Invisalign that is a huge pain. You do not want food to get trapped against your teeth under the retainers. This can cause tooth decay. So, you are going to want to make sure they are nice an clean after every meal.

Q: It it okay to drink with my Invisalign retainers in?
A: Only water is the safest. Again, the sugar in drinks can become trapped under the aligner. Also, colored drinks can stain them.

Q: Can I smoke with my Invisalign retainers in?
A: Since I am not a smoker and haven't looked into this one very far. I can tell you that the pamphlet that comes with Invisalign tells you not to. I would guess that it to avoid staining them.

Q: Is Invisalign painful to wear?
A: It depends. When you change trays, you will experience some discomfort for a few days. Particularly when taking them out and putting them in for meals. The new trays are forcing the teeth into a new position so you will feel some pain as the teeth get into their new place.

Q: What are attachments?
A: Some teeth need to be rotated from side to side. The orthodontist will glue a small tooth-colored piece to the tooth. The trays will have a bump in them for the piece to fit into. Each tray will have a slightly different position of the bump to help that tooth rotate.

Q: Will I have to have attachments?
A: That all depends on the severity of your case. You'll have to have a consultation to know for sure.

Q: How long until you start to see results?
A: I remember seeing a difference in as little as 6-8 weeks.

Q: How do you clean your Invisalign aligners?
A: Although the Invisalign pamphlet says not to use denture cleaner, I did it any way. I soaked them in Efferdent every morning while eating breakfast. It did a great job and I had no problems with it. I also use toothpaste and a toothbrush to clean them as well.

Q: Will my insurance pay for Invisalign?
A: The only way to find out is to contact your insurance company.

Q: If you had to do it all again, would you get metal braces instead?
A: No. Overall, I am very happy with the results of my Invisalign treatment. I loved the fact that they were not very obvious and the treatment was relatively quick.

A Little Update

I have been absent for a while as there really hasn't been much to report. I have to wear my last tray every night to bed as a retainer. There have been no problems doing this and my teeth are still looking nice and straight. I have a follow-up appointment with my orthodontist in July.

I want to apologize to all of those that have asked questions that I haven't been able to get to. Since I am having a hard time keeping up with the YouTube questions, I will be turning the comments off for now. I finally did what I promised a while ago, I came up with a list of Frequently Asked Questions about Invisalign. I will add that as a separate post after this.

As I will be keeping the comments open here, feel free to post your thoughts on your experience with Invisalign. There are a lot of visitors that stop by daily. If you have anything that you want to share with them about your Invisalign, post away!

Best of luck to you all!
Sharon