[LurkandComment]

1) Currently on invisign - mould 24 of 42

2) For 5k (Cdn) - I get 42 moulds, a method used to scan and submit my progress for each mould duration, feedback and advice from a dentist, a scan test to see who they fit

3) Considering the cost of braces and the flexibility these allow (as long as you are disciplined in wearing them) it's well worth it

4) My teeth were really misaligned. At 42 I just decided to do it so I could smile more in pics. Not confidence issue, just sometimes in life you have to do things for yourself

5) You can see the 3d printing lines and its pretty detailed given how lightweight and accurate the shape is for each tooth

6) There are little mounts they install on your teeth for the moulds to latch on to as well, so its not just a fit on the teeth but the mounts as well

7) Each individual mould has a unique number on the package in comes in as well as on the mould. Each package has my name, the dentist and the mould number out of 42.

8) I could see changes starting with mould 6

9) If look even close to mould 42, I will be extactic

10) it also comes with an attachment for your phone that alows you to submit self exams each mould. Its really cool. its very impressive

[aewens]

Just be prepared near the end for refinements. When I did mine, I had to do another 6 months of refinements near the end to help get the locking of my bite grip to be where it needs to be. I was otherwise expecting that day to be when I’d be done, and later learned refinements are a fairly common occurrence when going through Invisalign.

As the sibling comment, it’s definitely worth it. Best of luck!

[rancar2]

This isn’t the case with 3D printed bracket systems. Studies have shown that the 3D personalized bracket system from LightForce will cut down treatment time over 40%. The refinement phase is also spot on and finishes much faster, and recent studies have shown further improvements. Also, the more complex the case, the larger the delta on the performance. Not all orthos are practicing this way but this is where the future is going whether it is LightForce or another company. The physics just works out better than the best plastics.

Disclaimer: I’m a health nerd and was an employee a couple years ago.

[ivan_gammel]

LightForce still requires a lot of visits to the doctor. Nice source of revenue for orthos. Aligners may become more accessible to patients, because that tech is more scalable by design.

[rancar2]

Ivan worked at Align and was CTO of European DTC competitor. I agree with Ivan that both technologies have their sweet spot. I disagree with the scale piece and the frequency of visits as there are practices doing both those things differently using the placement and remote monitoring technology.

For younger patients that haven’t had braces before which is the majority of historical patient populations and future ones, 3D printed personalized braces systems are better as the tooth movement needed is more clinically substantial at tougher angles. Many younger patients forget and lose their plastic aligners.

That said: what is chosen should be what for the whole person at multiple levels.

[ivan_gammel]

This sounds like AI-written comment, at least in the first part. What I do not get is why are you dismissing the argument about number of visits. 3D printed braces are still braces. They require manual adjustment for each treatment stage. Aligners do not need that - they may need a check-up in the middle of the treatment, maybe one or two mid-course corrections, maybe an appointment for installation of attachments, but that's it. You change aligners at home without visiting doctor.

>Many younger patients forget and lose their plastic aligners.

They can get a new one easily by post.

[Oarch]

Best of luck! I completed mine 2 years ago and have to say it was 100% worth the patience.

[Insanity]

My SO is now using it. I’m waiting for her impressions to decide if I want to do so.

The dentist told me I’d only need it for like 3-4 months, minor corrections. But it seems like such a hassle. Always having to remove it before eating anywhere, no coffee, and gotta make sure I’d always travel with the next set of aligners etc.

Glad it worked well for you though!

[com2kid]

I lost a few pounds doing it because snacking became so annoying. :)

[meroes]

Because it’s annoying to remove and clean for eating each time, it will get to a point where coffee or the odd snack is not worth the hassle. Maybe once in the year process did I find it worth it to remove it to eat fourth time in a day. It’s a weird reorienting. Like jumping into a new energy level that is more taxing, but is in a minima such that you want to stay to 3 meals a day.

[markphip]

I am nearing the end, depending on the refinements. The first two weeks I was regretting it, but adjusted quickly. Honestly for me the issue was more that I did not like the way my teeth feel with the trays out (and the rough field of the aligners on the teeth). The eating was not that big of a deal. I have a travel toothbrush and case I keep with me. It has been pretty easy.

Still looking forward to getting the stuff off my teeth.

I needed 15 trays so just 30 weeks. Not that bad.

[darkpicnic]

Just do what I did: ignore your orthodontist and wear them only at night, smashing them into your mouth like some kind of idiotic brute. 4 years later, great teeth!

[Gooblebrai]

I'll admit that I wore them less than indicated (but always at night) and doesn't seem to make much of a difference?

[Rohunyyy]

You teeth are literally being pushed to a new position. So if you dont use the braces for the "minimum" duration, you teeth may not be in a place where they need to be for the second set of braces to start working. So your 2nd braces are going to be pushing more and that might cause damage to your teeth/gums. Think of it like trying to do splits. If you have never done them ever before and you try to do them on your first try, then you gonna break whatever you have down there. But if you keep at it then day by day you will notice progress. The braces are like that. Each one eases you into the next stage if that makes sense.

[nntwozz]

I've had good smile all my life but now at 41 I've started to feel a tightness between my teeth.

Lo and behold I read that as we age the jaws shrink which makes the teeth crowd together.

I'm going for a free mouth scan in a couple weeks.

[malfist]

Wouldn't be such a big deal if we didn't keep all our teeth, but we do now. The migration forward as we age, plus wisdom teeth are evolutionary holdovers.

Fun fact, I have one fully grown in wisdom tooth. The rest are still there, but never moved. My dentist is always after me to get all of them removed, telling me that they won't fill a cavity on the grown in one

[windexh8er]

You should find a new Dentist if that's their response. There's no reason to take out a healthy tooth if it's not impacting your quality of life or there are other issues.

Sounds like your Dentist is chasing $ over sense. My better half is a DDS, and they see quite a few patients wherein others in the field put their opinions and revenue over their hippocratic oath.

[animal531]

I'm 50 and still have all mine. One of them is at a 90 degree angle pointing forward as well.

I grew up in a time/place where you never went to the dentist or doctor unless if you were pretty much dying, but at least times are changing now.

[ajcp]

And conversely having all of your teeth, and straight ones at that, help prevent jaw wasting.

[torben-friis]

How long does the process last? Are the moulds monthly or something like that?

I haven't done any similar treatment and I'm considering it at 35. Worried about the length since I heard it takes far longer for adults.

[janzer]

My understanding is they used to be fairly strict about using a set for 2 weeks before changing, but research has shown very little difference in outcomes down to 1 week.

There is some discomfort/soreness for the first few days after switching. My dentist's instructions were to wear each for at least a week and then switch to the next set whenever I wanted after that. Basically at whatever rate I was comfortable/could tolerate. I'm now at set 15 and have switched most of them after a week while a few I delayed a couple of days because I had something happening where I didn't want to worry about any discomfort.

[bialpio]

My wife started with wearing one mould for 7 days and went down to one mould for 4 days near the end of the treatment (but the orthodontist knew we wanted to move and may have accelerated the schedule). She started wearing them at ~36. She says they told her it may be up to 2 weeks per mould before she started the treatment but that wasn't the case for her.

[gonzalohm]

Do you know what type of plastic they use? I have a 3D printer and I wouldn't want to put 3D printed stuff on my mouth. It's way too easy to end up with microplastics

[RealityVoid]

The article says the braces are 2 layers. The inner one is polyester and the outer one is polyurethane. They also don't currently 3d print the braces themselves but instead thermo form them on top of 3d printed molds.

[bilekas]

It has been done before.. https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-3d-print-plastic-brac...

I wouldn't recommend it, mainly incase you mess up the teeth pressure and end up with a far higher dentist bill.

[bottom999mottob]

I think you'd end up with more plastic from just breathing in air and eating seafood than Invisalign, but I haven't done a study on that.

[YZF]

I went through these and am pretty happy with the results. Mostly to counter the crowding of the teeth that happens naturally as you age.

As you probably know you're going to have to wear retainers at night for the rest of your life if you want your teeth to stay where they landed.

[silisili]

I had really bad teeth as a kid, so had braces. Periodically I'd have to go in to get them tightened, and remember the worst whole head pain for a day. Just curious is switching Invisalign molds is a similar process?

[pipe2devnull]

No it’s like a mild pressure on some teeth for maybe a day or two but then doesn’t really feel like much

[silisili]

Nice! I hope no kid today has to go through that. It's easy to say it's worth it now that I'm 30 years removed and have straight teeth, but still have vivid memories of those awful days.