It’s almost been 2 years since I started orthodontic treatment with Invisalign! Finally! I’m in the finishing stage of treatment, so I’m leaving a brief review.
I’m undergoing orthodontic treatment after extracting 4 teeth to bring in my protruding mouth. Now people around me are surprised, saying my mouth has gone in so much... I’m so happy. Subjectively, it feels like it has moved in about 1 cm over roughly 2 years!
Since my mouth has gone in a lot, there’s definitely an effect where my nose looks higher too, and my face shape itself has become a bit slimmer! And my retruded chin has improved a little too! Outside of the teeth-related part, the thing I was most satisfied with was that my nose looks like it became higher too. My nose wasn’t originally low, but because I had a protruding mouth and my mouth stuck out, my nose looked relatively low
That said, there are definitely downsides to orthodontic treatment too. I was known for having strong, healthy teeth, but after starting orthodontic treatment, even drinking cold water from the fridge makes my teeth sensitive. Before orthodontic treatment, I usually didn’t feel tooth sensitivity even when eating ice cream. Since teeth are extracted and the teeth are moved artificially, it does feel like the teeth become much weaker. I was told my roots were deep enough that I could even undergo orthodontic treatment twice, but I still definitely feel my teeth have weakened. For those whose roots are not deep, before orthodontic treatment.. make sure to check in advance with your doctor what side effects may occur after orthodontic treatment!
Also, around the time I started orthodontic treatment, a friend got non-extraction traditional braces, so I think I can briefly compare it with regular orthodontic treatment too. Compared with Invisalign, the biggest merit of braces is that “you don’t need to attach and remove the appliance yourself.” If you want to minimize delays/extensions in the treatment period, I personally think I would recommend getting braces.
Invisalign is a concept where you keep changing and wearing new transparent appliances at set intervals. So there are many variables. For example, if you take the appliance out for a meal, leave it at the restaurant, and lose it as is (end up losing it.._), you have to scan your teeth again, have the appliance made, and wear it. At that time, making the appliance alone takes about a month. They say it takes a long time because the scan file is sent to the U.S., the appliance is made there, and then it is shipped internationally to Korea. Even if you don’t lose it, there are many cases where the appliance doesn’t fit tightly on the teeth while wearing it and lifts, so if the lifted area is severe, they may make the appliance again. If I had known this part in advance before orthodontic treatment, I might have gotten braces too.. I thought, how could I lose this? But while deep-cleaning the house, I once unknowingly just threw away the next appliance too ^^..........
With braces, once they’re put on, you can’t lose them even if you want to, and if you go to the dental clinic, most procedures can be handled within a week, so in summary, compared with braces, Invisalign has many possibilities for treatment delay!
This got a little long as I wrote.. I’ll stop here. Unless the malocclusion is severe, I think orthodontic treatment for aesthetic purposes should be done after looking into it thoroughly. It may be more accurate to see it as choosing aesthetics while accepting functional drawbacks For me, the latter was more important, so I chose orthodontic treatment! I hope this post helps those who are considering Invisalign!!
This review is a surgery review pursuing a natural look.