What It Is Really Like To Have Invisalign Treatment as An Adult

As a child with crooked teeth, perhaps you were a little self-conscious throughout your school years. Perhaps because of the cost, or the inconvenience, you just didn’t get your teeth straightened.

Maybe you had braces as a child (like the gentleman below), but stopped wearing a retainer.

Now you’re an adult, with a bit of disposable income, or maybe Dr. Mike at Inside the Smile has noticed some issues with your bite, you’ve finally made the decision to get those pearly whites in order. But…you really don’t want the hassle of those metal brackets and wires.

So what’s it like to wear these invisible braces in the adult world of corporate meetings and parent-teacher conferences?

Meet Steven, your average male who like yourself made the choice to get his teeth fixed. Let’s hear from him in his own words.

A few years ago, I remember how insecure I felt whenever I smiled. My misaligned teeth had bothered me for a while but one day, the girl I was dating asked me why one tooth of mine was higher than all the others.

My cheeks turned red as a tomato. (it wasn’t because of the cold Chicago air!) The true reason why that one tooth was higher than the others is that I didn’t wear my retainer after I get my braces off when I was a teen. I told her that and tried to mask my immense embarrassment. From that point on, my insecurity about my smile was greatly intensified.

I enjoy smiling at people and being friendly, but I found myself doing it less and less. Even in those rare moments when I did smile, I would keep it small and subtle to avoid showing too much. I knew that straighter teeth would boost my confidence and killing any insecurities that I might have.

Metal Braces – not for ME!

There was no way in hell that I’d ever wear metal braces again. It was settled, I’d be stuck with an embarrassing mouth for the rest of my life — or so I thought. One day, I read an article about Invisalign. The article was targeting teens more than adults, but I wanted to see if they had anything more suitable for my age (27) as well.

I thought to myself “it’s impossible that a successful company like Invisalign would limit their product to the teen market.” Surely enough, I was right. Invisalign not only offered treatment options for adults, they also guaranteed equally good results.

Invisalign – a long but worthwhile journey

I started Invisalign treatment and now, two years later, it’s nothing more than a distant memory; a completed goal that I’ll be reminded of whenever I look in the mirror. I wanted to write this article so that people would know what it’s really like to undergo Invisalign treatment when you’re an adult.

I decided that this was the right time since I’m getting close to 30, once I hit that point, my ancient mind will struggle to remember the fine details of my experience. Invisalign is the perfect choice for adults because you can take them off if you need to and then just put them back in later on.

Meetings with Clients and Eating Lunch

This may not seem all that significant, but you’ll appreciate the choice of taking them off when you secretary calls to inform you that you have an important meeting with a client… OVER LUNCH.

You can take your aligners off before the meeting, brush your teeth after lunch, then put them back on. Refrain from taking them off during the meeting as dripping saliva is quite the appetite killer.

Business Travel

If you tend to travel with your job, it can be a bit of a hassle making it to see Dr. Mike on a regular basis. That’s where Invisalign comes to your aid. Since you receive sets of aligners over a period of time, you can order your next set, and begin to wear them wherever you might be. We have also written a blog post from an Invisalign patient who needed to travel with her kids while keeping up with their orthodontic treatment.

(Almost) Invisible

Unless somebody takes a really good look at your mouth, no one will ever notice the near-invisible aligners. My experience with Invisalign isn’t one that I’d call painful.

After going through the hell that is metal braces, my mouth had become desensitized to foreign objects that get too close for comfort. There was some annoyance during the first few weeks while my teeth adjusted to the idea of wearing an aligner.

I ended up switching retainers at night time so that I would be asleep during the transition period and wake up feeling well-adjusted. I hope my story helped and motivated you to take that leap towards the perfect smile. Happy brushing!

Calling Adults in Cook County

As you heard from Steven, it’s never too late to take care of that irregular smile. You don’t have to worry or be embarrassed any longer. Dr. Mike and his Oak Lawn dental team at Inside the Smile frequently see adults for orthodontic treatment. It’s no longer a social drag to get those teeth straightened when you have the Invisalign option right here in Oak Lawn.

41.7200° N, 87.7480° W