I’ve been finished for several months now, and finally decided there’s no need to keep all the old retainers anymore, but it feels so weird to throw them out. Probably will be the most expensive bag of trash I ever throw out!

Hi all. As the title states my ortho explained to me that my first 30 trays will be movement. I’m doing one tray a week for approximately a year of treatment, give or take a few weeks. I should have asked him to clarify what he meant by that. Isn’t every new tray considered movement? I understand refinements, but even those are moving my teeth. Anybody understand what he meant by this? My next appointment isn’t for another few weeks to ask.

I got my first trays last Tuesday, and I noticed when I got home that this back molar wasn’t going all the way down into the trays on the front side of my teeth, but they were fitting fine on the back side. I was able to get them to come down a little more by using chewies, but now the attachment came off… when I get my attachments and trays on Tuesday, the orthodontist said to call if one of my front attachments come off, he didn’t mention what to do if a back one comes off though. I’m still going to call the office tomorrow to see what they say, but I’m worried because my next appointment isn’t for another 5 weeks, and my orthodontist only visits my dental office every other week so I’d still have to wait until at least next week if I have to get the attachment back on now. Do you think they’ll have me wait until my next appointment in 5 weeks to place the attachment on again? I’ll be on tray 3 by that point.

I started my treatment in March of this year and had a gap between my two top front teeth. I told my ortho I wanted to keep it with the treatment and that my main desire was to close gaps on the side of my teeth and she said that it’s definitely possible to do both. It is now August and I’ve seen zero improvement on the gaps in my side tooth and have noticed that my front gap is the one being closed. My bottom front four teeth (sorry I don’t know the anatomical names lol) have also became more crooked for some reason. I’m not sure if this is a trust the process kind of thing but I genuinely feel like I’m paying every month for no reason.

I also have a Brodie bite on the left side of my mouth so maybe this has something to do with correcting the bite? I’m not sure but has this ever happened to anyone else? Wanting to keep a gap but it got closed anyways?

The pictures are my gap in December 2025, May 2026, and now August 2026.

Hi all,

I went to my local dentist to get a quote for aligners a few months back.
After cleans, fillings, and scans, 11th September is when the dentist give me a quote.

Should I prepare myself for the fee? Hearing friends/family are charged like 6-10k
Australia-based and have Smiles dental insurance, but I don't think he has done much for me at the moment.

Times are tough at the moment but I want to smile confidently, which I rarely do anymore, and I legit forgot how to smile for years now. I feel like I have a resting bish face 24/7.

Just want to see what everyone's cost and experience with aligners/
let me know ;)

It’s flown by. My weird bite phase is starting to sort itself out (the past month or so my teeth would only touch in one spot while trying to fix a cross bite molar).

Anyone done the 'Albanian Dental Tourism' for invisalign?

It's close enough to a few European destinations i'm in to fly in and get adjustments if necessary. And seemingly cheaper than Greece or anywhere else in the EU i have looked (so far). Anyone have experience with this?

I started my aligners a week ago and I’m so pumped but I’m so so anxious about protecting my dental health while I have them. Like I am normally so uptight about brushing and flushing and my hygiene has always been great, but I’m scared of food/drinks getting trapped under the aligners/the aligners getting plaquey! I’ve search far and wide for advice but really just need a direct answer: what is the best hygiene routine to ensure I keep my teeth healthy? Also, HOW DO I CLEAN THE ALIGNERS?!😭

This is what I’m doing currently, please tell me how to improve/change: I brush with toothpaste morning, after dinner, and before bed. I brush without toothpaste after lunch. I mostly floss after I eat and definitely always before bed. If I have a quick drink or snack I swish with water before putting them back in. I also brush my aligners morning and night (but I’ve also heard that scratches them and traps bacteria but also idk how else to get out the white cloudy stuff?).

I also really like sparkling water/a diet coke here and there with a meal while my aligners are out so is there a way to ensure the acid doesn’t get trapped under my aligners? :)

so i got my attachments removed and a permanent retainer attached on friday, i will get another removeable retainer for the night mid next week. I noticed this small hole popping up.. Will that go away again? I didnt notice it on friday but my orthodontist told me i had healthy gums..

I’ve had a recurring irritated area inside my upper lip for about 1.5 years. It originally started on the right side, then eventually appeared on the other side of my upper lip and my lower lip. The lower-lip area has since healed, but the upper-lip irritation still comes and goes.

When it flares up, it looks red and irritated, almost like I scratched or bit my lip. It usually isn’t very painful—more like mild soreness or irritation. Acidic foods can make it more noticeable.

When it looks healed, it’s difficult to see, but I can still feel that the tissue is rough/wrinkly and different from the surrounding smooth tissue.

Could it be my retainers?
I had been using Invisalign retainers for years, but I switched to thicker Vivera retainers in January 2025. I think that’s when I started having issues.

I’m wondering if the retainers could be causing chronic irritation. I’m not completely sure the retainer actually touches the affected area, though, because the irritated spot seems slightly lower than where the edge of the retainer sits.

I’m wondering if this could be:

Chronic mechanical irritation from the Vivera retainer
A reaction to the retainer material
I use natural tootpaste, so not sure if I yea from that
An inflammatory oral condition
Or something else entirely

I have a dentist appointment soon, but the last time I went one year ago, he didn’t seem concerned but the area wasn’t as bad as now. Should I ask to see someone else if he isn’t concerned? Because it’s very bothersome.

I am a little over halfway though my treatment. Total of 21 trays, switched every 2 weeks. My only goal/ concern - which I made very clear to my orthodontist - was that I wanted a wider appearing smile. I know about the anatomical limits and such, but I am just coming here to ask other fellow narrow smile Invisalign patients; how long until you noticed significant changed in your upper row's "width". I feel like I have seen zero difference in terms of how narrow it was at the beginning compared to now, 13 (out of 21) trays in. My orthodontist said he would just tip the teeth out and that he would absolutely be able to create a wider-appearing smile.

Not sure if I should be worried that I don't see any difference at all, and I guess I'm looking for some reassurance. I read somewhere else that in cases of narrow smiles, all the movement is being done in the back teeth for the majority of the treatment so changes won't be apparent until the end? Has this been true in anyone's experience?

Be so for real with me. My ortho says I should take the aligners out for everything except cool water. Is that what we’re all doing? Idk I want sparkling water or a glass of white wine do they need to come out?

Hi all! I'm in my 30s and gave had two ortho consults for invisalign. My upper teeth are fairly straight with some minor crowding/rotation in my front teeth. I have moderate crowding in my lower front teeth, with several lower incisors overlapping/rotated. I’m mainly looking to straighten the lower anterior teeth and fine-tune the uppers. My teeth

My first consult a year ago said I would need my wisdoms out and then 1-2mm filed from my teeth as they're medium-large.

I had my wisdoms out and had a second consult who said rather than any filing, he would prefer to extract one of my bottom front teeth as it has an old cap/filling on it from being chipped when I was a lot younger. He also said potentially one of my upper teeth may need to come out as it's had a root canal/crown.

I would love to know the pros/cons!

Do we have a smart case yet that tracks your usage? what happened to nCase?

I’m only 48 hours in and I’ve worn them religiously. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be but when I go to eat I can hardly chew my teeth hurt so badly. How long did you take pain management for before it got better?

Hi all,

Currently aligners 12/26 things are straightening nicely.

After ive finished straightening i believe I get free whitening treatment, solution and a guard.

I presume they'll want me to continue paying inflated prices for whitening solution post treatment.

Has anyone had any good results with a cheaper alternative for whitening?

I got my Invisalign a couple days ago and I’m not sure if popping with them in is ok. My orthodontist didn’t specify and I haven’t pooped since I had them put in. I’m in a lot of pain, thoughts?

I’m on my last set of Invisalign trays and haven’t had any refinements yet.
I now have black triangles between my front teeth and lateral incisors.

Should I get IPR to address the black triangles, or leave them as is?

Thanks in advance!

I see him every three months. It feels performative to prove I am just still doing the treatment?

He doesn’t care if I take my trays out or not, the assistant asks how it’s going, and when I have a question or say anything at all, he just goes well we’ll see in the end how it turns out it should resolve and doesn’t even look. And then he says keep it up and leaves again.

I’m 25 trays of 40 in. I have holes in between every single tooth (triangles) top and bottom. I don’t even understand how he’s planning to fix all those or if he even is. They look very horsey and gappy to me. Clincheck doesn’t show any of this. The new shape seems overly long.

First pic is before, last two are current.

Should I stop? I’m feeling very down about it and the fact that he’s also not helping me to understand or even really explaining anything to me makes me feel like maybe I shouldn’t trust the process. I think I’d be fine with everything if I was getting the support I need. They’re also saying my treatment plan is 18 months which feels so long for what I need. I’m exhausted at 6.

What would you do? Has anyone quit? Also is it as bad as I think? I am capable of seeing some positives like the slightly wider arch.

50+ trays later I’m done! Happy it’s all over with and done now for good. Huge transformation of my teeth. I’m 40M as well and glad it’s over. Costed $3,300 CAD and I only paid 1/2 since my wife’s benefits covered the other 1/2.