One of our readers was searching for information about Invisalign not working: “my Invisalign doesn’t work”. I would like to say this is nonsense and all treatments work perfectly, but there are still possible problems. Any orthodontic treatment requires a lot of changes in our lifestyle and TIME.
I see 2 options in our case: 1. our reader is having Invisalign for a short time (just some weeks) or 2. maybe we are talking about a finished treatment that wasn’t that successful as we’d wish.
Let’s try to see both possibilities:
1. Invisalign doesn’t work overnight.
If we were to compare Invisalign with metal braces, for instance, we’d have to admit that metal braces SHOW results faster. The braces are stronger (you also feel more discomfort) and the first moving teeth start showing after some weeks. I had a tooth moved 7 mm in just 3 months, was shocked.
Invisalign, on the other hand, DOES work, but the results are not visible that fast. THIS DOESN’T MEAN YOU WILL NOT HAVE STRAIGHT TEETH. Just look at the presentation you get with your treatment: the result is what you are waiting for.
2. What can make the treatment go wrong?
There are some possible explanations: the treatment wasn’t well planned (a tad hard to believe since the Invisalign system is well thought and you’ll have your orthodontist follow your case through it. After you start wearing the Invisalign trays you’ll also be under your orthodontist control, so any problems should be spotted as fast as possible.
The Invisalign aligners HAVE to be worn as much as possible. Many patients try to “skip” some hours, but this will affect their treatment. The aligners have to be on the teeth for as much as you possibly can, nothing less than 20 hours a day (try even more). The treatment depends on you a lot, so you can ruin the results or have the treatment succeed.
From what I was able to see myself and also read from other Invisalign patients, the Invisalign orthodontic treatment has a HUGE success rate if:
- you have a good orthodontist and are under his/her observation so that any problems can be noticed soon
- you wear your aligners AS MUCH as you can
- you let some time pass. You won’t see results in Invisalign in just weeks, let few months pass and then you’ll see the change.
Just think that every 2 weeks you are putting a new aligner in your mouth, a new aligner that is DIFFERENT from the previous one. You feel this by the pressure in your teeth (sometimes a small pain) and the fact you have difficulties putting the aligner on. This means IT WORKS: your teeth changed position and the aligner forces them into a new one. Stick to the treatment and you’ll be just fine.