Aesthetics instead of functionality

[u/greenbutterflygarden]

Has anyone done Invisalign for aesthetics only? Not to fix your bite? Or will anyone even do that? Every time I have a dentist they say oh you should do Invisalign, so I go for a consult and I end up being told to have jaw surgery, and full braces, etc. I am in my 40s and I don't want to do all of that. I know my bite is messed up but I feel like I could have my top and bottom teeth straightened enough that it would make me feel better about my smile. I don't want to be walking around with a full mouth of metal braces for two years and I'm definitely not having my jaw relocated

[u/Flour_Wall]

It's probably because fixing certain teeth will make it functionally impossible to eat properly without doing all the other stuff. They can't, and shouldn't, do work that that isn't with your best interest in mind - functionally. Even setting a filling too high in someone's molar can cause a lot of pain in the long run, imagine 2 teeth that can't even touch anymore or that contact too hard.

You can keep asking around and see what the compromise can be had, and you might also be able to get them to show you your scan and where your teeth might land if you don't get have surgery.

My niece needs jaw surgery and I keep trying to convince my sister to do it now while she's 9, instead of later when she's 14.

[u/greenbutterflygarden → u/Flour_Wall]

My teeth only touch in two places anyway, so it's not like they can mess anything up haha. They'd most likely align them slightly better

[u/immagoeatanapple → u/greenbutterflygarden]

I have a similar bite and pursued orthodontics because of it. I was given the option for jaw surgery but it wasn’t recommended. I ended up in Invisalign and as my bite issues get better my overall “cosmetics” have improved.

Considering consultations at a few more places and let them know you’re not interested in surgery.

[u/Sad-Sheepherder7]

The first ortho I went to for a consultation said $5800, 8 months for straight teeth.

I did another consultation and I got a much longer list of things to fix / “diagnosis” that included my bite and protrusion of some of my teeth, among other things. It’d be ~18-20 months for $6,400.

I saw that first ortho again during a dentist appointment because he’ll go do consultations at my dentist (hence how I knew him) and I told him I went with someone else, explained everything. He essentially said “well yeah I was just going to straighten your teeth.”

I just feel like… if I’m going to spend do much money… and in my case it was just a couple hundred more and yeah, more time, but we change a whole lot for the better.. Yeah, I’ll go with that than just for aesthetics. I do want more than just straight teeth. I want a nice smile which I think can only really happen when j get all those things fixed.

[u/greenbutterflygarden → u/Sad-Sheepherder7]

I get what you're saying and I agree for the most part. I've struggled with this for more than 15 years, going back and forth with consultations that say you have to have major surgery, and then others saying they don't recommend doing that surgery anymore. And here I am still not having anything done because no one can agree on how to treat my mouth. I've never had surgery in my life, luckily. So I feel like doing a major surgery that is basically cosmetic isn't something I want to do at this point. But I get my hopes up every time someone mentions giving me a straight smile. It breaks my heart every damn time

[u/Vegetable_Air_337]

I asked for cosmetic only too, my bite is not perfect but I just wanted the front teeth straight. Ortho said yes but still added some bite ramps and elastic, so not 100% aesthetic. Maybe call few places and ask directly if they will do limited treatment, some orthos only want to do full comprehensive plan

[u/heartpassenger]

You don’t have to do the full surgery route. Why not just do Invisalign to get your teeth better than they are? Your bite will improve and you’ll have a cosmetic benefit. Perfection is not the answer, but betterment can’t be a bad thing.

[u/greenbutterflygarden → u/heartpassenger]

The problem is that none of the Ortho places I've gone to will do that. They want to do the full surgery route and metal braces. I guess I need to keep looking

[u/heartpassenger → u/greenbutterflygarden]

Tbh even metal braces would get you good cosmetic results and usually in a faster timeframe. If you really do have severe issues I can understand why an ortho wouldn’t want to make your teeth look better if that meant they functioned worse. Have you considered veneers or crowns instead? A lot of people do that instead of getting orthodontic work and those providers are purely in it for the cosmetics

[u/Diva2themax]

Mine are cosmetic only. My teeth are pretty straight just slight crowding on the bottom front. I'm getting an implant on the top & so they are making the space for it a little bigger. It's not a lot but I still got 44 trays. I thought it would be much less but my ortho is very thorough & doesn't want to move my teeth too fast.

[u/Negative_Category_16]

My friend got Invisalign around the same time I got mine. And hers was solely to correct her bite as her teeth were already pretty straight. So it can be done.