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Orthodontic treatment is not the same from doctor to doctor especially orthodontist to dentist in terms of training and expertise. You will get a wide range of treatment outcomes based on the skills of your doctor. The Invisalign treatment I provide is not the same Invisalign treatment another doctor would provide. It sounds like you need to get a second opinion from an orthodontist. Good luck!

Great question! Invisalign can be used for a variety of dental and potentially skeletal movements based on the treatment plan you have. For your specific question, you would need to see an orthodontist to determine what's practical and what's not. Good luck!

@@drpassamano Thank you dr. I asked many doctors, some of them say that surgery is necessary because I am past the age of growth. My orthodontist said my bite was bad and gave me 62 plates. I was not given any information about the jaw. I wanted to ask you.

I have a before and after gallery on my website. Feel free to click the category Invislaign and see what I've been able to accomplish. You can also see a similar gallery on Invisalign's alignglobalgallery.com. I have a couple cases in that gallery too.

Good question. It depends on the treatment goals and what you want the final result to look like. Many orthodontists can provide a smile simulation so you can see what the final result would look like before you get started. Give that a try!

Good question. I doubt it because the removable expander will just fall out of the mouth with the tension needed for facemask. Facemask is generally only used with FIXED appliances, not removable ones like this Invisalign expander.

I run a digital simulation on all patients to analyze tooth size analysis (bolton). IPR is often needed even when it's not obvious. 3D scanning and computers help me provide better care.

Thank you! I have a class 2 and both upper and lower incisors are flared the doctor told me to do jaw surgery and extractions, i dont want to do either of those do you think ipr and invisalign is enough?

@@latincicemma3213 I think it would be best to get another consultation or 2 (or 3). I won't be able to give you specific advice without a full exam, so go get another full exam and see what another orthodontist recommends. The more information you have, the better you can make a decision. Good luck!

Good discussion! We've had removable expanders for 50+ years and the Invisalign expander fits into that category. I use non-Invisalign removable expanders when indicated. Orthodontic treatment should be customized to each patient's needs. However, if I'm looking for optimal expansion, then I agree with your statement and I'm going with traditional fixed expanders. BTW: Nearly all of my Invisalign expansion gets some level of sutural expansion so I would disagree with the idea that Invisalign expander only tips teeth. That's fake news.

Good question. I find that I won't get as much flaring reduction with braces vs Invisalign. It has to do with the mechanics of braces vs clear aligners. You will still get reduced flaring, but not as much as Invisalign/Clear Aligners would. You can still get a very good result with Braces and IPR, just know the limitations.

Good question. It's much harder to change facial features after growth is completed (adults). However, I think you can get marginal improvement by improving lip competence, eliminating mouth breathing, improving tongue position and fixing the bite. The improvement will just be less which is why it's super important to get these issues fixed as a kid.

Great question. Unless the posterior molars are extruded, then I usually don't do TADs. One of the side effects of clear aligners is posterior intrusion, which is good for open bites and bad for deep bite patients. Hence why clear aligners are very poor at correcting deep bites. No TADs were used for this patient.

Appreciate the support!

Wishing you all the best on your Invisalign journey! Love your name too.

It's very little if any changes to the shape of the face. It does change the shape of the smile and lip support. It depends on the age of patient, shape of the jaw, amount of expansion, etc. Many variables. So it could be no change to a little change depending on what is done.

Great question! Yes, you can do IPR with either Braces or Invisalign. I do it both ways. However, I find that I get MORE flaring reduction with Invisalign then braces due to the mechanics of the clear trays. Hope that helps!

Great question! Wisdom teeth usually don't have much effect on the front teeth / lips because they are far away from the front teeth. I could see a recommendation for extraction of 4 premolars. If you have protrusion, then it's usually IPR or Extraction of 4 teeth. The amount that you need will determine which option you go with. Go get a third opinion if you are uncertain Thanks!

Great question. The hard skeletal palate has 2 bones that are connected with a suture that closes around 12-15 years old so expansion of the upper will fill in new bone. This means you can widen the upper jaw. The lower jaw's suture closes <1 year old so there's no such thing as a lower jaw expander. The lower jaw dictates how much you can widen since it's a relatively fixed width. Braces or Aligners can widen the teeth which effectively can mimic low jaw expansion though. So if you expand the upper, then you'll need braces or aligners to match the teeth width together.

Good question. The expander WIDENS the posterior arch (back teeth) --> No effect on front teeth. It sounds like you need Invisalign Treatment (not Invisalign Expansion). Go see an orthodontist for an evaluation. Thanks!

Great question. Invisalign retainers are designed to be trimmed before touching your gums so there's no covering of gum tissue. It sounds like you got a generic clear retainer and not an Invisalign branded clear retainer. There's a difference in materials and manufacturing between Invisalign Retainer vs Generic Retainer. Most generic retainers I see cover the gums as well, which sounds like you received. Go find someone that uses Invisalign retainers (not the cheaper alternative).

Thanks, Peter for being a part of our orthodontic family. You have an amazing family! Enjoy the beautiful smiles!!!

Great question. If your arch width is smaller than a normal orthodontic wire, then yes. If it is the same size or bigger, then no. However, you will get a nice curve of the smile and that usually helps create the illusion of a broader smile so the orthodontic treatment will give you an overall better smile. Good luck with your braces!!!

@@drpassamano Ty 😀

Hi Chandra, I have pinched my cheeks when I’m putting my tray in. To avoid this, I place a finger between my cheeks and the tray while I’m placing them in. It has really cut down on those painful pinching😬

@@TiaNT16 Thanks for that tip. Will those white marks on my cheeks eventually go away and is there anything I can do to help them disappear?

Interesting question ... I'm not aware of my patients getting a cheek irritation when inserting the Invisalign trays. It sounds like you need to use another finger to pull your cheeks off your teeth to avoid this. If the question is about the white horizontal line on the buccal cheeks that is adjacent to your teeth's biting surface, then that's called the 'linea alba' and caused by the friction/biting of your teeth. It's very common and sometimes goes away on it's own when the bite improves. Hope that helps!!!

Hopefully an improvement in your alignment of teeth and bite would help the linea alba go away. You can also brush your cheeks too!

I routinely provide Invisalign treatment for patients that are missing molars. However, if you are looking to move those molars, then sometimes braces are better. I recommend an orthodontist consultation. Good luck!

@@drpassamano I already had orthodontic treatment with braces. I had braces for 5 years and now regularly wearing retainers. However, I have noticed that my teeth are relapsing. I probably think Invisalign could help. Also, I don’t plan moving my molars

@@BionicNerd19682 Then Invisalign would work great for you! Invislaign works best for those that previously had braces and want to get back to that perfect braces result. Go for it!

Yes, this patient did have a lot or pre-existing dental issues like recession on multiple teeth including that Max left incisor. That's what a decade of neglect will do. We turned him around and he's on a path to maintain his awesome new smile though.

I think the Invisalign Palatal Expander has more speech issues than the traditional metal one. The Invisalign one is bulkier and covers most of the area where the tongue creates sounds. The metal one has less coverage so less speech issues. I use both Invisalign Expander and Slim Metal Expanders and I'm still doing much more regular ones. Sometimes new isn't better.

Glad I can help! These are the instructions that I give my patients. Good luck with your Invisalign treatment.

Great question. The mandibular symphysis closes by 1 year old while the maxillary suture closes around 11-15 years old so there's no such thing as skeletal expansion on the mandible. HOWEVER, the lower teeth can be tipped (dental tipping) to give the appearance of a wider jaw and that's exactly what's done. It's best to do orthodontic treatment around 12-16 years old to avoid gum recession issues that occur when big orthodontic changes are done as an adult.

Great to hear! Keep it up to prevent staining. Invisalign is not so invisible when you can see the stains. Good luck!!!

The last example was 20 months. It's slightly longer because I was trying to do lip retraction which is more difficult with Invisalign than Braces/extraction. Hope that helps!

Good question. The tooth soreness is dependent on pressure on teeth, so it will depend if your doctor programmed movement on some teeth or has delayed movement. It's very case specific, but I'm sure you will feel something soon. Good luck!

Not sure I can help here! Good luck!

Good luck!

so it doesn't push the top front teeth out to the front cuz thats my problem, I need the front 4 teeth pushed more forward I have an underbite. is there anything fir this ?

@@ethancowart6765 Good question. The expander WIDENS the posterior arch (back teeth) --> No effect on front teeth. It sounds like you need Invisalign Treatment (not Invisalign Expansion). Go see an orthodontist for an evaluation. Thanks!

@@drpassamano ok cool thanks yea I have an appointment on Thursday . I’ve been trying to find if there is anything that can just push the front 4-6 teeth more to the front . . There’s nothing that just works on those teeth without having to mess with all the other teeth it is what I’m asking I suppose .?

Absolutely correct. Processed foods mean we aren't chewing as much as we used to (2-3 hours a day) and jaws aren't be developed. As with anything in modern life, there's a fix for that and its jaw expanders or we can go back to chewing foods for 2-3 hours a day (sarcasm). Check out the book Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic ... it discusses this in more detail.

Great question. There's no difference in Damon Braces vs Regular Braces (many studies have already dubunked Damon Braces' claim of less extraction). I suggest you see an orthodontist and have a smile simulation to see what your result would look like. There are options to reduce flaring that include Extraction, Torque Control, IPR, TADs, etc ... Choosing a good orthodontist is the most important thing you can do.

@@drpassamano he said that I won’t be needing extraction, he said if I extract my teeth my jaw and mouth would look like an old man

@@aac2289 Great news! That correct that sometimes extraction can retract the lips too much. Sometimes extraction can get ideal lip position so it's all case specific and it sounds like you can achieve an awesome smile without extraction. Good luck!

@@drpassamano thanks! should i trust my ortho? im just worried that i won't achieve my expectation

@@aac2289 If you are asking about trusting your doctor, then it sounds like you need to get a second or third opinion. The patient should be confident in the treatment plan prior to starting treatment. Trust your doctor is #1.

This was answered already

Palatal expanders (without surgery or TADs) are generally best treated around 7-10 years old and can be used with somewhat effectiveness in early teens. Once the suture is sealed (around 12-15 years old), then sutural expansion is not predictable.

Sorry to hear this! I would suggest discussing your concerns with your orthodontist. There are options to reverse this flaring. Good luck!