POSTED UNDER Invisalign REVIEWS
My Invisalign Journey Begins - Brisbane, AU
ORIGINAL POST
Hi All, I thought I should contribute my review...
invis2015February 4, 2015
$7,500
Hi All,
I thought I should contribute my review here given I have relied on this website so much over the past 24 hours.
For the past 15 years, I have investigated orthodontic treatments to treat my severe crowding (mainly lower). I never wanted braces, and despite making this very clear to my orthodontist back in my teenage years, he encouraged me to have 4 permanent teeth removed to make space in my mouth and as I discovered later, he thought he would eventually be able to 'talk me into' getting braces. I had the teeth removed but given I never wanted the braces, I ended up having gaps from missing teeth next to my crowded teeth!
For many years, I have accepted my teeth because I didn't know if I had the strength and will power to put up with the orthodontic treatment required to fix them. But, now in my late 20s and aware that I was never going to like my teeth unless I did something about them, I found an orthodontist I really liked and have taken the plunge and begun my Invisalign journey.
Yesterday, I had my first set of aligners as well as 14 attachments put in place. Here is my experience so far..
Pain: has not been too bad. During the night when I woke I found my whole mouth and jaw was aching quite a bit. But I managed to get back to sleep (no painkillers taken) and that pain had gone in the morning.
Soreness: my teeth are generally very sore, some more than others. I have not had to change what I eat but I do feel every bite of any food that is not soft.
Rubbing from Aligners: there were a few places on my aligners that rubbed my tongue causing it to bleed. I have used a nail file to smooth these areas and this has helped on all but one. This pesky area actually sticks right out at the back of my bottom front teeth and catches the underside of my tongue. I have tried filing and trimming to no avail. Dental wax is the only thing that is working but is a nightmare to stick on after every removal of the aligners. Looks like I'm going to go through a lot of wax in these next 2 weeks...
Attachments: are so rough!! They are not cutting the inside of my cheeks but just feel so strange! On the teeth they have been added to, there is a fine film of the cement all over the tooth and it feels as rough as sandpaper! Some of this I have been able to chip away with my finger nail without affecting the actual attachment. Is very annoying and wish my orthodontist could have somehow smoothed up these bits before sending me on my way! I look so forward to having my aligners out for a short while only to then have the annoying roughness to deal with instead!
Lisp: had none at all.
Dry mouth: big issue, particularly when talking! Wasn't too much of a problem overnight, but during the day I am consuming so much water to try to combat this.
Top lip sticking out: my upper aligners have 'power ridges' which feel like mountains for my poor lips to fit over! Probably the most uncomfortable part so far, trying to fit my lip over it.
My 'exploring' tongue and the 'full mouth' feeling: at the moment, I just can't distract myself from how 'full' my mouth feels. The aligners feel so foreign in my mouth and my tongue just won't stop 'exploring' them!
Removing/replacing the aligners: definitely my biggest issue! So far today, I have cut the insides of my lips with my finger nails multiple times trying to get the pesky aligners out, particularly the bottom ones. I can get the back parts off but they are so tight over the attachments and front teeth, it is a real battle every time and makes eating such a chore (even though I look so forward to having the aligners out for a short while - my favourite part of the day at the moment!). Replacing is way easier, but hurts, particularly when the top ones 'click' in.
Bite: already my teeth don't feel like they are biting together the same way. Don't know if this may just be my imagination because hard to believe something could have changed that much already. Feels weird but so does everything associated with my mouth at the moment..
So that's my experience so far. I'm still at the 'I don't think I will be able to stand this for 12+ months' stage but I am gaining much support and encouragement from everyone's stories on here. Look forward to hopefully telling everyone how much easier my experience is in the next week or two.
I thought I should contribute my review here given I have relied on this website so much over the past 24 hours.
For the past 15 years, I have investigated orthodontic treatments to treat my severe crowding (mainly lower). I never wanted braces, and despite making this very clear to my orthodontist back in my teenage years, he encouraged me to have 4 permanent teeth removed to make space in my mouth and as I discovered later, he thought he would eventually be able to 'talk me into' getting braces. I had the teeth removed but given I never wanted the braces, I ended up having gaps from missing teeth next to my crowded teeth!
For many years, I have accepted my teeth because I didn't know if I had the strength and will power to put up with the orthodontic treatment required to fix them. But, now in my late 20s and aware that I was never going to like my teeth unless I did something about them, I found an orthodontist I really liked and have taken the plunge and begun my Invisalign journey.
Yesterday, I had my first set of aligners as well as 14 attachments put in place. Here is my experience so far..
Pain: has not been too bad. During the night when I woke I found my whole mouth and jaw was aching quite a bit. But I managed to get back to sleep (no painkillers taken) and that pain had gone in the morning.
Soreness: my teeth are generally very sore, some more than others. I have not had to change what I eat but I do feel every bite of any food that is not soft.
Rubbing from Aligners: there were a few places on my aligners that rubbed my tongue causing it to bleed. I have used a nail file to smooth these areas and this has helped on all but one. This pesky area actually sticks right out at the back of my bottom front teeth and catches the underside of my tongue. I have tried filing and trimming to no avail. Dental wax is the only thing that is working but is a nightmare to stick on after every removal of the aligners. Looks like I'm going to go through a lot of wax in these next 2 weeks...
Attachments: are so rough!! They are not cutting the inside of my cheeks but just feel so strange! On the teeth they have been added to, there is a fine film of the cement all over the tooth and it feels as rough as sandpaper! Some of this I have been able to chip away with my finger nail without affecting the actual attachment. Is very annoying and wish my orthodontist could have somehow smoothed up these bits before sending me on my way! I look so forward to having my aligners out for a short while only to then have the annoying roughness to deal with instead!
Lisp: had none at all.
Dry mouth: big issue, particularly when talking! Wasn't too much of a problem overnight, but during the day I am consuming so much water to try to combat this.
Top lip sticking out: my upper aligners have 'power ridges' which feel like mountains for my poor lips to fit over! Probably the most uncomfortable part so far, trying to fit my lip over it.
My 'exploring' tongue and the 'full mouth' feeling: at the moment, I just can't distract myself from how 'full' my mouth feels. The aligners feel so foreign in my mouth and my tongue just won't stop 'exploring' them!
Removing/replacing the aligners: definitely my biggest issue! So far today, I have cut the insides of my lips with my finger nails multiple times trying to get the pesky aligners out, particularly the bottom ones. I can get the back parts off but they are so tight over the attachments and front teeth, it is a real battle every time and makes eating such a chore (even though I look so forward to having the aligners out for a short while - my favourite part of the day at the moment!). Replacing is way easier, but hurts, particularly when the top ones 'click' in.
Bite: already my teeth don't feel like they are biting together the same way. Don't know if this may just be my imagination because hard to believe something could have changed that much already. Feels weird but so does everything associated with my mouth at the moment..
So that's my experience so far. I'm still at the 'I don't think I will be able to stand this for 12+ months' stage but I am gaining much support and encouragement from everyone's stories on here. Look forward to hopefully telling everyone how much easier my experience is in the next week or two.
Replies (4)
Congratulations on doing this for yourself, and welcome to the community! You are not imagining the bite issues. They start happening within a few hours, just from having the trays in your mouth. But they're not permanent. After your first tray you'll have some minute differences which you might be able to feel that are more permanent, because we tend to be very sensitive to changes in the way our teeth feet together. You'll definitely feel better at the end of a week, and even better than that just before you switch trays. :D