“Started Treatment - Little Fixes - California”

It all started with me having a little gap between my front teeth that I wanted fixed because food gets stuck in there. It's a pretty small gap ...big enough to put a piece of paper between it (useful when I didn't have floss).

My dentist told me he could fill in the gap but it would require him shaving my front teeth, which I didn't like the thought of. So I decided to do Invisalign instead, and I figured if I'm gonna do my top teeth I might as well fix the crowding in my bottom teeth too...I should have just worn my retainers when I was young!

For the first appt they took pictures of me smiling and with my mouth closed and profile, and then they took pics of my teeth. Then they took impressions and I payed my bill. After that it took six weeks for the trays to arrive. They added 5 buttons to my teeth - 4 on the top and 1 on the bottom. I kind of look like a vampire.

I have no pain and this feels like I have whitening trays in. I have a little lisp but I've only had these one for a few hours so that will hopefully go away once I get used to them.

I only need 7 trays @ 2 weeks per tray, so I guess this breaks down to $1000/mo.

A few years ago I almost got old school metal braces for $4200 to fix the gap and crowding in my lower teeth, and it was like 10-12 months of treatment. So if this works then it's totally worth it.Updated on 8 Dec 2011:I put in tray #2 last night because my dentist recommended I put them in at night so I sleep through any pain. These trays were a lot tighter, so I guess the first set really are "training" trays.

This morning I have no pain, they're just very tight. They are still pretty easy to take out and put in thought since I learned the best way to do it on my "training" trays. This morning I see my gap is closed a good amount and floss gives a little resistance which is good.

My first trays would get cloudy and get an odor, so I brushed them with warm water and stuck them in water with denture cleaner a few times. I also rinsed them and quickly brushed them whenever I took them out. I can't say people didn't notice my invisalign because they don't tell me things they do notice (like something on my nose or in my teeth).

I must admit, after about a week I wanted to take them out and switch to new trays since I felt nothing, but then I learned they need to stay in for a full 2 weeks because the bone needs to heal around the newly moved teeth. Now it all makes sense.Updated on 22 Dec 2011:I have just started my third trays. I put them in last night and slept through any pain, if there was any. My mouth isn't sore, it just feels like pressure.

I am going to ask to see my clincheck when I see my dentist in Jan because I have NO idea what's going on! When I brush my bottom back teeth they feel sore, I'm guessing the aligners are pushing them backwards to remove the crowding.

My 2 front teeth are weird now..instead of the gap being fully closed, it's now in a V. It's kind of unnerving but I still have 4 trays left and of course when my aligners are in you can't see the gap. My bite feels different, so I know it's working. I'm afraid of receding gums, so I'm going to talk to my dentist about that too.

So yea, I'm just truckin along. My camera is taking blurry pictures so I can't post any yet.

Updated on 4 Jan 2012:
I started my fourth trays. When I went into the dentist they showed me my clincheck, and my teeth will definitely look different at the end of my treatment. It looked like my top teeth were getting higher but I guess that's because my bite is going to change once and the rotating and movement is finished. I guess I had an overbite but I thought that was already fixed the first time I had braces.

My teeth are already noticeably different, but there's still a little gap it the top part of my 2 front teeth, and one of my bottom teeth is still rotated.

I talked to the dental assistant about retainers and she said I have to pay and extra $400 for 4 invisalign retainers which last 6-8 months each. I didn't know that. Also, I'm seeing a dentist and not an ortho, so I don't know how I would get the normal retainer that lasts much longer. They tried to make me feel better by telling me I would probably only need them for a year, but I've read on here that you have to wear your retainer for the rest of your life.

Updated on 1 Feb 2012:
I started tray 6 of 7 last night and I still have a little gap in between my front teeth toward the roots. If the 7th tray doesn't get rid of it I'm going to be pretty upset since that's the reason I decided to do invasalign.

My bite is definitely different and my bottom teeth are almost completely straight. At my last appointment, my dentist's assistant said there needs to be spacing so my teeth can rotate and then the last tray pushes them all together again. I hope that's true because I don't know what I'm going to do if there's still a gap there. I got invisalign express.

Updated on 16 Feb 2012:
So I started tray 7 of 7 a couple nights ago, and I still have the small gap towards the roots of my 2 front teeth. When I got my last trays I also got an exam and cleaning, and I showed my dentist the gap. He looked really bummed out and actually asked if it bothered me! What kind of question is that? I told him yes I don't like it. He said the gap is there because of the shape of my teeth. I don't care, I got invisalign to make it go away and if that wasn't possible I wouldn't have gotten it. I got invisalign express but he did talk about extra tray(s). He's really bummed because of the money aspect and I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to charge me for extra trays. So yea, my bottom teeth are almost perfect and my bite is completely different, but my only real concern is and has been the gap between my 2 front teeth. We'll see what happens at my next visit in 2 weeks.

Updated on 2 Mar 2012:
I finished my last trays and saw my dentist yesterday. My back teeth aren't touching but he said that is because I'm wearing the aligners all the time and they will touch again eventually. I told him I still have the tiny gap between my 2 front teeth and he tried rally hard to convince me not to get more trays.

He said he can't tell unless he's up close..and it's looks so much better now he really can't tell..he can't see the gap on the clincheck and such. Then he wanted to put a filler in my gums to fill the gap, but the gap goes down to like half of my tooth so that would look really weird, and I got the invisalign to close the gap. He said it would probably be another 5 trays (which may have been an attempt to deter me) and it will take 5 weeks to get them back. I told him that's fine and they took new impressions and pictures of my teeth.

So now I'm wearing my last set of trays for 5 more weeks. It was a bummer that I had to stand firm on the fact I want the gap completely closed. Fortunately, I went in there knowing he wouldn't want to continue the treatment so I knew I was ready! Back when I had traditional braces they were able to completely close the gap, so I know it's possible.

Updated on 11 Apr 2012:
Today was finally my appointment to get my refinement trays. There were 3 new trays for my top teeth and I have to keep wearing my last tray for my bottom teeth. They didn't add or remove any attachments, so the appointment literally took 2 minutes. The first new tray is tight, so I know something is happening. He seemed happy about the new trays which means my treatment is almost over!

I didn't have to pay anything additional even though this is invisalign express, so that's nice.

Updated on 3 May 2012:
I'm on my 2nd refinement tray, so I just have 1 more left! These trays have not been painful at all after I put them in. They are tight the 1st night but that's it. I'm guessing it's because it's the root that's slowly moving. The gap looks much better, but there's still a tiny (literally barely there) gap. I'm sure it will be closed on the next tray, or close enough. SO I will finally change my rating from Undecided to Worth It.

Updated on 20 May 2012:
I'm on my last tray and everything looks good. My front 2 teeth are not flush against each other, but I think they are as close as they are ever gonna get. This last tray was really tight for like 3 days. My next appointment is later this week and I'm hoping they will remove the buttons and I can take a picture of my final results. I'm glad it's almost over!!

Updated on 25 May 2012:
Well I had my appointment today and it was interesting. Since my back teeth aren't touching he cut the trays so they are only attached to my front teeth. This should allow my back teeth go back to normal. He was going to take off my buttons but he decided to take this route for 2 weeks before he takes them off. This morning when I was brushing my teeth my back teeth were sensitive, so I think they are moving already. Then I'm gonna get invisalign retainers, but I'm a little confused on how long it's gonna take to get those and how long I will actually have to wear my current partial trays.