My Invisalign Journey - MA
I received my first set of aligners this week, and...
I received my first set of aligners this week, and so far it has been quite the experience. I decided to start invisalign treatment to fix an overjet and crowding on my bottom teeth. The overjet is really my primary concern for getting braces, and the second reason is a discolored bond that I would like to have removed and replaced with a veneer to look more natural. I am in my mid 30s and just decided to get Invisalign because I can finally afford it. :)
Attached is a photo of my teeth in the present state, and how they're projected to look after treatment. You can't see a big difference in the photo but a side by side picture is more telling, which unfortunately, I couldn't get from the doctor.
I have 25 aligners top and bottom, which is expected to be completed in on year. I have attachments on my front four teeth which makes the treatment not so invisible. It's less noticeable when I have the aligners out, but it's not often that I can do that since they have to stay in for 22 hours per day.
On the first day, my two front teeth were very sore. I suppose because they've already started moving into their new position. On the second day, my speech was impacted a lot by the aligners, and my teeth are also very sore when I chew foods. I'm so hungry during the day but I don't want to go through the hassle of removing the aligners.
I am hoping the year goes by quickly! I plan to post an update at every new set of aligners. I am scheduled to receive my 2nd and 3rd set in two weeks. Stay tuned!
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Week 1 photos
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Great pictures! Now the overjet is obvious. And yeah, the teeth that are the most obvious are the ones that hurt worst, for the most part. One of my front teeth was rotated and I always felt the new aligners on that one first. So happy to see you and PreOrtho found each other!
The hunger may be partly just getting used to not snacking. I found it was almost like an addiction that way, and after a while I got used to not snacking and the hunger went away. YMMV ;)
Attachments are annoying
Is this normal, or have I just forgotten how to remove my aligners?
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Twenty-five aligners is significant, so you may want to try to take your own pictures that actually show the current worst parts of your overjet and crowding, so that you can actually follow the progress. There won't be much to see with the pictures you're starting with. I didn't know about RealSelf when I started my Invisalign, and I regret not being able to capture my progress.
Anyway, I hope you've looked around and found some of the people who will be going through this process along with you. There are several who have just started and/or who will be finishing around the same time as you. At least one of them has attachments on every single tooth, if you can imagine!
Good luck, and I look forward to following your progress! :D
Definitely. For the sake of attracting community members to your review, I'd say one pic per set of aligners is sufficient. For the sake of recording your progress, you could probably do fine with once every two aligners ;). Unless you feel something significant happening (which does happen from time to time). :D