Not in Love with Invisalign (Yet??) - Raleigh, NC

I've been thinking about Invisalign for many years but as it was quite expensive and mostly cosmetic for me, I never followed through. But suddenly at 35 I found myself able to afford it and I figured, why not? It sounded so easy (Invisible! Mostly painless! Few office visits! Amazing results!) so I talked to my dentist (yes dentist, not orthodontist, oops!) and decided to give it a try.

I know now after doing hours of research (that I should have done beforehand instead of just relying on family experience) that it is not uncommon for dentists and orthodontists to omit some pertinent details when describing the procedure. I was shown a model of top teeth with a very thin, truly invisible, plastic tray on them attached by two buttons on the back teeth. I asked about these buttons specifically and was told there may be a "few" more for me but that it would be unusual for them to be on the front teeth (my concern). I know now that this is not true. IPR was never mentioned at all and as both my dentist and hygienist were hovering over me while I read the Invisalign disclaimer, I missed those few lines and didn't get to ask about them.

My molds were taken and sent away and I was given the impression that I'd get the opportunity to preview the final projected outcome before proceeding. The next call I got, however, was that the trays were in and I should come get them.

I thought this visit would be easy. I expected a preview of my results, as promised, but they immediately leaned me back and stuffed my mouth full of cotton to get started with the buttons. The hygienist started counting, counted up to 14 and I asked her what she was counting, "Oh, your buttons!" she said. I was more than a little surprised at this. She proceeded to tell me that not only would I have 10 more buttons than I was expecting, but many of them would be on my front-most teeth including two on my top right front tooth. I told her I was not ok with that and she called the dentist over to reprimand me and explain that without those buttons the procedure will not work. I allowed them to continue, I wasn't sure what else to do. They swore that the buttons would not be noticeable once the aligners were on and barely noticeable with them off. This was not quite accurate.

They popped the trays on and handed me a mirror, I was so disappointed, it could not have been further from my expectations. They gave me some wax, two cases, some cleaner crystals, and two more sets of trays and sent me on my way. I was fairly certain at that time that I would simply return the next day to have the buttons removed and forget about the whole thing. I am two and a half weeks in now, I put my second set of trays in last week. I am still not sold on this procedure but I promised I'd give it one month.

My most immediate issue revolved around a serious amount of tooth and jaw pain for the entire first week. I ate mostly yogurt, soup, and Ensure drinks, I couldn't handle anything else and some meals I skipped because taking the trays in and out was just too painful. Obviously I was lisping like crazy, partly because the hygienist accidentally swiped the inside of my cheek and lip with the etchant used to help adhere the buttons causing my mouth to swell and peel, ick!

My ongoing issues are the sharp edges that cut my tongue and cheeks to ribbons, this second tray set is even worse than the first. My doctor "smoothed" my first set at my request but while the edges were no longer sharp, they were then rough, and caused just as much irritation so I've used and am currently just using a lot of wax. My trays even seem to have a "shelf" on the outside edge (my top tray on one front tooth has an indentation at the top, the reverse of the button bubbles, that created even more of a shelf) which catch my lips when I talk, like regular braces would. And although I've seen no mention of it in anyone else's reviews, I am unable to completely close my lips over the bulge of the aligners without straining my cheeks and chin. This leaves me with an aching face on a daily basis, not to mention I look ridiculous walking around either trying to force my mouth closed or just leaving it hanging open, lovely ; )

I would like to say I am getting used to this and I am on board now, but I am not. I was initially told I had 10 trays on top and 10 on bottom, but then oops, it's actually 15 for both! And honestly, my final projection shows my top front teeth moving forward which makes me fear that I may NEVER be able to close my lips again! And I see "black triangles" on my lower teeth thinking that IPR may be in my future although I've been told not. I’m hoping I will adjust and be able to stick this out but all of it is such a hassle and so much discomfort that I am thinking my vanity is simply not worth it!

I am now on my third set of trays and I have my first check-in appointment on Oct 22nd. I have not had much improvement in the sharpness of the trays, I have to do a LOT of filing and then still use wax, but at least I can get them comfortable after a few days. I am currently having to use a bit of wax on the front of my top tooth, though, because there is a significant shelf/gap there and it catches and cuts my lip when I talk. I am not sure how noticeable the wax is, I think the trays themselves are so distracting that it's just all part of the weirdness and no one can tell!

My biggest problem now is that when my trays are out, my front top and bottom teeth hit when I try to chew and I am unable to comfortably eat. I can't chew properly because my back teeth don't touch at all and I'm very anxious about eating because it hurts like crazy when they do hit. I am thinking now that this may be related to my jaw being pushed forward or just irritated by the trays 22 hours a day (it feels the same as when my jaw is swollen from a bad night of clenching) and I am concerned that this could be causing some permanent issue. Guess I'll just have to see what my dentist says.

I'm also wondering if I'm the only one whose teeth never stop hurting? They are sore for the entire two weeks making it hard to eat at all, and then they just get MORE sore for the first three or four days of the new trays. Ugh.

I'm not lisping anymore but I am having periodic issues with air flowing through my top tray when I talk and like, bubbling and whatnot and I feel like I'm spitting on people! I am STILL not sold on this, but maybe I've gone too far already?

I had my first six week check-in on October 22nd. Not that much to report, my dentist seems to think that everything is going well, the trays are fitting "perfectly" and so on. She seemed to think that my teeth hitting in front had more to do with my teeth moving and less to do with my jaw being pushed forward. I tried to explain that at the end of an hour with the trays out I was able to touch some of my back teeth together, but this did not sway her opinion. I am not sure how confident I am in her opinion anymore, oh well.

She filed my tries for me a bit, but I wish she hadn't. She tends to nick the front of the trays leaving rough patches that I then have to wax over. She did finally explain that the irritating shelf on the tray in the front is a "power ridge" and that it's not going anywhere for the duration so I just need to keep packing the gap with wax. Awesome.

Today I actually had to go in because I realized I was missing a button on my upper canine. I looked back at photos I took from my first day and I think perhaps this button was never even placed! My dentist didn't think it was going to affect much because there is another button on the same tooth, but I guess we'll have to wait and see if I'm on track at the next check-in.

Still wishing I'd never done this but I think at this point everyone I associate with already knows I'm doing Invisalign and has seen me so I get less weird looks now ; )