“So it begins...!”

I started my Invisalign treatment, and I knew what to ask before I did, thanks to realself.com!

So a bit about my "condition" hehe! I have deep overbite (very deep) and teeth crowding on the top and bottom front parts of my mouth. I knew there was just so much that could be done about overcrowding. My dentist told me that he rejected the first clincheck that corrected the overbite a bit more, but wouldn't be as functional for my jaw because there would be a gap (which I saw in the clincheck) between front top and bottom tooth. The gap being between the top and bottom teeth, not between the top teeth themselves.

Anyway, so I was still a bit disappointed that the overbite couldn't be better corrected, but I also knew about that before hand. The result seemed nonetheless very interesting, so I gave my OK.

My experience so far is a bit of what I expected, but you never know before you try right? So the pain is very tolerable. It is very uncomfortable at most, and usually regular pain pills will do just fine. I do feel like something's not right in my mouth wearing the invisalign, and I constantly feel the urge to chew on the trays, feeling like a tension in my molars. I know this is normal, it's just really annoying at times (especially when I constantly think about it). When I can get my mind off them, it is just fine!

When you take them out to eat, you can REALLY feel the movement. And putting them on again sometimes hurt a bit, but it goes away after 3 minutes for me. You do have to have very good care of your teeth and brush a lot though, as was expected.

I used a nail file on some parts of my first tray, thanks for the advice to those who mentioned it, helps a LOT! no cutting now!

Other than that, it's just some getting used to the thing being in your mouth, and my family didn't even notice I had them on! So it does work great in that way hehe! Can't wait to see the results!

The price was 4700 Canadian for me, which is about 3500$ US right now. I have 18 top trays, 11 bottom trays. Which surprised me because my overcrowding is not that mild. That price includes refinement at the end if needed (more trays).

I'll do a follow-up later in the course of my treatment which will last 8 months or so!

Updated on Dec 23, 2008:

Ok, just a word to correct some mistakes I made in my initial post and add new info.

First, correcting "overcrowding" is NOT a problem with Invisalign, it's the "overbite" that's more difficult to fix. Sorry for that.

About the new infos: The constant need to "chew" on the Invisalign trays was gone after maybe 4-5 days. What a relief! It feels okay now to have them in my mouth. I'm on my second set of trays now and the transition, pain-wise, was VERY easy. I didn't feel half as much discomfort as with the first trays.

Also, my dentist glued the buttons to my teeth ( 9 buttons total ) and did some filing in about 4 spots between my teeth to make room for movement. It takes a little more effort to remove the trays with the buttons installed I have to say, but I got the right way now so everything's fine again.

The filing. Now that's something I didn't like for MANY reasons. First, it doesn't feel natural to have your teeth filed... Also, it's really not comfortable, and my gums bled, even if just a little, from the filing. I have to admit I didn't feel any pain afterwards though... It feels weird to see gaps between my teeth even if they're very small!! I know this will close up afterwards. At least, it better close up or I'll know someone who'll hear about it!

I'll give you an update later in the course of the treatment and try to add pictures...

Updated on Feb 24, 2009:

UPDATE:

Hey again! Just a quick update. I am now on trays 6, about two and a half months into the treatment. The results are really visible already, so I'm definitely glad about that! Two downsides came up though since my last update.

First, I had a button on one of my upper front teeth to pull it down a bit. It did not work at all, and made my tray fit not so good. My dentist decided to remove the button, saying that at this point, it would be worse to leave it on for the global fit of the trays. This is not a big problem since the tooth only had to move about half a milimeter down.

Second, and worse of all, there are obvious signs of decalcification on some rear teeth. I also had a small hole on one molar which was a cavity that became stable, my previous dentists said that since it did not progress and was "clean" there was no need to obturate it. But now, it's getting brownish, which clearly isn't a good sign. This will probably need fixing before the end of the treatment at any rate.

Just in case you're wondering, I do brush my teeth at least 4 times a day, thoroughly. So Invisalign does definitely put a strain on your enamel. And I'm not the type to have a lot of cavities usually. (about 1 every 10 years so far!!). Be very, VERY careful to brush a lot during treatment. Even while saying that, I see the irony, since it doesn't even work that well for me.

Anyway, still happy with the results so far! We'll see about the problems afterwards I guess!

Updated on Jun 28, 2009:

 Update June 28th 2009:

Another update. I am on my last top aligner, and only 2 aligners to go on the bottom. The treatment didn't work as well as it should have with the top aligners, the "end" result so far is not satisfactory yet. For the bottom teeth, with 2 aligners to go, everything is going as planned and teeth are moving perfectly so far. 

Once the treatment is over on the bottom teeth, my dentist will take prints again and send it back to california to get the necessary refinement (probably needed only for the top teeth since the bottom teeth seem to move correctly). That refinement WAS included in my initial fee so I will not be paying a penny more to get it. That is DEFINITELY one thing you should all talk about with your dentist before starting the treatment! Make sure you ask about EVERYTHING that is included in the plan, and EVERYTHING that might happen that is not included in the initial fee. That will help you avoid bad surprises. 

Otherwise, it is going well. Other than some decalcification, my teeth are still in good shape. You guys doing the Invisalign treatment might want to get the Prevident toothpaste from Colgate. It has a higher dose of sodium fluoride which might help with the decalcification. 

Pain: no noticeable discomfort or pain since the 4th trays or so. I have about 2 hours of discomfort when putting new trays on and that's about it. 

That's it for now ;)