Invisalign: Stories

Hey guys! Im a 24 year old female currently on my 10th/14 for upper and lower Invisalign treatment. I have always wanted to straighten my teeth, although they werent THAT bad, i had overlapping of the two front upper teeth and mild-moderate crowding on the bottom which was progressively getting worse as time went on. I was never confident enough to show my teeth under any circumstances and if i'd smile it was behind pursed lips or my hand covering my mouth (which i still do! lol)
So being the first point of contact at work and dealing with a high volume of people per day i needed treatment that was quite literally INVISIBLE. So after months of research i booked appointments with 5 ortho/dentists (each with VERY different opinions and prices!) and decided on one who promptly informed me that i was eligible for Invisalign Lite which consists of a maximum of 14 aligners over the span of 7 months when aligners are changed every two weeks. The beginning process wasnt difficult, we took impressions which wasnt hard or uncomfortable, and when they were sent off it took just over a week for my aligners to arrive!
Putting the aligners in for the first time was not painful, but felt quite abit of pressure. When i tried to talk it sounded as though i had a golf ball in my mouth! To call it a 'lisp' is a huge understatement! It was actually quite funny! It took approx TWO FULL DAYS before my speech returned to semi-normal lol (thank God it was a weekend!) it has only gotten better from there and i believe my speech is back to the way it should be (i hope!)

Taking the aligners out for the first time was a TERRIBLE experience! I didnt even have any attachments yet (so you can imagine how much more difficult it was when i got them before my 2nd set was put in!) i struggled for a good 10mins per aligner! I was too scared i would break them or that my teeth would come out with them! I realized with every new set for the first 3 days they are pretty hard to get out however after that period it is extremely easy (with or without attachments) as the aligner softens. I have realised that it is easiest to remove my top aligner from the back left corner with my right hand, and my bottom aligner from the back right corner with my left hand. It may differ with other people but i found that this was the best way for me.
I got my attachments applied before my 2nd set, 7 top (with two attachments on one tooth) and 5 bottom. These arent so bad and havent caused me any problems in terms of scraping or cutting etc. If i remember correctly i then received 4 sessions of IPR at different stages of treatment, which is when the dentist drills between teeth to create space for movement. This does not hurt at all but the suction pipe causes a bit of sensitivity. Its over in 1 minute!

Removing aligners to eat is NOT a problem, as i mentioned earlier the first few days the aligners are tight therefore hard to remove and the teeth feel quite fragile and it may be painful to remove. At times i felt like i was pulling a tooth out, it was quite painful! But it does not last!

I saw/felt a difference almost immediately after beginning my treatment and everybody who knows my teeth are being straightened are absolutely AMAZED at the progress! The tooth that was overlapping has moved back quite significantly and i think it is now in the process of rotating back downwards to meet in alignment with the rest. The bottom have a little while to go but i am optimistic that the work will be done within the last four sets (fingers crossed!)

i do have a couple of concerns/questions... I found that during my last set (set 9) the overlapped tooth has been a little loose, im too scared to touch it and too scared to bite down on hard foods :( does anyone know if this is normal or ok?
Also, i know my bite is supposed to change as my teeth shift however iv found that it has really affected my chewing. Its hard for me to chew 'properly' like i used to, and i put it down to the fact that my jaw/teeth/mouth are just used to the aligners size and arent biting down as far/hard. Will this change? Im abit worried....

Other than these concerns, my experience with Invisalign has been really good! And i would certainly recommend it to anyone looking for an 'invisible' way to straighten teeth. Not ONE person has noticed or mentioned my invisalign since i put them in in January. Even people who knew i was straightening my teeth didnt realize that they were actually in my mouth at times that they were! Also, cleaning your teeth after meals does not become a burden and Invisalign does not change or alter your life. I aim to have them in a minimum of 21 hrs per day however I do not rush my meals or anything. I dont even TIME myself or how long they are out. I eat normally and when im done i brush and floss which will only take 2 minutes out of your day. Also if you cant brush DONT STRESS! The world wont end, just rinse your mouth out with water or chew on gum for 5 mins and put them back in. Your life doesnt change or stop because you have aligners in your mouth! Its not as bad as some people make it out, its actually abit too easy! :)

I certainly recommend Invisalign and i am looking forward to my end results hopefully by August this year! Yaaaay!