Invisalign....Finally! - White Plains, NY

I've wanted to straighten my teeth since I was a child. I hate the size of my upper two front teeth and the gap between them, and my lower front teeth are crooked. I had my Invisalign consultation in June and decided to go for it because the orthodontist offered a great payment plan. I had my initial impressions done in July but needed them redone twice! The first time they needed to be redone was my fault. I grind my teeth at night and cracked a tooth, requiring a root canal and a crown. Because of this, the original impressions couldn't be used. After going through three rounds of impressions, I regret not choosing a provider who has the iTero scanner. I finally got my first Invisalign aligner on 11/7/13. Originally, my orthodontist estimated my treatment to take 1 year, but when the trays came in, he said it would actually only take 9 months (18 trays). I was really surprised to find out that I wouldn't be getting any attachments. I thought I'd definitely need them. The first tray fit great and I initially didn't feel much pressure/pain. I asked to see my clin-check, and was actually a little disappointed. While the gap between my two front teeth will close, and the crowding on the bottom looks better, my midline isn't going to match up. Since I get up to three refinements, I guess I'll have to address that later. My upper two front teeth are going to be pushed up and that might make them look a little smaller, but they still appeared huge in the clin-check. I'm hoping my orthodontist will shave/narrow them after the initial trays. I probably set my expectations way too high.

On the first day of tray 1, I felt some pressure. The pressure became mildly painful the second day and continued into the third day. It felt like an annoying dull ache. After the third day, the pain went away. Because there is a bit of a lip on the bottom aligner, my tongue occasionally fumbles over it when I'm speaking, and I have a lisp as a result.

After two weeks, I was really excited to put my second tray in. Unfortunately, it didn't fit!!! The part of the tray that was supposed to fit over my last top right molar wouldn't snap on. It was hanging off the tooth. I put tray 1 back in and called my orthodontist's office, but was told he wasn't in that day. Apparently, he's only in two days per week (I wish I'd known that when I went for my consultation). When I finally met with him four days later, he examined the tray, said "that's unusual" and then told me that the tooth the tray wasn't covering wasn't supposed to move. He thought there may have been a problem with that tray, and told me he would CUT OFF the molar portion of the tray. When I told him the third tray had the same problem, he indicated he would probably have to cut the molar off all the trays. For $6200, I was not expecting my aligners to be cut apart. I'm pretty annoyed. Now I have a piece of the tray that keeps jutting into my cheek. It really hurts. I've filed it, but for some reason, the area he altered keeps poking me. Now I've have a huge, sore lump inside my cheek. I really hope this alteration doesn't screw up my treatment plan. My orthodontist is listed as a premiere preferred provider on Invisalign's website, so I'm hoping everything goes OK.

I switched to my third set of trays two days ago. I feel a little pressure on my top front two teeth, but not as bad as it felt with the last tray. During the last few days of my last set, I felt pain in my molars on the left side of my mouth whenever I would bite down. I got really nervous because usually I only feel pain in my teeth during the first few days of a new set. I grind my teeth at night and was really worried that maybe I'd cracked a tooth. The pain has gone away, so I'm hoping it was just soreness from Invisalign.

I was looking at the empty gum area behind my molars and noticed that there's a depression. After my wisdom teeth were taken out several years ago, I remember the dentist telling me that he needed to remove some of the jaw bone. I'm assuming that's why the depression is there. I never told my orthodontist this, but I'm hoping he noticed. I think my lower molars are being pushed back to alleviate crowding of the front teeth. I'm not sure how the molars are going to move into that depressed area of my gums if they're pushed back any further. I'll have to ask my orthodontist when I see him again. I'm neurotic and worry about everything, lol.