I always disliked seeing my smile in photos, especially because one of my front teeth is crossed over the other. It isn’t just the aesthetics..forget about trying to get anything unstuck from there without dental floss. I’ve had to start carrying it in my purse! I decided it was time to take action and I have an appointment for my first trays in a few weeks. I’ve followed RealSelf for years, so figure I should make a contribution. Updated on 23 Feb 2019: Updated on 21 Mar 2019: The first couple of weeks have definitely been interesting! There was only a brief period of time I’d describe the trays as being painful. There is a consistent feeling of pressure, but I’m getting used to that. My biggest struggle is trying to speak! It is particularly hard to make the “s” sound. The attachments don’t bother me much when I take my trays off, although the process of putting them on was very.. weird and foreign feeling. I have to wear a rubber band on one side, which I’ll admit I’m having trouble with complying completely, but working on it. I’m happy to answer any questions! Definitely overall annoying right now, but think it’ll be worth it in the end. Updated on 2 Apr 2019: Has anyone else experienced the upper/lower trays getting dry and rubbing on each other creating a weird almost grinding sensation? Cringe-worthy. I guess on a positive note it’s kept me drinking water. Updated on 6 Apr 2019: I’ve noticed a tiny chip in my front left tooth. I’m not sure if it’s always been there and has just been tucked behind my other front tooth, but I don’t remember doing anything that would cause it. Maybe they are straightening more and now I can see it.. idk. Freaking me out a little with all of the pressure on my teeth. Updated on 6 Apr 2019: Updated on 27 Jun 2019: Getting a little straighter! Have some weird spaces right now that I’m hoping will go away. Updated on 24 Jul 2019: I’m not sure exactly what tray number I was on the right, but left is current @ tray 20. Slow movement of my front tooth-the reason I got Invisalign in the first place. I’ve started to learn about the concept of “black triangles” or weird gaps between your teeth which I’m not a fan of. I’m hoping this is just part of the shifting process. I have a follow-up with my ortho on August 23rd. Originally given 28 trays, but definitely going to need more. Updated on 24 Jul 2019: Photo didn’t upload before. This app is buggy. Updated on 24 Jul 2019: Updated on 17 Oct 2019: I finished my first round of trays and had some IPR to address the black triangle you can see in my before photo. I couldn’t find much great information on how long it takes the IPR gaps to close, but I just started tray 4 of the new set and is still there. Hoping it will lead to a better outcome! Updated on 7 Nov 2019: Onto my 7th tray post-IPR and gaps appear to be mostly closed. Still some work to do on straightening. I may eventually need to file down that front tooth, but looking at future trays my two front teeth may level out some. Updated on 23 Nov 2019: Almost halfway through my second set of aligners. Updated on 23 Nov 2019: Meant to add the photo previously. Annoys me you can’t edit your post. 9/20 trays. Updated on 10 Feb 2020: Completing my second set of trays, 20 total. It has been about a year now. I have my follow-up tomorrow and still a bit more work to do! Updated on 21 Mar 2020: I hit the year mark in February, although I’m still having issues with my front two teeth being on the same plane. I’m done with the attachments and rubber band, but another 20 refinement trays to go. Keep truckin’! Updated on 21 Oct 2020: I probably would have kept going with my trays as I think there are little tweaks that could have been made, but I moved out of state which made it pretty much impossible. I almost think my teeth look better before they were polished/filed down, but it could just be an adjustment for me. Updated on 7 Jan 2021: I thought I had been doing well with frequent brushing, but after having a good cleaning at the dentist a big black triangle revealed itself between my front, lower two teeth Virtual appointment tomorrow to figure out either bonding or more IPR/trays, although my treatment is technically complete.
Wonderful practice. I was worried about getting braces. I thought that invisilign was out of my league for both price point and the work that needed to be done but the people at I-Ortho made it happen. Honest, detailed and great work!
I started Invisalign almost 3 weeks ago. I am also using Acceledent, which allows you to change trays every week, instead of every 2 weeks, so I am on my third tray. So far so good! I contemplated Invisalign treatment for a year or so, and actually had consultations with a total of four orthodontists before finally settling on the one I began treatment with. I had braces as a teenager, and I have terrible memories of it! I didn't want anything like that experience, pain-wise, or aesthetically. I'm an adult and I work in customer service, so I was looking for something discrete. My initial consultation with my orthodontist was great. They have a beautiful office and the staff was very friendly. They are more expensive than most of the other offices I have researched, but they are a teaching office for Invisalign for all of the other local Invisalign providers. I figured if I'm going to invest this much time and money, may as well go all the way with it. I also decided to pair my treatment with Acceledent. I don't see much about this system on here, but it's great! It is just a mouthpiece that you put in for twenty minutes every day, and it gently vibrates, allowing the trays to move your teeth faster. The very first time I used it, the mouthpiece felt bigger than I'd expected, and quite uncomfortable. However, I am pleased to say that even as soon as the next day, I'd gotten used to it. Now it doesn't bother me at all, and it can actually significantly reduce discomfort from putting on a new aligner that feels tight. Wisps are great to have for brushing on the go, and I have definitely cut down on coffee and snacking, which is not a bad thing anyway. It's a bit of a pain to always have to brush after eating, but in the scheme of things it's just not that big a deal. I just got my four attachments put on, two on my front top teeth, and two on my front bottom teeth. Even though they are in front, they really are hard to see, even with the aligners in. No one noticed when I got them, and the procedure to have them put on was fast and painless. The only thing that bothers me is that the attachments rub on the inside of my mouth a bit, causing some sores. I am prone to getting canker sores anyway. I bought some gel to help soothe them, which helps a lot. I'm hopeful my mouth will adjust to the attachments, as they are still less than a week old, and the sores will improve. My total treatment time is 12 months, which is supposed to include refinements. I can't wait to start noticing some changes! Updated on 26 Jan 2014: I am now halfway through my fourth tray. I'll post some pictures up here soon! I wanted to write a bit about Acceledent, especially since it can be hard to find information or reviews about it online. Acceldent is AWESOME! It costs about an additional $1000 beyond the cost of the treatment. It sounds like a lot of money, and believe me, as a recent college grad I am by no means flush with cash, but if you're financing it, and in the scheme of things, it's just another drop in the bucket. Totally. Worth. It. Acceledent is cutting my treatment time exactly in half. That is very valuable. Not only will the overall treatment time be much shorter, but like I mentioned in my first review, I only have to wear my trays one week at a time, instead of two. That means that they never discolor or really get dirty at all, because I change them so frequently. That is a huge plus. As far as the actual usage of Acceledent, it is super easy. The vibrations are so minute, you can hardly feel them. The mouthpiece is a little bit uncomfortable at first, especially if you have a small mouth, but within a day or two I was completely used to it. Now I actually enjoy the 20 minutes every day I spend using it. It's like a nice chunk of the day for alone time. I read a chapter of Harry Potter most of the time while I do it, and it's something I actually look forward to doing. Before I started my treatment, when I was doing research, I found some reviews online that said Acceledent actually eased the pain of putting in a new tray. I'm not totally sure if this has been true for me, but that's really just because I've had very little to no pain at all. My new trays fit tight, but I've had no pressure that I would describe as painful. If Acceledent is an option your orthodontist has given you that you're considering, do it. In fact, if your orthodontist doesn't offer Acceledent, I would look around for one that does. There's just no reason not to do it.
I started my Invisalign treatment in October 2013. It's been more problematic than I'd expected. Here's what I have found difficult: 1. A few days after starting treatment I had a meeting at a client's office. My new trays were quite sharp, and they cut the inside of my mouth, causing the top tray to fill up with blood. It was very embarrassing. 2. The trays make it difficult to speak, a problem which is supposed to go away but hasn't. When I try to pronounce certain sounds, air bubbles flow under the top tray and pop out of my mouth. Sometimes I spray and it's embarrassing. People have trouble understanding me and I have to repeat myself a lot. If I try to speak louder I increase the chances of spraying them. It's awkward. 3. I had a little bit of an allergic reaction to them, causing me to feel nauseated and even threw up one morning. Thankfully, that has gone away. 4. My lips get snagged on my trays, making me look like I'm snarling. Sometimes after I smile my lips don't go back into place and I have to wiggle my mouth to get the inside of my mouth unsnagged. 5. The trays are MUCH more irritating than I had expected. Lots of people seem to get used to them but I haven't yet, perhaps because they have caused so many problems. Updated on 22 Jan 2014: I finally talked to my orthodontist about my speech problems, he said there's no way to fix them right now. They are due to the position of my teeth, and will get worse before they get better. He suggested taking my upper tray out when talking to people. Updated on 17 Mar 2014: I'm very sad to say that my experience so far has not been very good. My speech problems have not improved -- lisping, spraying, other people unable to understand me when I speak, all still affecting my work and social life dramatically. I told Dr. Idiculla before starting treatment that I am self-employed and needed to be able to speak to clients without having my orthodontics cause any problems. He assured me there would be none. Now he claims that my speech problems are unavoidable and to be expected -- my only option is to put up with it. I'm having another problem but I'm not looking forward to talking with him about it. I'm 99% certain it will be dismissed. One of my incisors on my lower jaw isn't moving properly. It's supposed to be rotating but it instead being pushed outward with no rotation. My current tray isn't matching up to the attachment on that tooth, so there's little chance of any of the future trays to match up either. I'm going to call and make an appointment to see Dr. I, but I can almost guarantee that he will do nothing and wait until I'm done with this round of trays (12 more sets to go in this round) and just adjust things on the next round of treatment. By that time my tooth will be really out of whack. :( You can also see the severe gum recession that's happening from pushing one of my front teeth really far forward to make room for another tooth to come forward.
I am halfway through my treatment which started in October. I choose Dr. I after much research for several reasons. His offices offered the latest equipment. He had a lot of experience with Invisalign. He had a series a great reviews from several sources and the people at his office have been attentive, straightforward and detailed. I was set up from my first appointment with a realistic expectation of pain, length, cost and effort needed on my part. There are some trays and some weeks were movement is more drastic and they hurt. But never past the point of taking a Tylenol. You also need to change your eating and drinking expectations as you now have trays to deal with. It is vital you keep up good dental hygiene or get better at it since trays stop saliva from moving around your teeth and bacteria breeds like crazy in a dry mouth environment. DESPITE all of that I am so happy. I no longer bite myself when I chew. My snaggle tooth which had been pushed behind other teeth is front and center. My teeth are spaced evenly and i can fit loss between them. Last week I actually had 2 separate strangers complement my smile something I thought would never happen. I am in the refinement stage now but once I am completed I will upload all my pictures.
