My parents never were able to pay for me to get braces so now I was able to do it for myself! I began to do some research in January and began with my first consultation in Febuary and got my molding done as well. I got my first tray March 24 2015 and I'm now on my second tray and had buttons and have to use rubber bands as well. I have 39 trays until my teeth are straight so about a year and half until I'm done with Invisalign. It was definitely hard getting use to them at first and the soreness of wearing new trays for the first three days are awful but I will take the pain so that I can be able to get these teeth straight. I will be doing my third tray April 20. So far with these buttons and rubber bands it does make it hard to want to take them off to even want to eat just because it hurts so bad when I try and take them off and when I try and eat something that is harder than mash potatoes every single tooth hurts as I bite. I basically rather leave them in than take them off to eat. The main time I take them off is to brush my teeth off three times a day and when I take them off I rinse them and then brush them with tooth paste and rinse them again after I'm done brushing my teeth. Every three days I do let them sit in listerine mouth wash for about 20 min and brush them and put them back in after I brush my teeth. As for the rubber bands my doctor says to change them every four hours for the best results so I basically have a timer set. It definitely has been a huge change just because now it's more things I have to do on top of being a full time college student and a full time employee but I feel like it will all be worth it at the end. Just have to keep going and not think about them as much. I live in Florida and my orthodontist is not far from where I live and are very good about calling me and setting up my next appointments to get buttons and following trays and are always available if I have any questions. It's definitely hard to do Invisalign when no one around me has them and they don't know how it feels or how much it hurts so hopefully this forum will help me with basically reading about others going through what I'm going through. I will definitely keep updating as I continue my process!
I started Invisalign on 1/3/2017. 51 aligners are expected according to the Clincheck, six of those being refinement trays. I will have buttons and elastics on the left side starting on tray 2. I'm on my first set of trays for two weeks, and felt pressure the first day and a half. Now they are starting to feel looser, but a few teeth are starting to hurt deeper into my gums. Maybe that's root movement; not sure. My doctor said I might be able to wear the trays as little as one week each, depending on how my teeth track. I would love to wear them only one week, but definitely not if my teeth might be negatively impacted in the long run. I've included some pictures of with my first aligners. Thank you to everyone who has posted their stories; they have been very helpful to me. (Note: I actually am being seen by Dr. Dana Busciglio, who practices with her brother Derek Busciglio. I couldn't find her in the database, which is why I selected Derek.) Updated on 13 Jan 2017: I'm 10 days into the process, and, of course, there have been challenges, most of which have to do with eating (ha!). 1) I'm a slow eater. I haven't managed to eat and complete my cleaning "rituals" in less than 40 minutes - ever. I'm thinking I might start setting a timer, cut up my food before I start eating or something. 2) Public bathrooms. I hate cleaning my teeth at work. There is no private sink in the handicap stall, so I have to do it at one of the regular sinks. Because of this, I now eat my breakfast at home, brush, waterpik, rinse, etc. I try to only eat once at work, so I only have to clean my teeth once. Not all restaurant bathrooms are great, either. We went to a restaurant that was packed and had a tiny bathroom with three stalls and one sink. It was so busy, I couldn't even get time at the sink for anything but washing my hands to take the aligners out. I did not try to go back after dinner - we just went home, so I could do my cleaning and put the aligners back. 3) No more snacks. I used to eat six times a day. This is great for your metabolism (IMO). Now. I'm only eating three times a day, and trying to get the appropriate calories in. I'm hungry a lot, and I drink a lot of water. 4) No more tea all morning. I used to drink my green tea from about 8 am to 10:30 am. No more... I drink as much as I can with breakfast and water until lunch time. At lunch I drink another cup of tea. 5) No more sipping wine while I cook, or even tasting what I'm making! I love wine and love cooking. I'm used to sipping on wine while I make dinner, and also tasting sauces, soups, etc, while I cook. How else am I supposed to decide if I need to add salt, another herb to the sauce, or some wine vinegar? I'm not a recipe follower. So now, my hubby gets summoned to the kitchen when I think the sauce or broth is finished but want a taster. He's a great sport about it. 6) Yellowing aligners. I don't know why my aligners are yellowing. It became noticeable to me on day eight. I don't drink anything but water with them in. I brush them with a toothbrush and soap each time I take them out, soak them in a diluted bleach bath morning and night. Could the bleach be doing that? Maybe there is residual tea on my tongue, or cheeks even after brushing, flossing/waterpiking and rinsing? Maybe it has to do with drinking red wine with dinner? I have noticed the inside of my cheeks and tongue get stained, but wouldn't the aligners turn purplish or gray instead? Again, I clean my mouth super thoroughly before putting them back in. 7) Sharpness of edges. I didn't expect to have an irritated tongue due to sharp edges. There was one very painful spot for the underside of my tongue that I filed down on day three with an emery board. (Thank you to other Real Self people for the idea!) By the next day, my tongue felt better. 8) Grinding and nightmares. I am apparently grinding my teeth/aligners most nights. The third morning with them in, I was afraid I had broken them, but I hadn't! I'm also having nightmares about my teeth falling out, complete with bloody gums, feeling the teeth pieces in my mouth, etc - really scary! In my last nightmare I remember wondering, "What do I do now? I won't have any teeth left to straighten!" I was trying to put the teeth back in. :( Despite the challenges, I AM happy about undergoing Invisalign treatment. I'm sure it will be worth it to have a great smile with easy-to clean tooth alignment! Has this happened to anyone else? Any ideas on how to prevent my aligners from yellowing? Are you facing any other challenges? Updated on 23 Jan 2017: Not bleaching aligners anymore! When I went back to the orthodontist's office for my two-week check and buttons, they advised me against bleaching. By that time, they were not only yellow, but had some build-up. They said Invisalign crystals or RetainerBrite is fine, but not to leave them soaking longer than the prescribed time. With my second trays, I am brushing with only water and then placing them in a 1:3 vinegar bath for about 10 minutes twice a day while I brush, waterpik and rinse. I also got an ultrasonic cleaner for around $40, and put them in for 5 minutes with a little vinegar only once in the past week. I have sample Invisalign crystals I am considering placing in the ultrasonic cleaner with my aligners, but I am honestly afraid of changing anything I'm doing, since they are still clear on Day 7. As a test, I put my old trays in the ultrasonic cleaner for 10 minutes with RetainerBrite, and then let them soak for five more minutes to make the recommended 15 minutes. That did not remove the buildup, at least not visibly. HOWEVER, 10 minutes with vinegar in the ultrasonic cleaner, and the build-up is mostly gone, but they are still yellow. Updated on 2 Feb 2017: I'm on my third trays now. These are a lot more pressure than my second trays. However, there was a problem with my second trays where the elastic I have on the left side was making the bottom tray lift quite a bit. The ortho said if this continues, they will bond a hook to my bottom molar (#19). This problem is gone with my third trays. I'm also happy my third trays don't have sharp edges poking me and irritating my tongue like the fist ones. :) The second trays experienced very little yellowing concentrated around the molars and where elastics hook; there was NO build up with my routine of soaking them in vinegar solution. I also cleaned them in the ultrasonic cleaner with a RetainerBrite tablet about every third day. I keep RetainerBrite tablets and a denture bath at work to use when I drink green smoothies or tea with the aligners in. I don't do this regularly, but when I do, it's in the morning. I rinse with water right after finishing my drink, and then at lunch time remove the aligners, brush them using only warm water, put them in the bath with RetainerBrite, and rinse them off before putting them back in. This worked great for me. Sorry for not posting pictures. I'll try to include some on my next post.
