I am 32 years old and have never smiled showing my teeth in a picture... In fact, anytime anyone ever brought the conversation of teeth up.. I'd feel ashamed of mine. I've always been so embarrassed of my mouth. I was too ashamed to admit I was ashamed. In August I started just googling braces, veneers, cosmetic dentistry and decided to just speak with my husband about my insecurities. He had no idea I felt the way I did about my smile... that's how good I hid it. So, the day before my 32nd birthday, I went in for a consultation thinking, I'm probably not a candidate, but I knew I had to just see and not always wonder what if. To my surprise, the Dentist said that I was indeed a candidate and it'll take over a year. I bursted into tears. Silly I know, lol. I have a crossbite, overbite and crowding/narrowing mouth. I couldn't wait to share the news with my hubby. He said, "let's do it." He wants me to feel confident. A few days later, I went and had the iTero scans made. A couple weeks later , Dr called me in to view my clincheck... More years came. I couldn't believe my mouth with look normal one-day. My treatment will be longer than we thought, but that's okay... I'll need 42 uppers / 42 bottom trays. Yikes :/ ! And 14 attachments. 7 on top, 7 on bottom. None on my front teeth though. (So that's cool) My trays came in on, September 11th 2013. I went up to the office and got my first set... just to get used to. I was to come back in two weeks to get my attachments put on and IPR done. My first set of aligners popped right on and came off pretty easily. I had watched quite a few vlogs on YouTube, and was scared it was going to be tough to pry the suckers off. Ha! They were not painful at all, just tight. I got used to the first set pretty quickly. The first few days were annoying. My mouth was so dry, and the edges were cutting up my tongue. But I went and got dental was and that brought instant relief. I drink lots of water and have cut snacking out completely. Two weeks went by rather quickly. September 24th went in for my attachments & IPR. Oh, I also had to get a deep cleaning bc I hadn't had one in so long. I know there's no excuse to wait 12 years to go to the dentist for a cleaning, but that was what it was. :/ I've been raising babies and like I said, I was ashamed. Now, I realize there's no shame in correcting your problems even if they're super ugly. My teeth had a wall of plauque built up on the bottom back side. After that deep cleaning I could feel grooves between my teeth... I hadn't felt in years!!!! It felt so nice to finally be taking care of something for me for once. The cleaning took a while. I've promised myself I'll never skip a cleaning ever again. I'm going every 6 months, period. It's vital. Christy my hygienist said that there's no tooth decay and that it really wasn't that bad. It felt like it was to me. Next, came the attachments and that took around 40 mins. It wasn't painful at all.... Then IPR, I was scared, but it wasn't bad... just uncomfortable and a lil scary. No pain. I got 3 more sets of trays. She put my new set on there at the office. It was tight and lots of pressure. She had me take them in and out... which I did. It wasn't as easy as the first set, but it was doable. I left excited! Doc told me that my teeth would be more sore with the attachments. That day, once I got home. Oh my, my mouth was so sore. I guess from the deep cleaning and all the time I had my mouth open. I even had a few lil cuts in my mouth. I rinsed with salt water and was fine by the next day. Those two weeks flew by. October 8th --- It was time for my third set of aligners. I popped them in before bed and the next few days a lil sore, but nothing unbearable. I've had them in five days now and there's no pain whatsoever. Sometimes when taking them out my teeth feel a little bit sore, but that's a good thing bc that means my teeth are shifting. I know I have a long ways to go. I haven't seen any changes yet, but I guess I wouldn't, eh? I've just started tray 3/42. :) So, I wanted to write about my experience to help others. When I first started looking into invisalign I was obsessed with researching. Hey, it's alot of time and money I'm investing into my smile, right? I love to read other's experiences, too. Okay, wanted share what I've used to clean my aligners~ I soak my trays in efferdent every morning. I always rinse them after I pop them out and brush with toothpaste as well. This keeps them super clean and non smelly. -I have what I call my "invisalign bag" It's a cosmetic bag with two sides. I carry it everywhere with me. It has, my blue invisalign case, chewies, dental wax, travel toothbrush, extra toothbrush, toothpastes, Colgate wisps, mouthwash, germ-x, compact mirror, dental floss, Listerine stripes, and chapstick. - I brush every time I eat... I've read where a few others say, "oh, I don't brush all the time, I'm lazy." My dentist told me that it's vital to brush/floss anytime you eat. Never pop the aligners in over teeth that may have food stuck between. It will cause decay and cavities. He informed me that if I do get a cavity, that I can't get it fixed until after treatment. I don't know about y'all, but I'll be wearing these for almost two years. So, I brush and floss like crazy, lol. My teeth have never felt cleaner. That's my whole story so far, lol. Sorry for rambling, but like i said, I want this experience wrote down. I'm going to be taking pictures of my progress. (Even though I HATE my teeth) I will be updating. So excited to see the end result. I'm looking forward to finally being able to get family portraits professionally made with my hubby and babies... here's to hoping i have a confident smile my dentist promised. Thanks for reading and joining me in my journey. Updated on 23 Oct 2013: Last night I switched to my 4th set of trays. it's 2pm and I haven't even attempted to try and eat yet. My teeth feel sore with them on. It's like as soon as I get used to the tray and feel comfortable with it ; it's time to change to a new set. Ohhhh well, it'll all be worth it in the end, right? Gotta keep my eyes on thr prize. This morning when I took them out to brush and rinse my mouth... I think a piece of an attachment came off, I counted and they all seem to be there so I'm thinking it was just a piece of one? idk? I'll talk to my dentist. It feels like this tray is focusing on my bottom teeth mostly, but my top teeth are a lil sore, too. There's really not much to say other than... I am patiently waiting to see some sort of change. I did have my dentist email me my clincheck, so when I start feeling discouraged, I'll look at it :-) Updated on 23 Oct 2013: ***** Wanted to add some pictures. I cannot wait to see some changes. nothing yet, but only on tray 4 of 42 Updated on 29 Oct 2013: just wanted to add one more picture of tray 4 that's brighter. The others were dark. I'm really going to try and remember to add new pics every two weeks... I am so anxious to see some kinda result. I mean anything, lol. I've read from others that if you post pics every tray change, you'll really see the changes, even if you think you won't. fingers crossed here! Updated on 5 Nov 2013: Today I went and picked up 3 more sets of trays. My dentist is very pleased with the progress and the way the trays are fitting perfectly. Today I asked him to sit back down with me and go over my clincheck again. The first time, I had brought my 13 month old daughter with me, (couldn't find a sitter)and it was hard to ask all the questions I had, and really get to concentrate on the actual video. So, he did and around tray 8... is when I'll actually see some progress!!! Eek! Yay. I'm excited to know. He says, he already sees some gradual changes... with the expansion. I have such a narrow mouth he said he wants to expand that way, my smile looks bigger, and more teeth will be visible when I smile. Also around tray 12 & 15 I'll see more and more expansion. And trays 20 & 21 is when my cross bite will be fixed. I'm feeling encouraged. So, now I'm on tray 5/42. I popped those suckers in super easy. It was of course tight, and my two front top teeth are really sore. But, nothing unbearable. Sore is good, right? Let's me know things are moving. Nothing really else to say other than... I'm moving right along. Loving my invisalign, loving my dentist and feeling hopeful. Can't wait for tray 8 now.... ;) Updated on 7 Nov 2013: Pic with trays in.... still no visible progress that I can see, but doc could. still waiting anxiously Updated on 7 Nov 2013: I'm hoping to get some help with learning how to handle this site, navigate and maybe upload some pics. As I've said in previous reviews, it's very important that I have this Invisalign journey documented. I want to be able to look back and see how far I've come. it's not easy to post pics of myself, bc I'm ashamed of my teeth. Guess I shouldn't be ashamed since im correcting them, right. Anyway, I hope someone can give me some pointers. Updated on 7 Nov 2013: still trying to figure this out LOL. maybe I can get a pic posted Updated on 21 Nov 2013: This tray is really tight on my top teeth... took me a few mins to work it in with the chewie... bottom tray popped right in. The next day i thought my top teeth woyld be sore, but nope. Its my bottom back molars that are super sore with this tray. Facinating to me the way invisalign works. Updated on 10 Dec 2013: Oh boy has this one been a doozy. Is that even a word, lol!?!? ;) Okay, so this is number 7 out of 42 and wow... it is my most agressive to date. I wasn't even going to write a review until tray 8, but decided to document this one, b/c it is really moving and shifting these teeth... i feel it. Big time!!! I have a dilemma and maybe someone can offer advise. My two front teeth are starting to straighten out. See, when i was a little girl, i was in a bad accident and one of my front teeth got knocked sideways...it sits on top of the other tooth. Well, then one day running to the bus i tripped, fell and chipped it! Ugh. I couldnt get it fixed without straightening my teeth first ,b/c of it sitting on my other tooth... plus, it was never really that noticable anyway. Well, now that my teeth are moving .... it's becoming noticable :( Look, i get that i've walked around with jacked up teeth for years, so what's the big deal now, eh? Lol. My dentist says, he can't do anything until my treatment is over, b/c he don't want to ruin the progress. The trays are made to fit my teeth snug and if he tries to put bonding on my tooth... the trays will not fit properly. I dont know what i'm going to do for 35 more trays. I guess i'll walk around looking like Jim Carrey on dumb and dumber... with my big front chipped tooth :( I just feel like since he had the ability to see how my teeth would be moving... that he should have prepared for this being visible
