POSTED UNDER Invisalign REVIEWS
My Invisalign Journey
ORIGINAL POST
Week 1 After years of procrastination, I decided...
jcat1019July 24, 2017
$5,000
Week 1
After years of procrastination, I decided to bite the bullet and get Invisalign. I am very excited, but at the same time very anxious about the process. I have read tons of stories where the treatment lasted much longer than projected. I've also read horror stories of pain, discomfort, etc. but I have a habit of becoming engrossed in the "what if's...." so I'm making a concerted effort to stay positive. I am 45 years old and have crowding on the top and bottom. I will be changing my aligners weekly, I'm not sure how many I have but I'll find that out soon. I'll also post pictures but I'm not set up for that yet. And here we go.
I got my aligners on July 20, 2017 along with 13 attachments and IPR on a few of my bottom teeth. The IPR was nothing, I barely felt it at all. The aligners went in fairly easily and I was able to remove them with no issue during the practice runs. I was in and out of the office in about an hour and headed to work.
The next few hours into days were a little more challenging.
I was surprised to discover that having these aligner in my mouth would cause severe panic anxiety. It was bad. All I wanted to do was rip them out, I was feeling disappointed in myself for feeling so down about this. I was determined to stay positive and within a few hours I was a mess. I didn't really feel any pain, I just felt like I was suffocating. It felt like I had those silly Halloween vampire teeth in my mouth and I couldn't get them out. I was miserable.
Lunchtime came around and I was able to get them in and out with no real issue. I brushed and flossed and popped them back in. I ate soft food because it felt so odd with the attachments poking at me.
Overall the first day was pretty terrible. I went to bed super early because I just didn't want to be awake. I was seriously questioning my decision but kept reminding myself that the ends will justify the means.
Day two went a little better. I have found that my mouth is annoyingly dry. Not my mouth really, but the aligners. I have been drinking water like a camel storing up for a drought. I still feel the aligners very prominently and look forward to the day they don't feel so foreign.
I'm still in the first week of my first aligners, and now I have a new pain, the inside of the aligners is cutting the crap out of my tongue when I speak. fun. I also have a poking point on the bottom where one of my teeth juts out and that tooth has an attachment. Fortunately, orthodontic wax works great and that is not a problem.
I know this will get better but ughhhh.
So for week 1, here's what I have implemented.
1. tons of water
2. wax for pointy parts
3. setting a timer to gauge how long it takes me to eat, brush, floss, and replace. I'm sure I won't do this forever but it's a good way for me to keep to the 22 hours ideal.
PS. They are not as noticeable as they feel. I went to a family birthday party and no one said a word. either they did not notice or they just didn't say anything. My husband says he can't see them at all.
After years of procrastination, I decided to bite the bullet and get Invisalign. I am very excited, but at the same time very anxious about the process. I have read tons of stories where the treatment lasted much longer than projected. I've also read horror stories of pain, discomfort, etc. but I have a habit of becoming engrossed in the "what if's...." so I'm making a concerted effort to stay positive. I am 45 years old and have crowding on the top and bottom. I will be changing my aligners weekly, I'm not sure how many I have but I'll find that out soon. I'll also post pictures but I'm not set up for that yet. And here we go.
I got my aligners on July 20, 2017 along with 13 attachments and IPR on a few of my bottom teeth. The IPR was nothing, I barely felt it at all. The aligners went in fairly easily and I was able to remove them with no issue during the practice runs. I was in and out of the office in about an hour and headed to work.
The next few hours into days were a little more challenging.
I was surprised to discover that having these aligner in my mouth would cause severe panic anxiety. It was bad. All I wanted to do was rip them out, I was feeling disappointed in myself for feeling so down about this. I was determined to stay positive and within a few hours I was a mess. I didn't really feel any pain, I just felt like I was suffocating. It felt like I had those silly Halloween vampire teeth in my mouth and I couldn't get them out. I was miserable.
Lunchtime came around and I was able to get them in and out with no real issue. I brushed and flossed and popped them back in. I ate soft food because it felt so odd with the attachments poking at me.
Overall the first day was pretty terrible. I went to bed super early because I just didn't want to be awake. I was seriously questioning my decision but kept reminding myself that the ends will justify the means.
Day two went a little better. I have found that my mouth is annoyingly dry. Not my mouth really, but the aligners. I have been drinking water like a camel storing up for a drought. I still feel the aligners very prominently and look forward to the day they don't feel so foreign.
I'm still in the first week of my first aligners, and now I have a new pain, the inside of the aligners is cutting the crap out of my tongue when I speak. fun. I also have a poking point on the bottom where one of my teeth juts out and that tooth has an attachment. Fortunately, orthodontic wax works great and that is not a problem.
I know this will get better but ughhhh.
So for week 1, here's what I have implemented.
1. tons of water
2. wax for pointy parts
3. setting a timer to gauge how long it takes me to eat, brush, floss, and replace. I'm sure I won't do this forever but it's a good way for me to keep to the 22 hours ideal.
PS. They are not as noticeable as they feel. I went to a family birthday party and no one said a word. either they did not notice or they just didn't say anything. My husband says he can't see them at all.
UPDATED FROM jcat1019
13 days post
Week 2
jcat1019August 2, 2017
What a difference a day makes!
Week 1, to be completely honest, sucked. I was truly miserable. I was thinking I'm never going to get used to these things and this is going to be the longest 18 months to 2 years of my life. But then, I changed aligners....
Since my teeth have so much crowding, my dentist has me changing aligners weekly. So Thursday night, I very eagerly changed to my second set, hoping that it would be better, and it was.
But let me tell you, when I snapped them in, wowza! Those things were TIGHT, in fact, they went in with a pretty loud CLICK! and then an involuntary owwwwww! They were so tight that I didn't even realize the bottom one wasn't all the way down. I couldn't bite down and was thinking something was off, so I pushed them down a little more and then another, CLICK - OWWWW.
However, that being said, they feel a million times better than the first set. They feel like the actually fit. No more poking attachment, no more popping up off my back teeth. My mouth also seem to feel as dry. Overall, a huge improvement. I have to say, I think I like the tightness feeling of having them in better than having them out. My teeth are definitely sore, eating can be a bit of a challenge biting and pulling are tough, there's a lot of sensitivity but that's good because that means something is happening.
My oral hygiene is on the ball. I think I've brushed, flossed, and rinsed more in the past two weeks than I have in, well, ever. It's a pain. I'm trying to invent a way that I can bypass my teeth with solid food, invent some kind of funnel system or something. It's a challenge, but I'll figure it out. I'm not missing any meals, regardless of the inconvenience. I do have to say, I feel pretty lucky that I have zero issues getting the aligners in or out. I was worried after reading several other reviews where people couldn't do it.
I'm almost ready for tray number 3, and I'm kind of looking forward to it.
PS. I have eased up on the only water thing. I just drink whatever and then pop 'em out, quick brush, rinse and pop 'em back in.
Week 1, to be completely honest, sucked. I was truly miserable. I was thinking I'm never going to get used to these things and this is going to be the longest 18 months to 2 years of my life. But then, I changed aligners....
Since my teeth have so much crowding, my dentist has me changing aligners weekly. So Thursday night, I very eagerly changed to my second set, hoping that it would be better, and it was.
But let me tell you, when I snapped them in, wowza! Those things were TIGHT, in fact, they went in with a pretty loud CLICK! and then an involuntary owwwwww! They were so tight that I didn't even realize the bottom one wasn't all the way down. I couldn't bite down and was thinking something was off, so I pushed them down a little more and then another, CLICK - OWWWW.
However, that being said, they feel a million times better than the first set. They feel like the actually fit. No more poking attachment, no more popping up off my back teeth. My mouth also seem to feel as dry. Overall, a huge improvement. I have to say, I think I like the tightness feeling of having them in better than having them out. My teeth are definitely sore, eating can be a bit of a challenge biting and pulling are tough, there's a lot of sensitivity but that's good because that means something is happening.
My oral hygiene is on the ball. I think I've brushed, flossed, and rinsed more in the past two weeks than I have in, well, ever. It's a pain. I'm trying to invent a way that I can bypass my teeth with solid food, invent some kind of funnel system or something. It's a challenge, but I'll figure it out. I'm not missing any meals, regardless of the inconvenience. I do have to say, I feel pretty lucky that I have zero issues getting the aligners in or out. I was worried after reading several other reviews where people couldn't do it.
I'm almost ready for tray number 3, and I'm kind of looking forward to it.
PS. I have eased up on the only water thing. I just drink whatever and then pop 'em out, quick brush, rinse and pop 'em back in.
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