POSTED UNDER Invisalign REVIEWS
Starting my Invisalign Journey
ORIGINAL POST
My dentist as a teenager said my teeth would be...
monosyllabicgirlJanuary 29, 2014
$7,000
My dentist as a teenager said my teeth would be "fine" and it wasn't until I was 17 years old that he referred me to see an orthodontist. At that time I was recommended to have four extractions, surgery for retrognathic mandible and traditional braces. Due to a variety of reasons me/my family declined at that point.
I have been quite self conscious of my teeth since then, and am now 28 years old. I finally did some research about Invisalign. After contemplating it for a few months and reading some reviews, I went for an orthodontic consult.
My issues include:
Angle Class 2, divison 2, subdivison left
Overbite 50%
Overjet 5mm
Moderate crowding maxillary arch, 6mm
Mild crowding mandibular arch, 4mm
Skeletal class 2, retrognathic mandible
The orthodontist felt I am indeed an Invisalign candidate. I may need up to 2 years of treatment and will require class II elastics to distalize the posterior maxillary teeth throughout the treatment. I will need extraction of 1.8 and 2.8 (upper wisdom teeth) to make room for this correction.
January 27th - I went for moulds and records. They did 2 sets of molds, a Panorex, cephalic X-ray and digital photograms. I will start my treatment Feb 27th, and have my upper wisdom teeth extracted sometime in March. My orthodontist prefers my extraction to occur after I start my 1st set of aligners, to take advantage of the inflammation / healing process to start the movement of the upper teeth distally (instead of waiting weeks to months after to start Invisalign).
I am a bit hesitant as to how obvious my Invisalign will be (given the elastics and attachments, likely on my front teeth), but I hope they will be a bit less noticeable than traditional braces. One of my main concerns is that I look quite young for my age. I work in health care and find my "youthful" look can make patients a bit less trusting of me.
Any tips and advice is much appreciated!
I have been quite self conscious of my teeth since then, and am now 28 years old. I finally did some research about Invisalign. After contemplating it for a few months and reading some reviews, I went for an orthodontic consult.
My issues include:
Angle Class 2, divison 2, subdivison left
Overbite 50%
Overjet 5mm
Moderate crowding maxillary arch, 6mm
Mild crowding mandibular arch, 4mm
Skeletal class 2, retrognathic mandible
The orthodontist felt I am indeed an Invisalign candidate. I may need up to 2 years of treatment and will require class II elastics to distalize the posterior maxillary teeth throughout the treatment. I will need extraction of 1.8 and 2.8 (upper wisdom teeth) to make room for this correction.
January 27th - I went for moulds and records. They did 2 sets of molds, a Panorex, cephalic X-ray and digital photograms. I will start my treatment Feb 27th, and have my upper wisdom teeth extracted sometime in March. My orthodontist prefers my extraction to occur after I start my 1st set of aligners, to take advantage of the inflammation / healing process to start the movement of the upper teeth distally (instead of waiting weeks to months after to start Invisalign).
I am a bit hesitant as to how obvious my Invisalign will be (given the elastics and attachments, likely on my front teeth), but I hope they will be a bit less noticeable than traditional braces. One of my main concerns is that I look quite young for my age. I work in health care and find my "youthful" look can make patients a bit less trusting of me.
Any tips and advice is much appreciated!
Replies (1)
UPDATED FROM monosyllabicgirl
1 day post
Day 1 Invisalign
monosyllabicgirlMarch 1, 2014
Well yesterday (February 27th) was Invisalign day!
At my appointment the assistant explained a bit about Invisalign and I practiced taking them on and off. Without attachments? Easy! She then placed my attachments which was no problem or discomfort. I have a total of 10 upper and 10 lower - four of my teeth have two attachments on them. Once the attachments were on, getting the aligners on and off required more force but not much of a problem.
The orthodontist took a look to confirm she was happy with the attachment placement and aligner fit and then showed me my ClinCheck video. I will have 39 aligners (although the bottom teeth move into place within the first ~15-20 aligners I believe) plus potential refinements. Essentially, the front teeth (my biggest problem) will not move until tray 16/17, as they are distalizing all my other teeth first in order to make room. So it will be awhile before I can see progress on my smile itself. The lower front teeth will move almost immediately, though. I am getting my wisdom teeth extracted March 14th (before tray 2) and I will have my next follow-up appointment in 6 weeks, prior to tray 4, when I will start my elastics.
I had dinner and put in my trays - my first thought? Wow, this is tight! I tried to practice speaking as I had a bit of a lisp, which didn't seem to resolve. I attempted to sleep but had major insomnia - not because of pain, I think just because of my mouth feeling different. In the morning, my teeth were a bit sore but I was able to eat breakfast (oatmeal) without a problem. By lunch and mid-day, a bit more sore, but not enough to require analgesics. There are a few sharp areas that I have filed down that have irritated my tongue, so it's a bit tender as well. A few of my teeth have bite tenderness but again, nothing severe and not like a "tooth ache" per se.
My lisp actually felt worse this morning - potentially because of fatigue and a bit more soreness, so I am still hoping it will resolve. I actually feel like people were noticing the change in my voice more than the aligners at work - nobody said anything and nobody stared. Although I have two small attachments on one of my front teeth, that actually isn't the most noticeable. The canine attachments (both upper and lower) are a lot more noticeable when I speak.
At my appointment the assistant explained a bit about Invisalign and I practiced taking them on and off. Without attachments? Easy! She then placed my attachments which was no problem or discomfort. I have a total of 10 upper and 10 lower - four of my teeth have two attachments on them. Once the attachments were on, getting the aligners on and off required more force but not much of a problem.
The orthodontist took a look to confirm she was happy with the attachment placement and aligner fit and then showed me my ClinCheck video. I will have 39 aligners (although the bottom teeth move into place within the first ~15-20 aligners I believe) plus potential refinements. Essentially, the front teeth (my biggest problem) will not move until tray 16/17, as they are distalizing all my other teeth first in order to make room. So it will be awhile before I can see progress on my smile itself. The lower front teeth will move almost immediately, though. I am getting my wisdom teeth extracted March 14th (before tray 2) and I will have my next follow-up appointment in 6 weeks, prior to tray 4, when I will start my elastics.
I had dinner and put in my trays - my first thought? Wow, this is tight! I tried to practice speaking as I had a bit of a lisp, which didn't seem to resolve. I attempted to sleep but had major insomnia - not because of pain, I think just because of my mouth feeling different. In the morning, my teeth were a bit sore but I was able to eat breakfast (oatmeal) without a problem. By lunch and mid-day, a bit more sore, but not enough to require analgesics. There are a few sharp areas that I have filed down that have irritated my tongue, so it's a bit tender as well. A few of my teeth have bite tenderness but again, nothing severe and not like a "tooth ache" per se.
My lisp actually felt worse this morning - potentially because of fatigue and a bit more soreness, so I am still hoping it will resolve. I actually feel like people were noticing the change in my voice more than the aligners at work - nobody said anything and nobody stared. Although I have two small attachments on one of my front teeth, that actually isn't the most noticeable. The canine attachments (both upper and lower) are a lot more noticeable when I speak.
Replies (3)
March 1, 2014
First: If you'd like, I can update your treatment day to 27 Feb so it counts correctly. Just let me know :).
Second: Congratulations!!! I love the way your doctor went over everything and explained it to you, so you know when to start looking for progress. I wish more doctors did this. We have so many people who end up wondering when they're going to see movement. Some people post their ClinChecks on here so I know they have them, but I think their doctors just didn't bother explaining them!
Third, we have a few others who are within a few trays of you (though there are, of course, lots of people who are much further ahead as well). You may want to check them out:
brosegr
MT26
dongmei_amero
Purc77
I hope the discomfort goes over quickly for you :).
Second: Congratulations!!! I love the way your doctor went over everything and explained it to you, so you know when to start looking for progress. I wish more doctors did this. We have so many people who end up wondering when they're going to see movement. Some people post their ClinChecks on here so I know they have them, but I think their doctors just didn't bother explaining them!
Third, we have a few others who are within a few trays of you (though there are, of course, lots of people who are much further ahead as well). You may want to check them out:
brosegr
MT26
dongmei_amero
Purc77
I hope the discomfort goes over quickly for you :).
March 1, 2014
Thanks, please update my treatment day to Feb 27th! Yes, I think it's important to realize that the visible changes are not immediate. It would be nice, but it is understandable, and when I watch the ClinCheck, it makes a lot of sense. I took a video of my ClinCheck and will try to edit it and post it on here as well.
March 2, 2014
Sweet! Just remember that it needs to be uploaded to a vid-sharing site first, then you just use the embed code to get it here on RealSelf.
I've fixed the date for you :).
I've fixed the date for you :).
UPDATED FROM monosyllabicgirl
11 days post
Tray 1 Week 1
monosyllabicgirlMarch 11, 2014
I survived my first week of Invisalign! Surprisingly, it went better than expected. The discomfort was fairly mild and I didn't have any sore areas as I filed down the edges the first day. My lisp is mostly gone as long as I keep hydrated. I even survived a holiday week travelling and bringing my toothbrush etc everywhere.
Unfortunately 4 of my bottom attachments which were on two crowns fell off (however, I still have 6 and the trays fit tightly) which I will be getting them replaced this week.
I am also getting Acceledent! I am excited, the cost will be $1000 but if it cuts my treatment time down it is definitely worth it.
Unfortunately 4 of my bottom attachments which were on two crowns fell off (however, I still have 6 and the trays fit tightly) which I will be getting them replaced this week.
I am also getting Acceledent! I am excited, the cost will be $1000 but if it cuts my treatment time down it is definitely worth it.
Replies (3)
March 11, 2014
Congrats on finishing your first week!! :)
I think most people lose at least one attachment at some point during their treatment. It's annoying but and easy fix. The problem is when it happens over and over again and lots of attachments fall off. We had one community member that happened to.
What did your doctor say about the Acceledent when you asked about it?
I think most people lose at least one attachment at some point during their treatment. It's annoying but and easy fix. The problem is when it happens over and over again and lots of attachments fall off. We had one community member that happened to.
What did your doctor say about the Acceledent when you asked about it?
March 14, 2014
I ordered it from them and I will change weekly now! I am quite excited.
March 15, 2014
Sweet! I've actually started a new forum about AcceleDent for Invisaligners. I'm hoping it'll be a place for AcceleDent users to ask specific questions and share their personal experiences with the device, so that we can have a great repository of information in one place. I hope you'll contribute as well! It should be more like a discussion over there, so that you can post more than once, as you get more info or have more questions. :D
A couple of things to remember. Your Invisalign will not be invisible. And with the most severe cases, there are sometimes so many attachments and rubber bands that people complain in their reviews that they may as well have gotten regular braces. And in some ways, they're right. But Invisalign has one huge advantage, and that is that you can take the aligners out to clean your teeth. This is huge. Enormous. This will save you hours a day, not having to use a floss-threader and still never being able to get your braces clean. Oral health is difficult with braces, it is not difficult with Invisalign.
Another thing, remember how self-conscious you feel about your teeth now. The attachments will look a bit strange, but from a distance, they're not too bad. You'll get used to them and others, when they notice, will get used to them (if they see you regularly--otherwise it hardly matters;). And with every tray, your teeth will look just slightly, marginally better than they did the week before. After 10-12 trays, the progress will make you feel so great, you'll feel it's all worth it.
Finally, I think people find that as they get used to seeing themselves in the aligners, they become less self-conscious about them. We have a couple of teachers blogging about their Invisalign on here and even they, who work with teenagers all day and were terrified of lisping and getting teased, found it just wasn't a big deal. So give that a chance :). We are adaptable creatures, we humans!
Good luck, and I look forward to following your progress! I hope you'll take a look around our community and get to know some of the others who are around the same time as you. If you need help finding people, just let me know! :D I'll get notified of any updates to this review, replies to my comment, or private messages to me.