One full week into my invisalign treatment - Chicago, IL

This is my second day with invisalign and so far I love it. I read a lot of review before deciding to get them and I must confess some of them were a bit distressing. My experience so far has been painless. There was some pressure on the first day (note "pressure" not "pain" at all!) and I also had a hard time pulling my upper tray out to eat, but I have mastered it already on this second day. However, no one has noticed it and my slight lisp is almost gone. I have felt the upper edge of the upper tray rubbing against my mouth, but so far I have not had to file the tray down. Just a tiny bit of cotton on the edge of the tray has kept me pain free and so far no one has noticed that either.

The biggest change has been regarding my diet. I tend to eat small portions multiple times a day, but now I find myself restricted to 3-4 large meals per day as getting these babies out and brushing/flossing multiple times a day is not for me. That one extra piece of chocolate a couple of hours after dinner just does not seem to be worth the effort anymore. I must confess also that although I am trying not to eat or drink anything but water when I have the braces in, I think I am going to have to occasionally take my latte or some juice with them, as I go to a lot of networking events and I just feel silly not taking anything.

I have gotten very concerned with the comments regarding bad breath, but I just can't see it happening as I've never brushed my teeth so often in my life. Does everyone get it? Seems odd to me, but again, this is only day 2 going on 3. I hope it does not happen though as I am an interpreter and a fresh breath is very important in my line of business. My other concern is that on my second day I already don't feel any pressure anymore. Should I? I guess I am from the "no pain, no gain" era so because I am not feeling anything I tend to think that they are not working, is that so? Is anyone very upgraded to the next tray in less than 2 weeks? Thanks for whatever input anyone can give me on this.

I have now been wearing my first tray for 1 full week. I was concerned on my previous review that I couldn't feel any pressure and that perhaps the treatment was not working, but let me tell you IT IS WORKING! Not only do I feel some tenderness on some of my teeth when I eat, but my bite has already changed a bit. I can feel some of my lower teeth hitting the top ones differently, which I find uncomfortable so I put my trays back on as quickly as I can to avoid that sensation. I have noticed some of the discoloration of the tray that was mentioned in a few reviews but so far they have not made the trays any more noticeable than before. I was also amazed to discover how tight I hold my jaw during the day. I knew I was beginning to grind them at night, but I had not clue how much force I was applying on them, that explains some unexplainable headaches I guess... Anyway, I am now having to focus a lot on relaxing as much as I can and not doing that because I'm scared I might break the trays or deforming them in some way from biting so hard into them. Looking forward to tray 2 though. I will also try to post pictures.. eventually, I'm not so good at that.

Now I'm on tray 4 going on to 5 this coming Sunday. This last tray was the tightest to get in so far. I had to push real hard and initially I thought it might not even fit, but it did. I felt a lot of pressure as it is usually the case the first time. Day 2 and 3 brought it back to normal. I've had small issues with the previous trays. I haven't had to file any of them down yet, I tend to just add a bit of cotton (couldn't find the wax someone recommended) to the raise bit of plastic to keep it from hurting me, but the plastic seems to settle after a few days (after the tightness is gone already usually) so I don't really have to do it everyday. Again, I much rather have the tray on than off, as I don't like the feeling of my teeth touching new area as they move (just odd) and I also don't like the way the attachments rub against my cheeks. A couple of weeks ago I went to see my dentist to get new trays and everyone thought they could already notice a big difference on the space between my front teeth. I personally don't see it. I can tell how one might think it is so when the tray is on (maybe some optical illusion from the reflection of the plastic in between), but when I have the tray off to brush I notice just a very small difference. My teeth are no longer tender as they were on weeks 4 and 5, so I am happy with that as I can eat everything again -- I had really missed my popcorn!

Up to 3 weeks ago I had never eaten with the trays on (though I had had a few lattes). But I had to go out of town for work for three weeks and had to work through lunch a few times, so I gave it a shot. Can be done, but I don't like it at all. I was limited on what I could or could not eat for starters. While eating, my tray moved a bit, particularly on the back where one side doesn't entirely cover my very last molar, and the plastic hurt my cheek from catching it. Food gets right under it too, so you have to sort of clean around after each bit. I was also worried I'd get food in the tray at the front and my clients could notice it. Most of all, I disliked that a white film developed on the train that just would not come out. But hey, those are not complaints, only observations. I am pretty happy I waited to wear invisalign instead of those horrible metal braces. I can only imagine how painful and high maintenance those are. I don't even know how you could keep your dental hygiene wearing those. My teeth have never been so clean for so long. Although I had to switch my arm&hammer toothpaste to sensodyne as the multiple bushings were getting my teeth super sensitive. Depending on what I have had to eat/snack on, sometimes I don't even use toothpaste now, just brush with water to reduce toothpaste use (though I have felt less of a need to do that since I switched toothpastes). And that's my update. If I can think of something else I'll update again.

Ahh, the other upside is that since my mouth is always dry from the presence of the trays, I drink a lot more water than I used to, which has helped my overall health immensely. So, another vote for invisalign!