My Experience With Invisalign - Columbus, OH

The night before I was scheduled to get my Invisalign trays, I googled topics like "the truth about Invisalign" and "Invisalign reviews" - and frankly, the results terrified me. I read so many awful experiences that I seriously considered canceling the next day.

But, having already made the down payment, I decided to go through with it. Now at this point, I am only 3 weeks in, but I wanted to write down my honest experience for anyone else considering it.

A little background first: I have what would be considered a mild/moderate case. I have an overbite which has caused my upper teeth to space out, but I have little crowding and no teeth that need to be turned. I only have 16 trays, or 8 months of treatment. Invisalign is different for everyone! (If I remember to update this post, I'll post pictures!)

First things first: the attachments (sometimes incorrectly referred to as buttons, which are a different thing I believe). Attachments are small, tooth-colored bumps the doctor attaches to your teeth so the trays have something to snap onto. Now, after seeing some pictures of attachments on front teeth, I will admit they are definitely visible - but ONLY if they are on your 2 front teeth (and even then, it isn't bad). I have 15 attachments total, on basically every tooth except my top two front teeth, and you can't see them at all. So do not panic! I also read that some people had jagged attachments and they cut the inside of their mouths - I didn't have this problem. When the trays are out I can definitely feel them and they were a little irritating at first, but now if anything it just feels a little like there's food on my teeth. When the trays are in, I can't feel them at all. This may have to do with your orthodontist - I made sure to go with an Elite Provider and he's fantastic (highly recommend Dr. Hutta if you're in central Ohio!).

Second thing: pain. There is definitely pain the first 1-4 days, but I would say the only significant pain is the first 2. I just took ibuprofen though and I was fine (and I have a pretty low tolerance for pain!). Do not give up! After 4 days, there was no pain at all and it felt perfectly normal! When I changed trays, it felt tight again, but it didn't hurt. Just pop the new ones in before bed and sleep for the first eight hours. I had no pain.

Now I'll try to cover all the various details that I wanted to know before I got Invisalign, lol.

Kissing, making out and performing other intimate acts is not impeded by the Invisalign. ;) Have at it.

They tell you not to eat or drink anything but water with them in, but I have been able to drink almost anything that isn't super dark (lemonade, light beer, white wine, etc) and they haven't gotten stained at all.

You are not supposed to smoke with them in, and I typically don't. However occasionally it does happen and they've never gotten stained. So as long as you don't do it all the time I imagine it's not really a problem.

Sometimes I get mild headaches which I assume is from my teeth shifting, but again, nothing ibuprofen doesn't take care of.

I've read a lot about people who have hygiene problems (bad breath, etc) but I don't have that at all. You end up brushing and flossing 4-6 times a day so I really don't understand how that could happen.

You CAN see saliva build up in the trays and yes it is gross. But you can only see it if you're really really looking for it an inch away from your face, so it's not a big deal.

I clean my trays with regular toothpaste. A lot of other reviewers said this made their trays cloudy but I haven't had that issue.

The biggest issue honestly is just the time it adds to your routine. It is time consuming to have to brush and floss and clean them and put them back in after every meal. And it's a little awkward to do in public bathrooms, lol. But that's the worst of it and I think it's way worth it. No one has been able to tell I have them in! It looks obvious to me but that's probably because I already know.

A lot of people lose weight due to less snacking, I've lost about 3 pounds so far so hopefully that trend continues.

Oh - I did have a lisp for about 4 days but it cleared up almost completely. I struggle a tiny bit with "s" sometimes, but it isn't noticeable.

Last piece of advice: ABSOLUTELY WEAR THEM FOR 21-22 HOURS A DAY. It IS possible! I take mine out for 20 minutes in the morning, 35 minutes at lunch and around an hour at dinner. It's totally doable and it is much better to wear them 22 hours a day than it is to have to extend your treatment by 2-6 months! Wearing them for only 16-18 hours a day will not work. Also you get used to them much faster if you force yourself to wear them the full 22 hours. At this point, I much prefer to have them on than off. Way more comfortable.

Good luck to everyone out there, I really do recommend Invisalign! I will try to update this post as I remember with my progress and pictures!