my first experience with invasalign - Denville, NJ

I decided at 44 years old that I wanted to do something about my awful smile. Who doesnt like taking selfies right!! So I made an appointment back in Oct 2014 with an implant, cosmetic and family dentist. I am so glad I did. He told me it would be 5000 dollars but if I put 2000 cash down I would be able to make monthly payments. So I made an appt for the next day to start the process and to get a teeth cleaning. At first I didn't think that I would be a candidate because after a month of waiting for my molding to come back I received a call that they had to be done over. So I took them over in Nov 2014 which was dreadful. I am a gagger and to top it off the putty stuff kept getting stuck in my teeth so they couldn't get a good mold. I didn't hear anything back for a long time so I though well at least I am not going to be out a ton of money, until I received a call the last week of Dec that my invasalign's have arrived. Yippie!! So I went in on Jan 13, 2015 and the dr started putting these yucky feeling buttons on my teeth and then starting sanding my teeth down which felt like when you get your nails filed. They then showed me how to put them on and off and the instructions not to eat or drink with them and how to care for them. That took about an hour. So they put them on and immediatley the pressure gave me a headache and my teeth are so sore. I went to the store at lunch time and purchased the following to start my journey:
Advil pm and regular advil
Oral B battery operated soft tooth brush ( to keep at work)
Oral B sensi soft floss
crest sensiive repair and prevent tooth paste
Act braces care mouth wash
3 pack of blistex lip balm
and I was all set.
So I realized that I have to make a change to my eating habits because they told me to leave them in for 20 hrs and Im use to snacking and drinking tea and coffee throughtout the day. Because It was hard for me to get them out I only took them out once yesterday. So this morning I came up with a plan. I got up at 7am took the invasalign out and put it in a cup of warm water while I ate my oatmeal and drank 2 cups of coffee. I left them out for 1 hr. (the best hr of my life). I then brushed, flossed, gargled and brushed the invasalign with a soft tooth brush and a tiny drop of toothpaste, rinsed it out dried it with a cotton ball and put them back in. I only drank water all day long. At around 2 pm I took them out at work to eat. I put them in a cup of warm water and ate my chicken noodle soup. My teeth are so sore thats all I can eat. again I left them out for about 45 mins. that's how long its taking me to eat. The butttons feel yucky and my teeth are so sensitive and hurt. So then I brushed, flossed, gargled, washed them out and put them back in. Again I drank nothing but water all day. After I go to the gym tonight and take my kickboxing class I will repeat this process eat something soft, take a advil pm and pray that the pain will go away and go to bed. The moral of the story is this is a life style change and a committment. If youre not willing to make some changes you should really consider before you put out all the money. I will frequently post my progress. Oh by the way I still do not regret getting them. No pain No gain. The first pic is a selfie of me before the invasalign. I told you I love selfies. lol...The next two pics are me the first day with invasalign. I will post again as I progress with this journey.

I am on my third set today. I get them changed every two weeks. When I go in they file my teeth and then put the new set on. It takes about 5 mins. The first day they are really tight and I get a slight headache but after that I'm fine. My buttons does not really bother me and I don't have to file my invisaligns down so I do consider myself lucky on that part. I try to keep them in most of the time but it's hard when I go to a party, out to dinner or hang out with friends. I have to always be mindful about putting them in and out and keeping them clean. I noticed that I grind my teeth now which I don't think I've done in the past. When I take them out at home I put them in a cup of warm water until I'm ready to clean them, brush ,floss and gargle. When I'm out I put them in a case. I never ever put them in a napkin because I've learned from other people how easily it is to throw them out and I'm not a garbage diver. I still talk with a slight lisp but you cannot tell that I have them on or you cannot see the buttons. I m still trying to get use to having plastic in my mouth all the times. There is never a time that I'm no noticing it. I still don't see a difference in my teeth but I'm praying that it's working.

Today I went in for tray 5. I have an standing appointment every two weeks. I've read on many posts that people change there own. They didn 't give me that option. The appoitments only last no more than five mins. They normally ask me how I'm doing if I have any questions or concers and file my teeth to make room. I call it file because thats what it feels like. I told her today that the first two days are really tight pressure and I normally get a headache. She explained to me that the first two days are the movement days and the next few weeks are just keeping it in place and if you don't wear them as you should your teeth with go back to the other position and you would have to go back to the last tray. I don't think I see any improvements yet. Has anyone seen improvements by tray 5? I am still doing ok with keeping my trays clean. After each meal I soak my tray in water with peroxide, I brush my teeth with a battery operated toothbrush, rinse and floss with a water pik . I don't use listerine products because I've never liked them and after reading others post about brown stuff on their teeth I am glad I never did. Sometimes I just gargle with peroxide mixed with water.

I'm still having a hard time on certain days because I go out on the weekends with my husband or friends and I don't want to eat and drink and then pop them back in without brushing so I sometime leave them out for 2 to 3 hrs at a time until I get home. I have to figure something out because I can't do that every Saturday. I do not want to delay my progress. Here is a pic of me leaving the office today. No one can tell that I'm even wearing invasalligns. Happy Friday!!!