24 Years Old, Previously Had Traditional Braces, but Didn&#x27;t Wear my Retainer... - Fort Myers, FL

October 10, 2014

Hello and welcome to you!

So today is the next day, and I hope you're not feeling the extra soreness that happens for many of us after about 12 hours in a set of trays :D. Some doctors like to start out the treatment slowly, letting you ease into it somewhat. Others throw people in at the deep end. :) There are definitely advantages to both, but hopefully this way you'll get used to the trays and hygiene and all before the attachments. With a lot of attachments, they will no longer be so invisible, but they should match the color of your teeth, which already look pretty white. If you usually whiten, you may want to do that before you get your attachments :). The biggest thing at this point, though, is to try to start new trays after your evening hygiene, so you can go to sleep before the pain blossoms and also not have to take them out for a good 8 hours once you first put them in. Everyone I've read on here says it's really helpful, and I certainly found it so.

Have you looked around the community at all yet?

November 3, 2014

I looked around the community plenty! It actually helped me to take the plunge. Surpinsingly, neither tray 1 or 2 have really hurt. Some slight tenderness on day 2 of tray 1, but it was very minimal. I have had a pretty easy go at this, no pain, no lisp... I did have some soreness from the sharp edges from my first tray- but I got used to it after a couple days. I don't whiten, in fact, I honestly don't think my teeth are all that white! Even my dentist said if I were to do a whitening kit, they will never be "Hollywood white" since my teeth are transparent? i don't know but brushing 3-4 times a day is helping! My attachments go in Thursday :( hopefully things stay simple!

November 3, 2014

Ahhhh, yeah, my teeth look super-white here on RealSelf in my pictures, for some reason, but they're not as white in real life. Don't know what it is about pictures sometimes!

Glad to hear that things are going easily for you so far. Some people just have an easier time of treatment than others, and I hope you continue to have that experience! :D

Ooh! I just noticed you have Invisalign Teen. I had that too, even though I was 35 ;).

November 3, 2014

Yea- had no idea until I started Googling what the blue dots meant.. Nice to know I have 6 free ones if I lose a set- although I'm not sure how that would happen if you're wearing them all day!

November 3, 2014

I can say from experience (embarrassingly enough) that it only happens during mealtimes. And for me, it was because I don't live alone--so I'd put my trays near the kitchen island sink while I ate, and then my mom would come and move them, or not see them and accidentally throw them away :(. But then I started soaking them in the H2O2 during mealtimes, in the bathroom, and it was no longer an issue. But some of us with ADD are a little scattered at times :D.

Oh, and I didn't get 6 free ones. My doctor gave us one free replacement. So there is either some leeway, or the doctors do whatever they want.

kiterunner

October 12, 2014

wow, it's amazing how your trays are not obvious at all!

November 3, 2014

I know! I was expecting to see them somewhat, but aside from the slight speech impediment on day 1, no one could tell!

FuzzFace

October 13, 2014

Best of luck! Before you know it you'll be at tray 10. I'm halfway through my treatment. 34 trays in total. I got the attachments on the first day which makes them a little harder to take out, but after a while you don't even know they're there.

October 14, 2014

Did you get AcceleDent, FuzzFace? It seems like a lot of Aussies get it!

FuzzFace

October 16, 2014

No I didn't get it. I spoke to my orthodontist about using AcceleDent. He said that in his opinion there wasn't enough data out there yet as to how effective it is for him to give his recommendation. It's also crazy expensive here in Australia. Not sure what it's like in the U.S.?

October 16, 2014

It varies dramatically from office to office, frankly. I've seen prices as low as $500 and up over $1200 (USD). Some people buy it used as well, from $400-$800. A lot of people buy used ones from Australia, actually :D. As far as it working, everyone who uses it changes trays every week after they get started, so in that way, it certainly works. Whether they could have done it without the AcceleDent--that's kind of an unanswered question. They also report feeling less pain and that the pain dissipates more quickly than without. I have never used it personally--I was done with my treatment by the time it started taking off. But there are plenty of people not using it, and frankly, after you've been in Invisalign for a while, you just get used to the drill. I mainly thought of it because I think, like, half of our Aussies use it (way more than in other countries), and because your treatment is on the longer side.

November 3, 2014

I get my attachments THursday (Nov. 6th). Apparently I am going to have quite a few! But I am hoping the process moves along quickly. Good luck to you!

October 13, 2014

Wow you can't see the trays at all! Your teeth look relatively straight already, I am surprised that you need 40 trays. I have 53 and was surprised at the amount I needed, though my teeth are much more misaligned than yours. Good luck with the next few sets!

November 3, 2014

Yea- I was a little shocked my self, but I'll have to post an alignment picture (mouth open) just to show how off kilter they are. Thanks, good luck to you!

UPDATED FROM Amusser

25 days post

'Two trays down' Update

AmusserNovember 3, 2014

Hi All,

Thanks for all the support, love this community! Just wanted to share my experience thus far, I have had my invisalign for about a month now- WOW! Time is flying. Here are some tips/updates:

1. Virtually painless thus far! I was surprised at how little discomfort I have experienced this far after reading so many reviews here. But tray 1 didn't really hurt.. nor did tray 2. I would say I did experience some tenderness after day 2 of tray 1, but that was about it. The only thing that was "painful" was the sharp edges on tray 1- which I carefully filed down with an Emory board. I also borrowed some wax from my younger sister, she has traditional braces, but I don't recommend using it on your trays- it really sticks and isn't all that helpful.
2. Removing/ putting trays on was easy! I was expecting to struggle to put in/take out my trays after the reviews I read, but it was quite simple... It was more challenging with tray 2, but only for the first day or so.
3. NO LISP! This was the best part- I thought FOR SURE I was going to have some issues here, but only had real issues on day 1, and they were very minimal. The trick I did was right as I left my ortho, on the drive to work, I practiced saying "thirty-forty" and "sixty-seventy" to kick the lisp. Now a month in, I find 0 difficulty speaking regularly.
4. No gunk or funk! I read a lot of reviews saying that trays would get stinky or cloudy after the first week or so, but I am not having that issue either. I brush and floss after every meal, and I "brush" my aligners with a different toothbrush with either just warm water, or warm water with antibacterial liquid soap. No build up, no smell.
5. Invisalign teen? I had no idea I was getting Invisalign teen (seeing that I am 24 and have all my adult teeth), but after some research, I identified that I do indeed have teen. This is actually great, because there are two blue dots on the back molar teeth on both sides of the top tray, which will fade to clear once you are ready to switch. Also, I am not sure if regular invisalign has this, but my trays also have the number of the tray printed on it- so I don't get confused about which tray I have in. (i'll attach picture)
6. Ill also attach a picture of my teeth (mouth open) to show my alignment issues.. the top is severely crowded, and the bottoms are straighter but off center.
I will update again once I go in on Thursday to get my attachments and next few trays. I only hope that things will continue to be as easy and painless as they have been!

Good luck and thanks for reading!

Replies (2)

November 3, 2014

Also- an FYI. My Dr couldn't provide me with my clinchecks- I didn't even see them (totally spaced on asking) on my first apt. But I called that afternoon and he said he would show me when I get my attachments on- hope I like what I see!! Fingers crossed!

November 3, 2014

There are only a couple of real differences between regular and teen, and those are the blue compliance dots, the power ridges (they used to be standard but I don't know if they still are,) the replacement policy (used to be more lenient,) and something called eruption tabs, which just means that it can allow for adult teeth to grow in by leaving space, while in the adult ones, they assume you already have all your adult teeth--not an issue for you. Essentially, teen can be used for adults, but not all teens can use adult Invisalign.

UPDATED FROM Amusser

28 days post

The dreaded attachments...

AmusserNovember 6, 2014

So today I got my attachments put on and let me just say WAHHHHH! I've been a baby about it all morning, because I have SO many- and some teeth even have two! I have 18 in total- 8 on the bottom and 10 on the top...

Let me just tell you about my morning. First of all, the process of prepping my teeth for the attachments was painful! I have relatively sensitive teeth so when she sprayed all the cool air all over my teeth, I was tearing up! Then once they are dry, they have to add some sort of paste to your teeth, and it comes in a syringe, and the scraping of that against my teeth also made me cringe! Then they fill the attachment template tray (similar to your current tray but with indents) with some more gunk and press the trays into your teeth, and seal it up with a blue light lamp. This part wasn't so bad, but once that stuff dries, it's ON THERE! Because the next step involved her removing the attachment template tray, and she was struggling to remove it.. and once I heard it crack I panicked! It wouldn't have nice had she warned me that it was supposed to break, but she kept peeling it off until it was all broken and removed. So now I have these 18 attachments cemented to my smile for the next 80 weeks :( I will admit, this part of the process made me almost regret starting Invisalign altogether, but I will stop whining eventually.

My teeth are pretty tender, these trays are MUCH tighter with the attachments. I haven't even tried taking them out yet, but I know it will be a lot tougher.

I am a little disappointed with this part, because it is a LOT less discrete now that I have these suckers all over my teeth- I'll upload the pictures. The upside is, I got to see my clin check and I was pretty pleased with the potential result- also, no IPR will be needed which surprised me.

I will keep you posted, thanks for staying tuned!

Replies (12)

Katherine87

November 6, 2014

I was disappointed with how obvious the attachments are too ! Do you have to change your teen ones every 2 weeks ? How does the blue dot thing work by the way ?!

November 6, 2014

Yea every two weeks! Ugh. Wish it was one but I knew it was gonna be a journey!! I'm not quite sure, I've been trying to read up On it but apparently they will fade to clear by the end of the weeks if you've been wearing them as often as you should!

November 7, 2014

It's a dye that leaches out, if I understood correctly. I had Invisalign teen, @Katherine87, and the dots just faded to gray and then kinda clear by the end of the two weeks. If they didn't fade, I was supposed to wear them longer, but they always faded. On the other hand, my trays were always wet, since I soaked them when I wasn't wearing them, so I don't know whether they're specially made to only fade in saliva. That would be the smart thing ;).

November 7, 2014

If you can't whine on RealSelf, where can you? (The answer is, of course you can whine here. We all do it. That's kinda what it's for ;). That and asking questions. And keeping track of changes. Anyway--sorry, I just had surgery and am on pain meds.)

Remember that, even had you gotten ceramic braces, they'd be more visible, and you couldn't take them off to clean your teeth. So attachments are still better in that way. You might have to tell yourself that a few times. And keep that ortho wax handy if they start rubbing you the wrong way once you try to eat! You're smart to leave the trays in a long time the first time, though. It helps tremendously. And be very careful the first time you take them out, so they don't rip.

Nakrey

November 7, 2014

I am getting my first set of trays as a Christmas present to myself this year. I have never had braces and am 38 years old so I am nervous about getting this done. I am enjoying reading through what you have had to say about these so far and hope that we can continue on your journey with you. Maybe I will start my own journey page. Thanks for letting me know what I am looking forward to. How hard was it to remove the tray once you had the attachments put on?

November 7, 2014

Actually.. Not so bad. I think because I have had practice with my first trays without them helped. It's a little more snug than without them, but I wouldn't say it was hard at all. :)

November 7, 2014

I felt the exact same! Though I got my attachments in the first apt so I never got to see how discreet the aligners could be without them. For a while I wanted to back out of invisalign and go with six month smiles, I figured if they're going to be noticeable I may as well get them over with in 6 months (I'll have two years with invisalign). We just have to keep reminding ourselves, that they are most noticeable to us. Also we don't have to worry about getting food stuck in the brackets while eating (not very attractive) and they are still the most 'invisible' of the options. And a major plus is that we can take them out for big events! I hope you'll be happier with them again soon, it'll so be worth it at the end! :-)

November 7, 2014

Certainly! I was just being a little dramatic yesterday. After having them for a day, I realized that they weren't so bad. I'm actually going to talk to my ortho next time about acceledent- I've read a lot of reviews praising it and cutting the time in half. Which would be awesome for us since we have such a long ways to go. Have you asked your ortho about it?

November 7, 2014

That's good :-) My ortho actually recommended that I change my aligners every week to ten days without acceledent so my case is a little unusual! She assures me that the movements are so small that I won't do damage, but she also warned me not to change if the new aligner wasn't fitting correctly, or is way too tight! This seems to really go against the norm though. I would be really interesting to hear what an Irish ortho has to say about acceledent, it doesn't seem to be something that is offered routinely here.

November 7, 2014

Oh sorry, I don't know why I thought you were from Ireland there!! Oops!

November 7, 2014

Haha- I wish! I went to Belfast last summer and fell in love!! I'll hopefully go back. Let me know how it goes changing every 10 days, I'm super curious as I haven't really heard of that either. :)