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*Treatment results may vary
One Week and One Day in to Tray 1
So relieved! I finally was able to talk directly to my orthodontist yesterday (after saying that if I couldn't get some sort of update, I would like to make an appointment to have the attachments filed off). There was a bit of a run around when I first called, and they continued to tell me that I must have refused to see my ClinCheck, etc. FINALLY my orthodontist called me back personally and apologized that no one got back to me sooner, and that typically they don't offer the ClinCheck view unless the patron specifically asks but that they should probably consider just offering the view from the beginning since it was something that Invisalign offers that makes it more appealing than traditional braces. He assured me that I won't be needing any IPR, and that my uppers have 14 trays (7 months of treatment) and that my lowers have 22 trays (11 months of treatment). He even offered to file off my attachments closer to my wedding date if I'd like, and that we could put them back on afterward. I let him know that my main issue was that I didn't have any idea even where I would be by the time my wedding rolled around that I was upset that I didn't really get any sort of reassurance when I called the first time. He apologized again, and said I could come in that afternoon to see my ClinCheck if I'd like. Now that I know my treatment will be less than a month from being done (at least on the top) on my wedding day, I'm fine with waiting to see my ClinCheck until I go in for trays 4, 5, and 6.
I'm still very unimpressed by the staff at my ortho's office, but it's a huge relief that my treatment will be shorter than I originally thought (both because I want it done NOW and I'm excited, and because it means less time at the office).
As for the aligners themselves, it gets easier and easier as days pass...I'm kind of dreading my next trays because I'm FINALLY used to these ones. I can even feel my teeth move around a little when I push on my aligners, which means they're starting to move, so yay!
I'm still very unimpressed by the staff at my ortho's office, but it's a huge relief that my treatment will be shorter than I originally thought (both because I want it done NOW and I'm excited, and because it means less time at the office).
As for the aligners themselves, it gets easier and easier as days pass...I'm kind of dreading my next trays because I'm FINALLY used to these ones. I can even feel my teeth move around a little when I push on my aligners, which means they're starting to move, so yay!
Grievances with my ortho...
I've had a rough last couple of days accepting what I've gotten myself in to. Much of this lies with a doubtfulness about my orthodontist.
Firstly, I had my initial consult on a Saturday at noon. Like I mentioned before, I had to make a same day decision in order to knock $1000 off of my total price. As a cash patient with a wedding to pay for, this was a very important discount to me. Their office closed at 2 that day, and I was out of there around 1. I was given exactly one hour to make a HUGE decision about my mouth, my finances, and my future. I did make the decision, but the time constraint seemed unfair. If I had made my appointment for 9am on a Wednesday, I would have had until 5pm to make the decision. I basically begged to be able to tell them Monday morning, and they wouldn't let me. They did, however, split my deposit in to two payments of $500 each. The first one was due that day, and I was told that my second payment would be due when my aligners arrived. Naturally, I was prepared to make the payment a month or two after that initial consult, so when I was told the day before my scans were done that I would have to pay them then and there and that they were "sorry for the miscommunication" (see: misinformation) I was extremely upset. I wasn't prepared to drop another $500 literally DAYS after paying my first half...especially after being told that I could make it much later. They didn't take any accountability for lying to me, and they didn't offer any sort of relief aside from "Well you can get your scans and just pay whenever you're ready", which would have pushed my start time back to about the beginning of April. it was very distressing and the entire thing made me feel very pressured to make a decision and just go through with it. I wanted the change, so I did it.
The scans were very easy. I just sat with my mouth open for a little while, had some pictures taken, and an xray done. Not too bad. There were a couple of instances where my office's newness with Invisalign showed, like when my ortho told the assistant to try something new with the wand they use to take photos. Kind of made me wary. BUT he's not only an ortho, but a professor at the dental school at the local university so I trusted him, even if it was new to him. But then at the end, the assistant told me that the system wasn't working so I wouldn't be able to see the ClinCheck. This didn't mean a whole lot to me at the time, but I do wish that I could have seen it so that I had something to think about during the times that I question my choice. In an attempt to rectify this, I called this morning and asked to make an appointment to see my ClinCheck since I hadn't had the opportunity to see it. The employee (same one who told me I could split my payments by a month or two and still start treatment) was very condescending and said "Okay. Well. We actually always ask if you'd like to see your ClinCheck in the very beginning stages so you must have said no". First of all, who would choose NOT to see the plan for their mouth? Seriously. Secondly, if I'm telling you that I have not seen it, then there's a real possibility that I HAVE NOT SEEN IT. So I said "No. When I came in for my scans I was told that the system wasn't pulling up my ClinCheck and so I wouldn't be able to see it. I've gone in to this entire process blind and I'd like an appointment to see my ClinCheck". She put me on hold and then told me the doctor has my ClinCheck (I would certainly hope so!) and that he'd call me to make an appointment. It has now been 5 hours, and apparently he just can't find the time in his day to have a 2 minute phone call with a patient who is concerned about her treatment.
Another thing that has been bothering me is that I didn't know that I'd be needing attachments (you know, since I never saw my ClinCheck)...I guess I figured I would, but it would have been nice to know for sure ahead of time. I needed 10 on the top and 5 on the bottom. They aren't super visible, but I am concerned about the appearance at the end of this process. I also haven't had much communication with my orthodontist throughout the process. I haven't even been told my total number of trays! I know that the little bags have the tray numbers, but according to the bags I have more lowers than uppers and that's very confusing to me, because my upper teeth need MUCH more movement than my lower teeth.
I was sent home with my first set of trays in my mouth, plus tray sets 2 and 3. I assume I'm to call and make an appointment for myself when the time gets close? Again-very little communication. I'm kind of feeling like they're getting my money and they know it so any attempt at an actual relationship with the patient is set aside. I've decided that once I receive an appointment to view my ClinCheck I'll decide if I continue. I'm financially obligated either way, but if my teeth aren't going to be where I want them to be by my wedding at the end of September I'm just going to make an appointment to have the attachments filed off. I refuse to have elastics and I refuse to have any IPR done (I wouldn't refuse any of this if I had been told PRIOR to them putting a bunch of attachment ish on my teeth that maybe those things would be possibilities, but out of principle I won't continue if this gets any more invasive).
Thank goodness for this website, because literally EVERYTHING I know about my Invisalign aligners (cleaning, filing, general maintenance, what to expect) is because of research that I've done by myself, for myself and is mostly from these posts and forums.
Firstly, I had my initial consult on a Saturday at noon. Like I mentioned before, I had to make a same day decision in order to knock $1000 off of my total price. As a cash patient with a wedding to pay for, this was a very important discount to me. Their office closed at 2 that day, and I was out of there around 1. I was given exactly one hour to make a HUGE decision about my mouth, my finances, and my future. I did make the decision, but the time constraint seemed unfair. If I had made my appointment for 9am on a Wednesday, I would have had until 5pm to make the decision. I basically begged to be able to tell them Monday morning, and they wouldn't let me. They did, however, split my deposit in to two payments of $500 each. The first one was due that day, and I was told that my second payment would be due when my aligners arrived. Naturally, I was prepared to make the payment a month or two after that initial consult, so when I was told the day before my scans were done that I would have to pay them then and there and that they were "sorry for the miscommunication" (see: misinformation) I was extremely upset. I wasn't prepared to drop another $500 literally DAYS after paying my first half...especially after being told that I could make it much later. They didn't take any accountability for lying to me, and they didn't offer any sort of relief aside from "Well you can get your scans and just pay whenever you're ready", which would have pushed my start time back to about the beginning of April. it was very distressing and the entire thing made me feel very pressured to make a decision and just go through with it. I wanted the change, so I did it.
The scans were very easy. I just sat with my mouth open for a little while, had some pictures taken, and an xray done. Not too bad. There were a couple of instances where my office's newness with Invisalign showed, like when my ortho told the assistant to try something new with the wand they use to take photos. Kind of made me wary. BUT he's not only an ortho, but a professor at the dental school at the local university so I trusted him, even if it was new to him. But then at the end, the assistant told me that the system wasn't working so I wouldn't be able to see the ClinCheck. This didn't mean a whole lot to me at the time, but I do wish that I could have seen it so that I had something to think about during the times that I question my choice. In an attempt to rectify this, I called this morning and asked to make an appointment to see my ClinCheck since I hadn't had the opportunity to see it. The employee (same one who told me I could split my payments by a month or two and still start treatment) was very condescending and said "Okay. Well. We actually always ask if you'd like to see your ClinCheck in the very beginning stages so you must have said no". First of all, who would choose NOT to see the plan for their mouth? Seriously. Secondly, if I'm telling you that I have not seen it, then there's a real possibility that I HAVE NOT SEEN IT. So I said "No. When I came in for my scans I was told that the system wasn't pulling up my ClinCheck and so I wouldn't be able to see it. I've gone in to this entire process blind and I'd like an appointment to see my ClinCheck". She put me on hold and then told me the doctor has my ClinCheck (I would certainly hope so!) and that he'd call me to make an appointment. It has now been 5 hours, and apparently he just can't find the time in his day to have a 2 minute phone call with a patient who is concerned about her treatment.
Another thing that has been bothering me is that I didn't know that I'd be needing attachments (you know, since I never saw my ClinCheck)...I guess I figured I would, but it would have been nice to know for sure ahead of time. I needed 10 on the top and 5 on the bottom. They aren't super visible, but I am concerned about the appearance at the end of this process. I also haven't had much communication with my orthodontist throughout the process. I haven't even been told my total number of trays! I know that the little bags have the tray numbers, but according to the bags I have more lowers than uppers and that's very confusing to me, because my upper teeth need MUCH more movement than my lower teeth.
I was sent home with my first set of trays in my mouth, plus tray sets 2 and 3. I assume I'm to call and make an appointment for myself when the time gets close? Again-very little communication. I'm kind of feeling like they're getting my money and they know it so any attempt at an actual relationship with the patient is set aside. I've decided that once I receive an appointment to view my ClinCheck I'll decide if I continue. I'm financially obligated either way, but if my teeth aren't going to be where I want them to be by my wedding at the end of September I'm just going to make an appointment to have the attachments filed off. I refuse to have elastics and I refuse to have any IPR done (I wouldn't refuse any of this if I had been told PRIOR to them putting a bunch of attachment ish on my teeth that maybe those things would be possibilities, but out of principle I won't continue if this gets any more invasive).
Thank goodness for this website, because literally EVERYTHING I know about my Invisalign aligners (cleaning, filing, general maintenance, what to expect) is because of research that I've done by myself, for myself and is mostly from these posts and forums.
I never even considered getting braces until a...
I never even considered getting braces until a couple of years ago...not because my teeth were perfect, but because I just generally didn't care if they were or not. I was offered the opportunity to get braces by my parents when I was in high school, but I genuinely didn't see the need for them so I didn't accept.
Flash forward 10 years.
I'm 26 and engaged, scheduled to get married in September. I recently attended a bridal show where my now orthodontist had a booth, and they called to schedule and appointment for a consultation. I had been looking through some old pictures and saw one from when I was 19. I realized that my teeth had continued to move, and were more crooked than in high school. I made the appointment. I always felt that if I were to get braces, I would only want Invisalign, so I went in knowing that I would just walk out if I wasn't a candidate. I was! I didn't have a ton of time to make my decision, as my orthodontist was offering $1000 off the full package if I made a commitment that same day. I talked to my fiancé and decided...why not?! My orthodontist told me that I'd see significant movement by the time my wedding rolled around, so I went for it.
Less than a week later I was in for my scans (no impressions, thank goodness!) and my aligners finally arrived on Feb 27. I had a busy weekend planned, so I opted to wait and get my aligners the following Wednesday. I'm now almost a full week in to Tray 1, and have been on a rollercoaster ride of hope and regret the entire time.
On to my experience with the trays themselves! I got them on Wednesday, and the experience overall was fine. The attachment material stunk, but that's really my only complaint. My mouth felt fine all day Wednesday...then Thursday afternoon rolled around. I held it together for the sake of my coworkers (who wants to see a grown woman cry about her mouth at work, really?) but all the way home I was crying to my fiancé about how I should have just left well enough alone, and what was a thinking getting in to this, and I didn't even know how long this was going to take overall, and I was scared and hated how my mouth felt and WHY DID MY MOUTH HAVE TO HURT THIS BAD?! He was very helpful, calmed me down, and now four days later it's basically like they aren't even in my mouth. Of course I can feel them, and I am constantly sucking the air out of them and chewing on the backs, but really it's just some pressure around my teeth. No pain, but I hate it. I look forward to eating and sleeping because I know I won't have to feel them. I'm assuming I'll get used to it as time goes, but right now my entire day is defined by how much longer until the next meal, or until bed.
As for the cleaning routine, I've always been pretty stringent with my dental hygiene as it is, so brushing an extra time or two a day doesn't bother me at all. I carry around a "kit" with dishsoap, mouthwash, a nail file (for those rough edges-lifesaver), dental wax (for the extra stubborn edges-last resort since it sticks pretty well to the aligners and I hate scraping it off), floss, a travel toothbrush, a baby toothbrush to clean my aligners, and a little spray bottle of half hydrogen peroxide and half water (for the aligners after I eat). My routine when I take my aligners out while I'm at home is to put them in a solution of half water and half vinegar for the time that I'm eating. When I'm done, I floss and brush my teeth, spray my aligners with the peroxide mix, and brush with the baby toothbrush and dish soap. I rinse really well, and pop them back in. When I'm at work on my lunch, I forgo the soak and just spray, brush, and brush my teeth. When I'm out to eat I don't soak, and I don't brush. I make sure to swish with water really well while I eat, and then I spray and rinse my aligners and do a good 30 seconds to a minute of mouthwash in my mouth and then pop them back in. This seems to do the trick and I make sure to brush them well when I get home.
Overall I'm looking forward to the end result (while I was crybabying about my choice I compared tray 1 with tray 3 and saw some very minor movement, which was helpful), but I'm having an awfully hard time envisioning it.
Flash forward 10 years.
I'm 26 and engaged, scheduled to get married in September. I recently attended a bridal show where my now orthodontist had a booth, and they called to schedule and appointment for a consultation. I had been looking through some old pictures and saw one from when I was 19. I realized that my teeth had continued to move, and were more crooked than in high school. I made the appointment. I always felt that if I were to get braces, I would only want Invisalign, so I went in knowing that I would just walk out if I wasn't a candidate. I was! I didn't have a ton of time to make my decision, as my orthodontist was offering $1000 off the full package if I made a commitment that same day. I talked to my fiancé and decided...why not?! My orthodontist told me that I'd see significant movement by the time my wedding rolled around, so I went for it.
Less than a week later I was in for my scans (no impressions, thank goodness!) and my aligners finally arrived on Feb 27. I had a busy weekend planned, so I opted to wait and get my aligners the following Wednesday. I'm now almost a full week in to Tray 1, and have been on a rollercoaster ride of hope and regret the entire time.
On to my experience with the trays themselves! I got them on Wednesday, and the experience overall was fine. The attachment material stunk, but that's really my only complaint. My mouth felt fine all day Wednesday...then Thursday afternoon rolled around. I held it together for the sake of my coworkers (who wants to see a grown woman cry about her mouth at work, really?) but all the way home I was crying to my fiancé about how I should have just left well enough alone, and what was a thinking getting in to this, and I didn't even know how long this was going to take overall, and I was scared and hated how my mouth felt and WHY DID MY MOUTH HAVE TO HURT THIS BAD?! He was very helpful, calmed me down, and now four days later it's basically like they aren't even in my mouth. Of course I can feel them, and I am constantly sucking the air out of them and chewing on the backs, but really it's just some pressure around my teeth. No pain, but I hate it. I look forward to eating and sleeping because I know I won't have to feel them. I'm assuming I'll get used to it as time goes, but right now my entire day is defined by how much longer until the next meal, or until bed.
As for the cleaning routine, I've always been pretty stringent with my dental hygiene as it is, so brushing an extra time or two a day doesn't bother me at all. I carry around a "kit" with dishsoap, mouthwash, a nail file (for those rough edges-lifesaver), dental wax (for the extra stubborn edges-last resort since it sticks pretty well to the aligners and I hate scraping it off), floss, a travel toothbrush, a baby toothbrush to clean my aligners, and a little spray bottle of half hydrogen peroxide and half water (for the aligners after I eat). My routine when I take my aligners out while I'm at home is to put them in a solution of half water and half vinegar for the time that I'm eating. When I'm done, I floss and brush my teeth, spray my aligners with the peroxide mix, and brush with the baby toothbrush and dish soap. I rinse really well, and pop them back in. When I'm at work on my lunch, I forgo the soak and just spray, brush, and brush my teeth. When I'm out to eat I don't soak, and I don't brush. I make sure to swish with water really well while I eat, and then I spray and rinse my aligners and do a good 30 seconds to a minute of mouthwash in my mouth and then pop them back in. This seems to do the trick and I make sure to brush them well when I get home.
Overall I'm looking forward to the end result (while I was crybabying about my choice I compared tray 1 with tray 3 and saw some very minor movement, which was helpful), but I'm having an awfully hard time envisioning it.
Provider Review
Dr. Heinrich
Overall things have been fine with Dr. Heinrich. I do have a few complaints, but they lie more in the hands of his staff as opposed to him personally.