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A bit about me & my invisalign... I'm 29 from...
A bit about me & my invisalign...
I'm 29 from London, UK. I had braces as a teen, but now my teeth have shifted back, so I'd like to have them straightened out again. I don't have any crowding or twisted teeth etc., so I didn't have to have any teeth filed down or pulled prior to this. Got my Invisalign on the 7th May 2014, with 19 trays and about 14 total attachments/buttons from the start (on my teeth at the sides, so not overly visible). So my time is 38 weeks. That's 266 days...though I wonder if I'll need refinements, so I'm going to count this over 300 days, and hopefully will be finished by next spring!
I've been keeping my own diary since I started, and then I just found RealSelf, so thought I'd share it here :) I'm one week in, so these first few entries are going to be pretty long - apologies (I like writing)! Here goes....
Week 1
Day 0/300 - weds 07.05.14 *tray 1 is in*
So today I got my Invisalign! I...can't say that this is the most fun experience in the world so far. I went to the dentist, and they were all there and ready. First I had my attachments/'buttons' put on (an interesting experience), then my dentist showed me how to get the trays in and out, and gave me my retainer box etc, and the first 5 trays. I have to go back in 10 weeks, which seems like a long time?
Walked around London for a bit feeling very uncomfortable, and lisping like a pro at anyone I had to talk to. When I looked next looked in the mirror (snuck into River Island to try on some jeans...), I noticed that one tooth had started to bleed slightly, which alarmed me, so I got the trays out and into their box, and went home to inspect things. Had some food and very reluctantly put them back in again. It was pretty frickin' painful, I'm not even going to lie. I'll be counting this diary properly from tomorrow. But right now...this really sucks :(
Day 1/300 - Thurs 08.05.14
Today - starting officially with my Invisalign. Managed to wrestle them out/back into my mouth again, but not without a lot of agony. These are killing me. Dosing up on ibuprofen and dreading my next meal - but also feeling very hungry. I do not want to have to take them out/in this evening, but I must. Am doing about 18-20 hours, need to get better!
Day 2/300 - Fri 09.05.14
More of the same. Slight bleeding again when I woke up, same area as on Wednesday. THESE THINGS HURT. :( and make me sound ridiculous. I've noticed it's my top-left canine toth that's causing me the most pain, which is the one with the biggest button on it. The temptation to skip meals so I don't have to deal with these bloody things as often is more than appealing right about now. I am not in a good mood :/
Day 3/300 - Sat 10.05.14
Got more ibuprofen, along with some Steradent to soak the trays in. That + a splash of mouthwash + brushing the trays right after I do my teeth = lovely clean trays. Still hurting/not finding it easy to get them in and out though.
Day 4/300 - Sun 11.05.14
Tonight I wore the Invisalign out for the first time properly, to an event held in a bar. My god. First of all, because I really really don't want to be dealing with taking them in and out all the time, I thought OK cool, I'll just drink water. So I loaded up on food beforehand and popped a couple of ibuprofen. It hurt getting them in, so I was already in a bad mood because I didn't want to talk to anyone (my poor boyfriend deserves so much credit for dealing with me). Water was my tipple that night and it was so BORING (though great for my skin). Usually I drink a lot of water on nights out but I think that now everything else was off-limits, it kind of lost its appeal. And speaking? ARGH. I could barely make sense, my 'th' and 's' sounds are absolutely horrible :( I felt awful and really self-conscious, and so just didn't talk much. Which might have been a blessing for some?
Day 5/300 - Mon 12.05.14
A breakthrough! I think I found 'the sweet spot' when it comes to getting the trays out! Was fiddling about (as you do), and found that when I pulled from my problemchild tooth with my nail, after loosening from the sides and then the front, they came a bit more easily. Also went and got some Anbesol and Orajel to try and ease the pain, I don't know how well they'll work though.
Day 6/300 - Tues 13.05.14
Definitely think I am getting the hang of getting the trays in and out now. The bottom is easier to get back in (read: less painful) than the top, definitely. It's all in where you pull them and in what order. For me..start from the outside and work inwards, then with the bottom aligner I have to sort of pull them straight up (and do that one first). For the top, same thing: work inwards from the sides then pull the, WHILE hooking my nail into that problem-child tooth at the front and pull down/out. I also got a crochet hook today as I saw that some people on RealSelf found them useful for removing the trays, but am wondering if I'll even need it. Less pain, too!
day 7/300 - Weds 14.05.14
End of my first Invisalign week! YEAH. Only 37 more to go, haha. Went to take the trays out early this afternoon so I could have something to eat and brush and realised that the bottom one wasn't quite on properly. Was that because I went to sleep with it like that (likely...oops) or because it came loose while I was sleeping? Anyway, got the trays out and bled a little on the upper left side, but I was clawing at them a bit (I have sharp nails) so I think that caused it. I also read in more than one place that Ibuprofen is not the best painkiller for Invisalign or braces wearers, as it's an anti-imflammatory, and teeth can move better when the gums are 'inflamed'. So I got some Panadol instead (equivalent to Tylenol in the US I think?) - paracetamol will be the way foward when I need it.
Week 2
Day 8/300 - Thurs 15.05.14
The Anbesol and Orajel kind of work...though if anyone has any tips on getting the stuff to stay on my gums/teeth rather than sliding all over the place and making my mouth numb, I'd love to hear it!
Tonight before I had dinner, I went to take my trays out. It was a LOT less painful?? Heard a very slight 'crack' sound..I can't see anything wrong with the trays, so pray to God it wasn't my teeth! But it was more fiddly than anything, trying to find where to pull from to get them out. But I'll take (calm) frustration over pain anyday. Going to bed much happier than a week ago! :)
I'm 29 from London, UK. I had braces as a teen, but now my teeth have shifted back, so I'd like to have them straightened out again. I don't have any crowding or twisted teeth etc., so I didn't have to have any teeth filed down or pulled prior to this. Got my Invisalign on the 7th May 2014, with 19 trays and about 14 total attachments/buttons from the start (on my teeth at the sides, so not overly visible). So my time is 38 weeks. That's 266 days...though I wonder if I'll need refinements, so I'm going to count this over 300 days, and hopefully will be finished by next spring!
I've been keeping my own diary since I started, and then I just found RealSelf, so thought I'd share it here :) I'm one week in, so these first few entries are going to be pretty long - apologies (I like writing)! Here goes....
Week 1
Day 0/300 - weds 07.05.14 *tray 1 is in*
So today I got my Invisalign! I...can't say that this is the most fun experience in the world so far. I went to the dentist, and they were all there and ready. First I had my attachments/'buttons' put on (an interesting experience), then my dentist showed me how to get the trays in and out, and gave me my retainer box etc, and the first 5 trays. I have to go back in 10 weeks, which seems like a long time?
Walked around London for a bit feeling very uncomfortable, and lisping like a pro at anyone I had to talk to. When I looked next looked in the mirror (snuck into River Island to try on some jeans...), I noticed that one tooth had started to bleed slightly, which alarmed me, so I got the trays out and into their box, and went home to inspect things. Had some food and very reluctantly put them back in again. It was pretty frickin' painful, I'm not even going to lie. I'll be counting this diary properly from tomorrow. But right now...this really sucks :(
Day 1/300 - Thurs 08.05.14
Today - starting officially with my Invisalign. Managed to wrestle them out/back into my mouth again, but not without a lot of agony. These are killing me. Dosing up on ibuprofen and dreading my next meal - but also feeling very hungry. I do not want to have to take them out/in this evening, but I must. Am doing about 18-20 hours, need to get better!
Day 2/300 - Fri 09.05.14
More of the same. Slight bleeding again when I woke up, same area as on Wednesday. THESE THINGS HURT. :( and make me sound ridiculous. I've noticed it's my top-left canine toth that's causing me the most pain, which is the one with the biggest button on it. The temptation to skip meals so I don't have to deal with these bloody things as often is more than appealing right about now. I am not in a good mood :/
Day 3/300 - Sat 10.05.14
Got more ibuprofen, along with some Steradent to soak the trays in. That + a splash of mouthwash + brushing the trays right after I do my teeth = lovely clean trays. Still hurting/not finding it easy to get them in and out though.
Day 4/300 - Sun 11.05.14
Tonight I wore the Invisalign out for the first time properly, to an event held in a bar. My god. First of all, because I really really don't want to be dealing with taking them in and out all the time, I thought OK cool, I'll just drink water. So I loaded up on food beforehand and popped a couple of ibuprofen. It hurt getting them in, so I was already in a bad mood because I didn't want to talk to anyone (my poor boyfriend deserves so much credit for dealing with me). Water was my tipple that night and it was so BORING (though great for my skin). Usually I drink a lot of water on nights out but I think that now everything else was off-limits, it kind of lost its appeal. And speaking? ARGH. I could barely make sense, my 'th' and 's' sounds are absolutely horrible :( I felt awful and really self-conscious, and so just didn't talk much. Which might have been a blessing for some?
Day 5/300 - Mon 12.05.14
A breakthrough! I think I found 'the sweet spot' when it comes to getting the trays out! Was fiddling about (as you do), and found that when I pulled from my problemchild tooth with my nail, after loosening from the sides and then the front, they came a bit more easily. Also went and got some Anbesol and Orajel to try and ease the pain, I don't know how well they'll work though.
Day 6/300 - Tues 13.05.14
Definitely think I am getting the hang of getting the trays in and out now. The bottom is easier to get back in (read: less painful) than the top, definitely. It's all in where you pull them and in what order. For me..start from the outside and work inwards, then with the bottom aligner I have to sort of pull them straight up (and do that one first). For the top, same thing: work inwards from the sides then pull the, WHILE hooking my nail into that problem-child tooth at the front and pull down/out. I also got a crochet hook today as I saw that some people on RealSelf found them useful for removing the trays, but am wondering if I'll even need it. Less pain, too!
day 7/300 - Weds 14.05.14
End of my first Invisalign week! YEAH. Only 37 more to go, haha. Went to take the trays out early this afternoon so I could have something to eat and brush and realised that the bottom one wasn't quite on properly. Was that because I went to sleep with it like that (likely...oops) or because it came loose while I was sleeping? Anyway, got the trays out and bled a little on the upper left side, but I was clawing at them a bit (I have sharp nails) so I think that caused it. I also read in more than one place that Ibuprofen is not the best painkiller for Invisalign or braces wearers, as it's an anti-imflammatory, and teeth can move better when the gums are 'inflamed'. So I got some Panadol instead (equivalent to Tylenol in the US I think?) - paracetamol will be the way foward when I need it.
Week 2
Day 8/300 - Thurs 15.05.14
The Anbesol and Orajel kind of work...though if anyone has any tips on getting the stuff to stay on my gums/teeth rather than sliding all over the place and making my mouth numb, I'd love to hear it!
Tonight before I had dinner, I went to take my trays out. It was a LOT less painful?? Heard a very slight 'crack' sound..I can't see anything wrong with the trays, so pray to God it wasn't my teeth! But it was more fiddly than anything, trying to find where to pull from to get them out. But I'll take (calm) frustration over pain anyday. Going to bed much happier than a week ago! :)