POSTED UNDER Invisalign Reviews
My Experience with Invisalign~ - Melbourne, AU
UPDATED FROM smiley_chloe
7 months post
Tray 15
Hi everyone,
I do apologise for not updating people in such a long time. The reason being is that nothing much has changed (and in a good way!)
For starters, the pain is absolutely minimal. The only pain I ever get is when I switch my trays. My ortho gave me a chew toy to ensure that the aligners are set in. It's just a piece of rubber, but i feel like it does so much more. Every time i put my aligners back in, I chew them down. I find that this is much helpful than pushing down as it causes less pain. It's also piece of mind knowing that your aligner is in the right spot. I've read posts where people had thought that their aligner was in the right spot but actually weren't. This delayed and changed their treatment plan.
One of my buttons have fallen off, my ortho is happy for it to be off for the time being as it'll keep falling off as my bite changes. Also, I had 2 buttons on that tooth, so the one remaining still keep it aligned with the aligner.
In regards to bites changing, I've noticed that by the end of the 2 weeks (At time to switch) that my aligners are frayed along where my teeth rub. So it feels great to switch them out and get new ones in because that rough feeling is not very pleasant to run your tongue over.
Because my bite and teeth are moving I also have to pay extra attention to flossing. When I first started I used to floss twice a day, currently I have to floss after every meal as food gets stuck in-between the smallest of places - brushing simply does reach all the places.
Eating wise, I take them out for all main meals. The other day I was brave enough to try an apple. I first attempted it without the aligners in. I didn't get very far, my teeth felt very fragile and felt that another bite may cause a button to fall of, or worse, my tooth to chip. I then put my aligners back in and started to eat the apple with the aligners in. Once I finished the apple, i took my aligners out, and gave them a quick rinse and put them back in. I had no staining or discolouration - which was great!
I also started drinking other drinks (besides water) in them..WITH A STRAW! I only do this towards the end of the aligner cycle (by day 12-14) - mainly because I know that if they stain, I'll change them out soon. I find that they slightly discolour depending on the drink, but if you drink fast and rinse quickly then the chances of staining are minimal.
I also experimented on my last day of tray 12 with an allen's lollies (a snake). I strongly recommend avoiding these because they stain despite rinsing. Or if you do go to enjoy a snake, chew at the back so that the front bit does not stain. If you let it dissolve it'll stain, as does chewing.
Not many people have realised that I wear the aligners, it's only when they're right up in my face do they notice the attachments and what not. My speech has improved drastically. I speak normally again!
I'm not even half way (only on tray 15 of 42) - but I already see progress. My extraction gaps are slowly closing in and are starting to look some what normal. I'll try to upload some photos - but it's just too hard, I'm too self conscious!!
Till next time ;)
I do apologise for not updating people in such a long time. The reason being is that nothing much has changed (and in a good way!)
For starters, the pain is absolutely minimal. The only pain I ever get is when I switch my trays. My ortho gave me a chew toy to ensure that the aligners are set in. It's just a piece of rubber, but i feel like it does so much more. Every time i put my aligners back in, I chew them down. I find that this is much helpful than pushing down as it causes less pain. It's also piece of mind knowing that your aligner is in the right spot. I've read posts where people had thought that their aligner was in the right spot but actually weren't. This delayed and changed their treatment plan.
One of my buttons have fallen off, my ortho is happy for it to be off for the time being as it'll keep falling off as my bite changes. Also, I had 2 buttons on that tooth, so the one remaining still keep it aligned with the aligner.
In regards to bites changing, I've noticed that by the end of the 2 weeks (At time to switch) that my aligners are frayed along where my teeth rub. So it feels great to switch them out and get new ones in because that rough feeling is not very pleasant to run your tongue over.
Because my bite and teeth are moving I also have to pay extra attention to flossing. When I first started I used to floss twice a day, currently I have to floss after every meal as food gets stuck in-between the smallest of places - brushing simply does reach all the places.
Eating wise, I take them out for all main meals. The other day I was brave enough to try an apple. I first attempted it without the aligners in. I didn't get very far, my teeth felt very fragile and felt that another bite may cause a button to fall of, or worse, my tooth to chip. I then put my aligners back in and started to eat the apple with the aligners in. Once I finished the apple, i took my aligners out, and gave them a quick rinse and put them back in. I had no staining or discolouration - which was great!
I also started drinking other drinks (besides water) in them..WITH A STRAW! I only do this towards the end of the aligner cycle (by day 12-14) - mainly because I know that if they stain, I'll change them out soon. I find that they slightly discolour depending on the drink, but if you drink fast and rinse quickly then the chances of staining are minimal.
I also experimented on my last day of tray 12 with an allen's lollies (a snake). I strongly recommend avoiding these because they stain despite rinsing. Or if you do go to enjoy a snake, chew at the back so that the front bit does not stain. If you let it dissolve it'll stain, as does chewing.
Not many people have realised that I wear the aligners, it's only when they're right up in my face do they notice the attachments and what not. My speech has improved drastically. I speak normally again!
I'm not even half way (only on tray 15 of 42) - but I already see progress. My extraction gaps are slowly closing in and are starting to look some what normal. I'll try to upload some photos - but it's just too hard, I'm too self conscious!!
Till next time ;)
Replies (0)
UPDATED FROM smiley_chloe
2 months post
TRAY 4
Just a quick update on things…
Tray 2 was a breeze, felt exactly the same as tray 1. No pain, no discomfort, easy to remove and insert.
Tray 3. Progress definitely evident now. My back teeth are aligning up and slowly moving into the extraction site. My front upper two teeth haven't really been pushed back as yet, but the teeth around it are. There are minor gaps between my teeth now. I haven't really noticed any progress on my bottom teeth.
No one (in the 6 weeks) has really noticed besides a few people who wear them or know someone else who wears them. You can't see the buttons - sometimes I don't even realise they're there. The fake tooth to me though is definitely visible up close; I'm not really sure what it looks like from afar. I can't wait to be up to tray 10 and done with the gaps!!!
Today I went in to pick up trays 4,5,6 and 7. I'll go back to see my ortho in 8 weeks to pick up the next few (of 42). At my consultation today, my ortho asked how it was, how I was finding it; He had a look at the tray I was wearing to ensure that it was fitting well, asked me to remove them, and then got me to insert tray 4. The appointment was about 10 mins. I even got to watch my clinchecks again and see what stage my teeth was up to, and where I would be in 6 weeks at the next appointment!
Having a new tray in is definitely sore for the first few hours and for me, it definitely impacts my speech - when a new tray goes in, I feel like it doesn't fit in as comfy, I feel like it doesn't really hug my back teeth properly, so whenever I talk I feel the two trays bounce of each other. This is why I removed tray 4 in the car and popped tray 3 back in; Tonight, i'll pop in tray 4 and hopefully in the morning will have minimal pain and discomfort in both removing and inserting them.
See you in 8 weeks!!
Tray 2 was a breeze, felt exactly the same as tray 1. No pain, no discomfort, easy to remove and insert.
Tray 3. Progress definitely evident now. My back teeth are aligning up and slowly moving into the extraction site. My front upper two teeth haven't really been pushed back as yet, but the teeth around it are. There are minor gaps between my teeth now. I haven't really noticed any progress on my bottom teeth.
No one (in the 6 weeks) has really noticed besides a few people who wear them or know someone else who wears them. You can't see the buttons - sometimes I don't even realise they're there. The fake tooth to me though is definitely visible up close; I'm not really sure what it looks like from afar. I can't wait to be up to tray 10 and done with the gaps!!!
Today I went in to pick up trays 4,5,6 and 7. I'll go back to see my ortho in 8 weeks to pick up the next few (of 42). At my consultation today, my ortho asked how it was, how I was finding it; He had a look at the tray I was wearing to ensure that it was fitting well, asked me to remove them, and then got me to insert tray 4. The appointment was about 10 mins. I even got to watch my clinchecks again and see what stage my teeth was up to, and where I would be in 6 weeks at the next appointment!
Having a new tray in is definitely sore for the first few hours and for me, it definitely impacts my speech - when a new tray goes in, I feel like it doesn't fit in as comfy, I feel like it doesn't really hug my back teeth properly, so whenever I talk I feel the two trays bounce of each other. This is why I removed tray 4 in the car and popped tray 3 back in; Tonight, i'll pop in tray 4 and hopefully in the morning will have minimal pain and discomfort in both removing and inserting them.
See you in 8 weeks!!
Are you contemplating getting them as well?
I'm currently on tray 15 and will switch to 16 - I'll write a quick update soon!