POSTED UNDER Invisalign REVIEWS
Finally Got Invisalign! - Melbourne, Australia
ORIGINAL POST
I got my Invisalign on Thursday, four days ago now...
Bec1234July 26, 2014
$8,200
I got my Invisalign on Thursday, four days ago now. Getting the impressions done of teeth and everything was all pretty easy. On Thursday I had some teeth filed and the attachments put on my teeth. It was uncomfortable but not really painful.
\
The first two days were pretty horrible. Straight after getting them I had to go to work and then the Friday I had an early shift (I'm a nurse) so I didn't have a lot of time to get used to them. Taking them in and out to begin with was so horrible. I thought I was going to rip my teeth out, and I found it difficult to reattach the elastics. On the Friday night, the second day I'd had them, I had to go straight from work to meet friends at a sport event. All the bathrooms had shared sinks and I didn't feel confident taking them in and out yet so I pretty much just didn't eat until I got home that night at midnight. By this stage the aligners had starting cutting into my upper lip and it was very painful and I was hungry and really upset about getting them and worried I'd made a really bad decision. At home all I had to eat was mashed potato because my teeth were aching so much I couldn't chew!
It's now Sunday (had them for about four days) and things are already starting to get easier. They're already easier to take in and out. It hasn't been the tension on the teeth that's bothered me, it's been the plastic cutting into my mouth. My tongues been fine, it's really only the part where the elastics attach at the front. After doing some reading on here (it's been so helpful!!) I filed the plastic a little bit and have bought some orthodontic wax which has really made it better. I'm not sure whether the filing or wax had helped more because I did both at the same time. My mouth is already starting to heal.
The other thing is I have a pretty bad lisp which is very noticeable to my friends and family. Fingers crossed it goes away!!
\
The first two days were pretty horrible. Straight after getting them I had to go to work and then the Friday I had an early shift (I'm a nurse) so I didn't have a lot of time to get used to them. Taking them in and out to begin with was so horrible. I thought I was going to rip my teeth out, and I found it difficult to reattach the elastics. On the Friday night, the second day I'd had them, I had to go straight from work to meet friends at a sport event. All the bathrooms had shared sinks and I didn't feel confident taking them in and out yet so I pretty much just didn't eat until I got home that night at midnight. By this stage the aligners had starting cutting into my upper lip and it was very painful and I was hungry and really upset about getting them and worried I'd made a really bad decision. At home all I had to eat was mashed potato because my teeth were aching so much I couldn't chew!
It's now Sunday (had them for about four days) and things are already starting to get easier. They're already easier to take in and out. It hasn't been the tension on the teeth that's bothered me, it's been the plastic cutting into my mouth. My tongues been fine, it's really only the part where the elastics attach at the front. After doing some reading on here (it's been so helpful!!) I filed the plastic a little bit and have bought some orthodontic wax which has really made it better. I'm not sure whether the filing or wax had helped more because I did both at the same time. My mouth is already starting to heal.
The other thing is I have a pretty bad lisp which is very noticeable to my friends and family. Fingers crossed it goes away!!
Replies (7)
July 29, 2014
Hello, and welcome to our community!!! I think your teeth are adorable the way they are, but they'll be lovely when they're nice and straight as well :D
Glad to hear that everything improved by 4 days. That's what we hope to hear :). In the future, maybe even two or three! Especially since you got both attachments, aligners, and elastics from the first. That's a lot to get used to at once! I'm so glad you found others' tips useful in getting through those rough days.
Have you met our other Aussies? We have a growing number here in the community, some of whom have elastics. I'll throw some reviews your way below here, and star the ones with elastics:
Nadinelliana*, CJ13, SophieD, Astrodog21, littleoz, Crooky24, Sunluvva*, smilemelb, Dante555, Malnic, and Megastar.
If you'd like more with elastics specifically, let me know :).
I look forward to following your progress!
Glad to hear that everything improved by 4 days. That's what we hope to hear :). In the future, maybe even two or three! Especially since you got both attachments, aligners, and elastics from the first. That's a lot to get used to at once! I'm so glad you found others' tips useful in getting through those rough days.
Have you met our other Aussies? We have a growing number here in the community, some of whom have elastics. I'll throw some reviews your way below here, and star the ones with elastics:
Nadinelliana*, CJ13, SophieD, Astrodog21, littleoz, Crooky24, Sunluvva*, smilemelb, Dante555, Malnic, and Megastar.
If you'd like more with elastics specifically, let me know :).
I look forward to following your progress!
July 29, 2014
Hi TwoPlusOne! Thanks so much :) I just had a look at your Invisalign experience, it's motivating to see such great results!
July 30, 2014
Thank you for looking :). My teeth were pretty mild--I only had 15 aligners +6 refinements--but I'm so much happier with my smile now!
July 29, 2014
Hi! I'm from Sydney and I got mine on the 15th of July so I'm a little more ahead of you (but not by much). My pain/uncomfortableness lasted for about 5 days but then it went away. I've become much more confident taking these bad boys off in public and I'm always brushing my teeth at work. My friends understand and a few others look at me a little strange but not enough to worry me.
I'm putting on my second tray tonight and I'm freaking because I don't want to have to go back to the pain and the cut tongue and the ortho wax but I guess it will be worth it in the end. The orthodontic wax was my best friend for the first 5 days!!
How many trays do you need?
July 29, 2014
Hey! I need 38 trays, I'm dreading putting in my second one as well.. Hope it was ok! I've found it a lot easier now I have a routine and can do it more quickly thankfully :) it's still not the best look though!
July 30, 2014
Hang in there! It definitely gets better the more and more you get used to it, I promise! I didn't have to do elastics, but I have a ton of "buttons" so my trays are quite noticeable. As time goes on, you worry less about the obviousness of them and look forward to straighter teeth. Good luck!
August 21, 2014
Hi! Wondering whether you got over that hump all right, with the discomfort? You should have switched trays a couple of times by now?
UPDATED FROM Bec1234
6 months post
Invisalign to BRACES!
Bec1234January 14, 2015
SO!
I decided invisalign wasn’t for me and have switched to braces and I am sooo much happier. I was up to tray 7 of 38. I’ve had the braces for about 3 months now.
There are a few reasons I made this decision.
1. Rushing to eat and drink socially and not being able to easily snack at work
2. I just got sick have having them in my mouth all the time. They would fill up with saliva when I slept and by the end of a tray I couldn’t wait to switch because they were so gross
3. I started dreading putting them back in and was becoming non-compliant
4. They still affected my speech and I had to really think about pronouncing words properly
5. I hated the big gaps left between my teeth from the filing/IPR even though I know they would have closed eventually, but I became super anxious at the thought of having IPR between my front teeth. I was worried it made my teeth look pointier and I hated having massive chunks of food stuck between my teeth.
I did my research before getting invisalign and was aware all these things may occur. I was ok for the first two months and then slowly became more and more sick of all these little things! My main worry was I was becoming non-compliant with having them in 22 hours a day, and knowing that the need for refinements is already common I didn’t want to sabotage my own treatment even further. I was going to have 38 trays and was only up to number 7, so not even a quarter of the way. I think that thought was the main thing that made me decide to switch to braces. Having all that time to go (plus refinements) was a horrible thought! If I had of been say, half way through a shorter treatment, I probably would have stuck it out. I tend to go out for meals very often and then drinks so I’d be torn between leaving them in to drink and stain them and make them yucky or leave them out, sometimes for hours at a time.
I’m very happy with the braces. Yes, they’re uglier, but the invisalign wasn’t invisable so I think it’s almost better now because people can straight away tell I have braces rather than thinking what does she have in her mouth. Having the braces on has been less painful then the initial invisalign tray, maybe because my teeth had already been moved. My ortho was very good about me changing over and hasn’t charged any extra. The original cost of braces would have been about $1000 less than the braces so I’ve lost out on that but I’m not worried because I gave it a shot. Apparently I’ll have the braces on for the same amount of time as I would have had Invisalign. My teeth became practically straight immediately so I think it’s all about correcting my bite now.
I would still recommend Invisalign to others, but only if you have a short treatment time (I think 38 plus possibly refinements is wayyy too many!) and don’t need any/too much IPR. They’re a good alternative if the thought of being a brace face really really bothers you!
Hope this info is helpful to someone!! I’ll post a photo when I finally get them off!
I decided invisalign wasn’t for me and have switched to braces and I am sooo much happier. I was up to tray 7 of 38. I’ve had the braces for about 3 months now.
There are a few reasons I made this decision.
1. Rushing to eat and drink socially and not being able to easily snack at work
2. I just got sick have having them in my mouth all the time. They would fill up with saliva when I slept and by the end of a tray I couldn’t wait to switch because they were so gross
3. I started dreading putting them back in and was becoming non-compliant
4. They still affected my speech and I had to really think about pronouncing words properly
5. I hated the big gaps left between my teeth from the filing/IPR even though I know they would have closed eventually, but I became super anxious at the thought of having IPR between my front teeth. I was worried it made my teeth look pointier and I hated having massive chunks of food stuck between my teeth.
I did my research before getting invisalign and was aware all these things may occur. I was ok for the first two months and then slowly became more and more sick of all these little things! My main worry was I was becoming non-compliant with having them in 22 hours a day, and knowing that the need for refinements is already common I didn’t want to sabotage my own treatment even further. I was going to have 38 trays and was only up to number 7, so not even a quarter of the way. I think that thought was the main thing that made me decide to switch to braces. Having all that time to go (plus refinements) was a horrible thought! If I had of been say, half way through a shorter treatment, I probably would have stuck it out. I tend to go out for meals very often and then drinks so I’d be torn between leaving them in to drink and stain them and make them yucky or leave them out, sometimes for hours at a time.
I’m very happy with the braces. Yes, they’re uglier, but the invisalign wasn’t invisable so I think it’s almost better now because people can straight away tell I have braces rather than thinking what does she have in her mouth. Having the braces on has been less painful then the initial invisalign tray, maybe because my teeth had already been moved. My ortho was very good about me changing over and hasn’t charged any extra. The original cost of braces would have been about $1000 less than the braces so I’ve lost out on that but I’m not worried because I gave it a shot. Apparently I’ll have the braces on for the same amount of time as I would have had Invisalign. My teeth became practically straight immediately so I think it’s all about correcting my bite now.
I would still recommend Invisalign to others, but only if you have a short treatment time (I think 38 plus possibly refinements is wayyy too many!) and don’t need any/too much IPR. They’re a good alternative if the thought of being a brace face really really bothers you!
Hope this info is helpful to someone!! I’ll post a photo when I finally get them off!
Replies (3)
January 14, 2015
You know, I ws just having this conversation with my husband last night. I am on tray #7 of 12, so I feel like I will be done soon, so I am being optimistic. If I had another 30 to go, I would have quit too... I am more sick of them now than I was at the beginning. The novelty and excitement wore off and it is just annoying now. I am sooo glad my treatment plan was changed to only 12 trays. I am not sure if there will be any change at the end, but at least I will stick it out. I am glad you are happy.
January 14, 2015
That's wonderful to hear that you made a decision and are happy with it! I think braces are adorable--not ugly at all! This idea of braces being ugly is something that children thought up to tease each other. We don't have to worry about that, as adults. It's like jewelry for your teeth! My daughter has them and they're beautiful on her as well. You'll have a fabulous result, I just know it! Are you going to start a braces review? Because I can link these two reviews together, so that people following you will know where your new review is. We do it all the time :D
Congratulations!
January 14, 2015
I totally understand you. If I was at a different point in my life (i.e. younger and more socially active) I too would find it difficult coping with Invisalign such as not being able to drink anything but water and eating out. Good to hear your Ortho did not charge you for the switch, I bet you will get a very nice result with braces. Good luck!
Replies (1)