37 y/o Aussie Female. Straightening crooked teeth again. Have root resorption from braces as a teen. Melbourne, AUS

So I have finally taken the plunge to straighten my teeth once and for all. I had braces when I was a young teenager. I went to an Orthodontist in a large country town. My first experience wasn’t great. He told me I had to have 4 (good) permanent teeth removed as my mouth was too small for all my teeth! After the braces eventually came off after 2 and a half years, he only gave me a plate to wear on the top because “generally you don’t need one for the lowers”. Boy was he wrong. Within a few months my lower front teeth had started to move back towards their home. Anyway, to cut a long story short, he gave me some contraption to wear over my 4 front teeth that looked like pink bubble gum and I gave up wearing that after a couple of months as I was embarrassed to wear it and high school was already a difficult place to be without adding extra stress to it. I also didn’t want to go back into braces, so never got that rectified. My wisdom teeth came through as an adult and filled the space that had been created from braces and my 4 missing teeth so now my lower teeth have moved back pretty much into their original position. So years later, here I am, taking the plunge to straighten my teeth once and for all!

My trip to the Orthodontist went really well. I was shocked to know that I could get Invisalign and even more SHOCKED when they told me I wouldn’t have to have any teeth out!! (I really should sue my old Ortho). Got my teeth scanned and after a 1 month trip away in South East Asia, I am back to commence my Invisalign journey.

On day one I went to the Ortho to pick up my first set of trays and get my attachments. I have 14 in total. Only one is really visible (well to me anyway) which is located on one of my upper canines. I have 28 trays in total! Phew, this is going to be a long journey. I also had my first teeth shaving done between the lower 2 front teeth. Sounded horrible but didn't hurt at all. I have more of that to come in the future.

The first few days it didn’t really hurt that much. Slightly tender but I could still eat regular food which surprised me. Taking them out the first time at home was harder than when I had practiced at the Ortho. Took me about 10 minutes and I managed to somehow get my bottom lip stuck under the sides of the aligner so had 2 cuts either side of my lip! I wasn’t going to make that mistake again! I have learnt which direction to take them off based on where the attachments are and have pretty much got the knack of it now. The only real issue I have now is that the lower tray does not sit as snug on my teeth as the top one does. You can see a very small gap above the front 4 teeth, yet its snug around the molars. Does anyone else have this issue? I called the Ortho on the second day worried that I wasn’t putting them in properly or maybe the attachments are slightly in the wrong place. They just said keep going with the chewie which I have been but it’s still not rectified it. I will be speaking to the Ortho when I see them in 5 weeks time. I also want to see how I go with the 2nd tray to see if it’s the same.

Wearing the aligners at work hasn’t really been an issue. My first day I was a bit lispy but that has nearly gone away as I guess my mouth is getting used to them. No one notices them unless I tell them I have Invisalign and the majority say “Invisa-who?”. Oh you with your perfect teeth! Why would you know what that is! Brushing my teeth in the bathroom is quite funny. I am having a lot of conversations with the ladies on the floor when they come to use the bathroom and I’m standing at the sink. They are starting to get used to seeing me in there every lunch brushing and flossing.

So wearing them for minimum 22 hours a day has been OK but I have been cutting things out of my daily routine. Only 1 coffee a day in the morning with breakfast and that is chugged down really quickly! No more snacks between meals. And no more sipping on wine all evening!

To do this I feel you have to be disciplined. I am trying to stick with the 22 hours a day rule so that I don’t make my journey any longer than it has to be. I’m also really glad I delayed my treatment until after I got back from my holiday in Asia, that would have been an utter nightmare! You can’t drink the water over there and in some places the bathrooms are less than hygienic. I also wouldn’t have had as good of a time being restricted to only being able to eat and drink 2 hours out of every day!

I’m looking forward to tray 2. I’m sure this one won’t be as easy or as nice to me as tray 1, but here’s hoping.

More pics from day 1

Putting tray 2 in I could feel it was a much tighter fit than the first which was good. However not too much pain in the first few days. So happy days for me again on this tray.

Tray 2 has a funny indent on my top front tooth which I am not too happy about because I think its quite visible. I’m wondering if this is to try to pull down the tooth that is a little shorter than the other one. I’ve attached photos so you can see what it looks like. Has anyone else had this on their aligners?

I also seem to be having the whole gap thing on the lower with these 2nd trays. I have been biting down on the chewie so much since they told me to keep at it my jaw is starting to ache! If tray 3 is the same I will definitely bring this up at my next ortho visit.

I’ve been reading lots of other reviews and notice a LOT of people having issues with the trays and attachments hurting their gums and inside of their mouths. I have not had this issue at all. I haven’t had to file any of my trays so far. Is it because of the high price I am paying for my treatment with a Diamond provider ortho? I have no issues with the attachments. The ortho buffed them down after they were attached so this is obviously why. I think I am either very lucky or I have a very good ortho.

Not much else to add. Everything is going OK apart from the fact that I miss drinking coffee and red wine as much as I used to and having to so quickly brush after eating! It’s no fun.