28yrs old - Invisalign to Fix Crowded Lower Teeth and out of Alignment Tops

So my trays are being switched at 10 days for this one and the next couple. Im glad they start moving on a bit quicker now cuz 2 weeks seems too long and they don't wear as well as I would like and get a bit gross despite cleaning and scrubbing them all the time.

I have another sore throat but my son came back from nursery with a cold last week and me and his dad ended up I'll over the bank holiday with it. Its just frustrating because this is now the 3rd headcold for me in a little over a month and I do think it impacts on the invisalign because they seem to get gross more quickly and also because my throat is swollen and sore I either need to keep taking them out to drink warm/coloured liquids to relieve it or they just generally feel uncomfortable - like I have a full mouth all the time. I also feel like it's taking longer to get over the sore throat and I'm pretty sure that is because of the invisalign and needing to have my hands in and out to remove them. I always wash my hands first but have long nails (makes it easier to get the trays in and out tbh) but I know bacteria could still be underneath the nail and not helping. Still no ulcers which I am really pleased about because I was quote worried about them. I sometimes suffer with long lasting huge ones normally but I feel like the gums around the attachments have just hardened ever so slightly, enough to cope with the rubbing.

This tray had no nasty lip on it and generally felt quite comfortable other than the usual day or 2 pressure but the very back bottom of one side did/does feel a bit loose for some reason. I don't think those teeth need to shift so much anyway and am hoping it won't be an issue later but its just a bit randomn.

I will do pictures in a couple of trays time but at this point there isn't anything to show.

I do keep comparing my first set of trays with what I can see through the packet of tray 6 (the current last one I have at home) to see if there is a differnece by then, I think there is although o my very slight and won't be noticeable from the front.

So I'm now 4 days into tray 2. I had to change 2 days earlier than my 2 weeks as I had managed to split tray 1 down the middle of the front top teeth so they were gaping and not fitted properly. - I checked with my ortho first.

Tbh nothing too much to report on this as there is no obvious movement at this point. As far as my illness goes, it's mostly cleared up although I still have a slight coming and going of a sore throat at times but lots of people have actually complained of viruses similar recently and I am susceptable to sore throats and mouth ulcers anyway.
Happy to report no mouth ulcers though... :)

Tray 2 was more irritating in that there was a definite lip of plastic inside the bottom aligner that tray 1 didn't have. I tried filing it down and it didn't really help so I resorted to melting it (bad idea) and overdone it slightly and warped the back a bit so have used ortho gum and it now seems ok.

I still have tender teeth when taking in and out despite being a few days in and I almost feel like my teeth and wobbly and going to fall out! It's a bit weird tbh.

I am trying to be good with the amount of time I leave them out but its harder than I thought particularly if I want a few drinks or something. I am probably averaging 21 hours in with a couple of days hanging around the 20 hours mark. I don't think I've gone much under 20hrs if at all but although I started well with timing how long they were out I am now already getting lazy which is a bad idea.

Im being good with cleaning and these don't smell so I know the last tray was just cuz I was ill as it stopped after I started to get better and was on antibiotocs. My oral hygiene is better now than it ever has been I think... It wasn't bad before but I definitely didn't brush after every time I ate or had a cup of tea whereas I do now!

More to follow.

So far I'm only 4 days in. The experiance with my orthodontist has been brilliant. I saw him 1st for the consult and the molds, 2nd time to go through the clincheck video and ask questions and 3rd to have the aligned fitted on Thursday.
Last weekend, before the aligners were fitted I had a stonking head cold which lasted until Monday. I felt like I had been hit by a car. I was mostly better other than a bit of residual snot by the time I went to the ortho for fitting.
I also note that I had also been to the hygienist elsewhere a week before to get my teeth scaled in preparation and my gums had been torn to shreds by her and I had a load of mouth ulcers - I mention this because I am also on my last 2 weeks of Accuntane (2nd course - separate review) and it is known to make you heal slower and your skin to be more sensitive and easier to cut/bruise etc but I wasn't sure if it was the hygienist a bit too as she was very rough and I've never had such a painful experiance getting my teeth cleaned. I spat blood for an hr after. I've felt generally rubbish on this course of accutane as well and haven't been able to exercise effectively either so I just think my body is having a hard time at the mo.

So anyway.... trays and attachments went on fine. My ortho had been very clear about the attachments and IPR so I am fully informed and I was expecting discomfort (particularly being on accutane still) but it all went swimmingly and didn't hurt at all.
He was also clear that invisalign would never make my teeth quite perfect as one of my bottom ones has rotated so it's practically side on to fill a gap left by another tooth and while it will be better, it'll never stand fully straight and upright. I also have receding gums on a few teeth.
I am ok with this as I had 2 quotations from different orthos and the other quoted £2900 for metal braces, £3600 for ceramic braces and £4500 for invisalign (without my retainer at the end) but also told me the same thing about that tooth. I take it as a good sign that they were upfront with this so I don't have unrealistic expectations.
The person I went with eventually quoted for the whitening and retainer all in and I get unlimited trays (29 to start) but he was also clear I would likely need more refinements after...

On Friday my teeth just hurt from the pressure and i had jaw ache from clenching a bit which I don't normally do. Only some slight irritation from my attachments - of which there are quite a few. I think I have 22 attachments including 2 each on my front top. Im expecting another mouthfull of ulcers whilst i adjust to these as i have been susceptible to them since I stopped smoking 5yrs ago.
So on my second night (Friday) of wearing them I felt a funny taste in the back of my mouth as I went to bed (trays had been cleaned in retainer brite during the day) and I woke up on Saturday with a really sore throat which progressively got worse throughout the day.
I went out for the evening but left early because I felt rubbish and was losing my voice and feeling a bit flu like.

It's one of those weird ones that it's very likely a coincidence and I hadn't fully got over what I had last weekend so the infection has just come back/got worse with me sticking a dodgy foreign object in my mouth and putting my fingers in and out multiple times a day. However I am being good with the cleaning and have today (Sunday) cleaned the aligners twice in retainer brite and also with a toothbrush/warm water everytime i remove them because if i do have an infection it's not going to be good to keep putting them in and out without proper cleaning between. I've also been gargling salt water to help my throat.

I have noticed the aligners already smell a bit - also hence the extra cleaning and I don't know if that's normal after just 4 days or whether its because my throat is infected. It is all red and sore and I'm a bit flemmy from my nose and throat still so quite likely it's gross bacteria getting in them. EWWW!

I have read in places online that some people have a reaction to the plastic that causes symptoms and can be mild or severe (and along the lines of what I've got sometimes) but because I wasn't fully better before these went in I think I need to give it the benefit of the doubt for a few more days and see if I get over this. Today (Sunday) I can barely talk, my voice is very hoarse and I've been sent home from work. I clearly have laryngitis which is annoying as I thought I was better after last weekend.

I took antihistamines but it hasn't helped tbh so thinking not an allergy to them at this point.
I have already left a (terrible and likely far too quiet/raspy) voicemail with the ortho though that hopefully they will pick up in the morning to get their advice on whether it could be an allergy and how to deal with aligners even if it is just an infection as it is even less hygenic to keep them in with gross infection saliva getting in everywhere.

It's weird because my throat and mouth do feel better without the trays in but of course that's going to be normal if my throat is sore and mucusy/feeling closed up but I don't really want to take them out for a day or 2 and set myself back if this is a simple infection that I can treat with them still in somehow...
I'll update again soon!