29 Year Old Female, Crowded Teeth - Minnesota, MN

My teeth have always been kind of crowded, but have gotten much worse over the last few years, including the sideways turning of my front top teeth. I've been very insecure about my smile since noticing how awful they look in pictures, and finally decided to get a consultation.

After researching a few different places, I made my appointment and was told I'm a good candidate for Invisalign. I decided to finally get started fixing my smile. I was even more sold when Dr. H explained the problems I would most likely run into if I let my teeth get worse, including possible tooth and gum decay. No thanks, my teeth are very strong and healthy and I'd like to keep them that way. At my next appointment, the hygienist took 3D pictures of my teeth and bite. I went back a few weeks later and got to see pictures of what my teeth should look like after, and I was so pleased. Dr. H and I discussed a few minor things (top and bottom teeth won't line up straight without extraction and very extended treatment), but everything I wanted to correct looked great to me. We went over expectations, and I was surprised that my treatment time would only be 11 months, or 22 trays.

I went back on October 20th for my first tray. I needed 12 attachments, so the hygienist cleaned the necessary teeth, put little globs of adhesive in a duplicate tray, put the trays in, and hit them with a light to solidify them. I'm not going to lie, taking the trays out after was really uncomfortable. She snapped the actual tray into place and coached me through taking them out myself. Again, uncomfortable. She thoroughly explained how to care for them, and gave me two cases and two more sets of trays. I didn't eat the rest of the day because I was too scared to take them out.

Today I have had them for one week. The first couple days were rather uncomfortable, not painful but more of a pressure on my teeth. I had a slight lisp, but that went away after I was more used to the feeling of them being in. By the third day they felt much easier to pop out. They really haven't changed my routine too much, I just keep a travel toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and wisps in my purse for on the go. A few times I just rinsed my mouth really good with water, put them back in, and brushed as soon as I got home. I also brush the braces in the morning and at night, because they do get kinda gross. And kinda smelly.

My only real complaint so far is that the attachments irritate my mouth when eating, and they're really sharp. A couple of teeth towards the front have two attachments on them and scrape my lip. The back and front of my bottom brace irritated my tongue and lip too, but I lightly filed them with a new nail file and it really helped. They aren't as invisible as I'd thought they'd be, but no one that I haven't told seems to have noticed. All in all, I'm happy that I'm finally on my way to a great, more confident smile.

Well I made it to the second set of trays without incident. I followed the advice of a lot of people on this site and changed trays at night, took some Advil PM and went to sleep. The new tray didn't interrupt my sleep at all, which I was pleased about. I was surprised at how tightly my next set fit when I snapped it in, probably because the first set was fairly loose towards the end. The discomfort didn't feel nearly as bad as the first tray though, probably because I'm used to the feeling now. My teeth are still pretty tender when chewing and right when I put my aligners back in, but it's not too bad. My attachments seem to be dulling down a little more too, so they're not as irritating.

So far they haven't been much of an inconvenience at all, and the changes in routine have been minimal. The only concern I really have is that I seem to clench my molars together a lot now, and by the time I realize I'm doing it my jaw and teeth are kinda sore. I especially seem to do it in my sleep. Wonder if this is just me adjusting to the aligners?

So I've had my Invisalign for a little over a month now. On Monday I went to my orthodontist appointment, and everything was looking good so he gave me the next 10 weeks worth, because I live over 2 hours away. I'll go back for another check up in 10 weeks, or if anything comes up I can give him a call. Not a whole lot to report. Teeth are a little sore today, but don't seem as bad as with previous trays. Although I don't think I see any movement yet, flossing is definitely easier, some of my bottom teeth were so crowded it was difficult to get floss between them, but not an issue anymore. So that must be a good sign!

I've pretty much got my routine down now, and really it's not hardly an inconvenience at all. I must admit that over Thanksgiving I did go out a couple nights where drinks were served. I didn't want to leave my trays out while at these parties so I did drink some vodka/sprites throughout the night, then cleaned my teeth really good and the trays after the party. And even though I think they look obvious, nobody else has noticed until I point them out. I do still have a slight lisp at times, particularly in the morning or if I get talking fast, but it's kind of funny. I also don't feel the need to smooth the fronts of my trays anymore, they don't bother my mouth anymore and neither do the attachments. So far so good!