POSTED UNDER Invisalign REVIEWS
24 Year Old, Invisalign/Propel User :) - Orlando, FL
ORIGINAL POST
Hi all, I just started my invisalign treatment,...
WORTH IT$3,436
Hi all,
I just started my invisalign treatment, so I am 1 week in. I've always wanted to do braces, but never got the chance to. When I was younger I was offered to do braces for cosmetic reasons, and I said no because I wanted to be cool brace-less. I regret it now, but better late than never.
I'm currently living in Orlando doing a grad internship with Disney and thought what better way to work on myself than investing in invisalign. I found a groupon to do invisalign for 2800 (24 aligners). I was thrilled and couldn't say no. The dentist is also an elite invisalign provider. They offered 2 plans - 2800 (in full) for 24 (sets) and 3900 (payment plan, 1800 down) for unlimited. After receiving my plan I learned I needed 25 so I opted for the groupon deal and paid 136 for the extra aligner. I also opted to do the propel treatment, which stimulates the bone by creating micro-perforations near the gum line to make teeth movement easier. Essentially it is drilling little holes all around your gums. I paid 500 for both 2 treatments. (1 now and 1 in 3 months).
I was very excited to get started. They used this machine to scan my teeth, which created the aligners. 2 weeks later I was back at the dentist to get the first one fitted. I have 25 for top teeth and 18 for lower. This was the first time I also opted to do propel.
I think everyone may be impacted by this differently, but my propel treatment wasn't a great experience. I was given topical anesthesia, but during the procedure I could still feel a wince of pain the deeper it was screwed in. I voiced this and the dentist added more. He said others described it as getting food wedged in between your teeth. I just call it...ouch. The top teeth were pretty much fine after he numbed it again. The bottom teeth were significantly more painful and sensitive during the procedure and after. We aren't allowed to do anti-flammatories so I was advised to take Tylenol. I was told I'd feel some soreness...but WOWZA I felt like my entire mouth was aching a pain I've never felt before.
I do pretty well with dental work and pain, but as soon as I left the office I started crying my eyes out. I think I was in shock about how much it hurt. I immediately went to buy Tylenol and found out I couldn't use orajel either. I called out of work, slept it off, and by the evening it still hurt, particularly the bottom teeth. I called back and they prescribed me medication (tylenol 3). I was impressed by how caring the dental office was, they called a few times to check up on me. After I got the medication, I did feel a little better, but it wasn't until 3 days later that I completely didn't feel any pain.
Things I'd Do Different (with Propel):
-Take Tylenol BEFORE procedure to help with pain
-Take time off to rest after
-If you feel significant pain, ask for medication and don't wait for hours later
-Buy soup, pasta, soft foods for those few days
Other than that, I am happy because this week went by pretty smoothly. The aligners fit on very easily by the end of the week. Now that I have the propel treatment, I will change aligners every week instead of 2. I have my second apt and cleaning tomorrow so I will give updates and post pics after that!
I just started my invisalign treatment, so I am 1 week in. I've always wanted to do braces, but never got the chance to. When I was younger I was offered to do braces for cosmetic reasons, and I said no because I wanted to be cool brace-less. I regret it now, but better late than never.
I'm currently living in Orlando doing a grad internship with Disney and thought what better way to work on myself than investing in invisalign. I found a groupon to do invisalign for 2800 (24 aligners). I was thrilled and couldn't say no. The dentist is also an elite invisalign provider. They offered 2 plans - 2800 (in full) for 24 (sets) and 3900 (payment plan, 1800 down) for unlimited. After receiving my plan I learned I needed 25 so I opted for the groupon deal and paid 136 for the extra aligner. I also opted to do the propel treatment, which stimulates the bone by creating micro-perforations near the gum line to make teeth movement easier. Essentially it is drilling little holes all around your gums. I paid 500 for both 2 treatments. (1 now and 1 in 3 months).
I was very excited to get started. They used this machine to scan my teeth, which created the aligners. 2 weeks later I was back at the dentist to get the first one fitted. I have 25 for top teeth and 18 for lower. This was the first time I also opted to do propel.
I think everyone may be impacted by this differently, but my propel treatment wasn't a great experience. I was given topical anesthesia, but during the procedure I could still feel a wince of pain the deeper it was screwed in. I voiced this and the dentist added more. He said others described it as getting food wedged in between your teeth. I just call it...ouch. The top teeth were pretty much fine after he numbed it again. The bottom teeth were significantly more painful and sensitive during the procedure and after. We aren't allowed to do anti-flammatories so I was advised to take Tylenol. I was told I'd feel some soreness...but WOWZA I felt like my entire mouth was aching a pain I've never felt before.
I do pretty well with dental work and pain, but as soon as I left the office I started crying my eyes out. I think I was in shock about how much it hurt. I immediately went to buy Tylenol and found out I couldn't use orajel either. I called out of work, slept it off, and by the evening it still hurt, particularly the bottom teeth. I called back and they prescribed me medication (tylenol 3). I was impressed by how caring the dental office was, they called a few times to check up on me. After I got the medication, I did feel a little better, but it wasn't until 3 days later that I completely didn't feel any pain.
Things I'd Do Different (with Propel):
-Take Tylenol BEFORE procedure to help with pain
-Take time off to rest after
-If you feel significant pain, ask for medication and don't wait for hours later
-Buy soup, pasta, soft foods for those few days
Other than that, I am happy because this week went by pretty smoothly. The aligners fit on very easily by the end of the week. Now that I have the propel treatment, I will change aligners every week instead of 2. I have my second apt and cleaning tomorrow so I will give updates and post pics after that!
Hlroth's provider
Replies (8)
November 16, 2014
Omg! I just looked up Propel videos and it looks awful! How often do you have that procedure done?
November 17, 2014
Haha yeah the videos do look a little intense. For my case, I am doing it twice. Once on my first day starting invisalign and once again in 3 months - my projected timeline is 25 trays in 6 months! I will say, it might feel a little uncomfortable during the treatment but it's not that bad. For me it was after the treatment where I felt pain. I've heard other people say they didn't feel much pain after, so I bet it varies person to person!
November 17, 2014
Haha! I'm pretty squeamish, too. I just closed my eyes the entire time and pretended I was taking a nap. Are you considering it?
September 6, 2016
How often do they do the propel? Is it everytime you go in? Or what? I'm getting it my next time going in but I guess I don't fully understand how it works??
UPDATED FROM Hlroth
9 days post
Week 1 down - Hello Tray 2!
Hey everyone!
Thanks to Propel I'm already on Tray 2 after 1 week. The first week went pretty smoothly! I've read some reviews where the first few days or week was horrible, besides the pain from my Propel treatments for the first 3 days, my teeth felt pretty well! The bottom teeth were a little sensitive when I took the aligners off, but chewing cautiously helped. But no need to file the aligners or use wax.
I've also decided to create an eating/cleaning schedule. I do weight training, so I want to make sure I still get my calorie and protein intake. I eat pretty slow, so this has been a challenge for me. I try to time my meals to keep up with it. Hearing stories about people losing weight with invisalign worry me a bit! If anyone else also works out and has tips for maintaining/making gains please share!! I'm kind of an agenda freak (haha) so I posted my schedule below.
This past weekend I was out and about for most of it with limited access to a bathroom. I ended up bring mouth wash and those brush wisps for my teeth. I looked a little crazy popping those aligners in and out, but it worked! Needless to say, I've gotten comfortable with them.
I was so excited to get my second trays! They fit snug, so that was a good sign. I also added my attachments, which you can see in the pictures! Will make sure to keep my updates coming.
Thanks to Propel I'm already on Tray 2 after 1 week. The first week went pretty smoothly! I've read some reviews where the first few days or week was horrible, besides the pain from my Propel treatments for the first 3 days, my teeth felt pretty well! The bottom teeth were a little sensitive when I took the aligners off, but chewing cautiously helped. But no need to file the aligners or use wax.
I've also decided to create an eating/cleaning schedule. I do weight training, so I want to make sure I still get my calorie and protein intake. I eat pretty slow, so this has been a challenge for me. I try to time my meals to keep up with it. Hearing stories about people losing weight with invisalign worry me a bit! If anyone else also works out and has tips for maintaining/making gains please share!! I'm kind of an agenda freak (haha) so I posted my schedule below.
This past weekend I was out and about for most of it with limited access to a bathroom. I ended up bring mouth wash and those brush wisps for my teeth. I looked a little crazy popping those aligners in and out, but it worked! Needless to say, I've gotten comfortable with them.
I was so excited to get my second trays! They fit snug, so that was a good sign. I also added my attachments, which you can see in the pictures! Will make sure to keep my updates coming.
Replies (3)
November 13, 2014
I had no trouble at all gaining with my Invisalign. And I cut it down to one meal a day. Just make sure that the food that you do eat during your meals is high quality. Remember that every meal you eat adds cleaning time, generally. You're better off eating longer meals and having fewer cleaning breaks, IMO. There are also some schools of thought that say it's healthier to not eat snacks, but allow your body to fully digest your food between meals. You can try it and see how it goes for you, always allowing for an acclimation period, of course :).
November 17, 2014
That makes me feel better. One meal a day! Wow, what did you prepare for it? Longer meals does make sense in terms of cleaning time. I guess it's because I'm used to more frequent meals that my body needs to adjust. Thanks for the tip!
November 17, 2014
For my 'one meal', I basically prepared an entire day's worth of food, ;). So a huge salad with beans and a fruit and nut dessert. And when I say huge, I mean an entire head of Romaine lettuce plus tomatoes, endive, arugula, maybe some avocado and balsamic vinegar for a dressing, or skip the avocado but make a fruit and nut dressing (like orange/sesame seed/peanut/vinegar/spices). So I generally got in about 2000 calories in one meal. The meal would take at least an hour to eat. So it was really just to cut out cleaning times.
Most people are not able to fit that much food in their stomachs at once, and I do not recommend it. Far preferable to eat a couple of reasonably-sized meals than one gigantic meal. But eating the standard 6 or 8 times recommended by a lot of trainers and stuff will be extremely difficult with Invisalign.
UPDATED FROM Hlroth
15 days post
Conquered Tray 2 - Yay Tray 3
I've decided to change my trays every Tuesday before going to bed, so I will have a better time getting used to the tightness.
Week 2 -Tray 2 went by pretty smoothly. I did drink a few beers with it, which worked out okay (even though I tried using a straw) haha. It was the first time I got nervous trying to take out the bottom tray. It was significantly harder than the first, especially on my front bottom teeth. As you can see from my pictures, that is where the most movement was happening, so it was pretty sensitive. I found out if I loosened both sides of the tray first with both hands and then moved to the middle, it was a lot easier!
Also, my speech is pretty hilarious. I can hear a pretty big lisp. It's kind of annoying and some people have noticed it, but I'm hoping it will get better with time.
Overall, invisalign has totally been worth it. People have made comments about how they should be brushing their teeth as often as I do in the bathroom hehe, and then I tell them about invisalign.
It's an exciting feeling right before you are about to switch trays. It means PROGRESS!
Week 2 -Tray 2 went by pretty smoothly. I did drink a few beers with it, which worked out okay (even though I tried using a straw) haha. It was the first time I got nervous trying to take out the bottom tray. It was significantly harder than the first, especially on my front bottom teeth. As you can see from my pictures, that is where the most movement was happening, so it was pretty sensitive. I found out if I loosened both sides of the tray first with both hands and then moved to the middle, it was a lot easier!
Also, my speech is pretty hilarious. I can hear a pretty big lisp. It's kind of annoying and some people have noticed it, but I'm hoping it will get better with time.
Overall, invisalign has totally been worth it. People have made comments about how they should be brushing their teeth as often as I do in the bathroom hehe, and then I tell them about invisalign.
It's an exciting feeling right before you are about to switch trays. It means PROGRESS!
Replies (1)
November 20, 2014
Sounds like everything is going fabulously! Continued success to you. :) Just another 4 or 5 trays and you'll be able to start seeing your progress instead of just feeling it :D.
Are you going to post a before-pic? :D