POSTED UNDER Invisalign REVIEWS
28 Year Old Actor/Speaker Trying Invisalign/Braces For The First Time - Brea, CA
ORIGINAL POST
I frequently work with children and for TV/film...
aurora1206July 11, 2014
$4,500
I frequently work with children and for TV/film and speak a LOT for my job. So, a lot of people see my face close-up almost every day! Unfortunately, I have some problems with my bite and with overcrowding on my bottom jaw (one tooth is almost completely behind the others - I would upload pictures but unfortunately do not have any).
After a horrific experience at a dentist getting Lumineers on my front top teeth several years ago (the dentist actually gave me a medicinal overdose), I finally made the leap to speaking with a dentist (outside of cleanings/maintenance) once again to pursue fixing my teeth. I chose a very highly-rated dentist who has done quite a few cases of Invisalign. He regularly attends conferences and is up-to-date on all the latest technology and findings. His bedside manner is also awesome, and he was very happy to answer any questions I had about the process I visited a few times for checkups/some minor cosmetic work to see how I liked the office/staff/dentist before I finally signed away for Invisalign. This was a BIG step for me, as I am scared of people touching my teeth after the experience I had several years ago (also on that note - one of my $1000 Lumineers chipped off while flossing after only being on for 6 months - what a waste!).
The impressions process with Invisalign was really fast and easy. They took a ton of pictures and took the molds (not nearly as bad as I expected - no gunk running everywhere, no icky taste), and I just came back in today to get fitted with my trays (top and bottom). The dentist has not put in the brackets yet, because he wants me to get used to the trays and not be overwhelmed (this is my first time wearing ANYTHING on my teeth - I wasn't able to get braces when I was younger).
The biggest problem for me is the new lifestyle change. I am ALWAYS eating on the go because of my job. I was also worried at first about how I would talk/sing (I am also a singer), especially in front of kids, but it sounds from the reviews here like this shouldn't be an issue (my dentist also told me he'd worked with public speakers and a few actresses with the same concern - it wasn't an issue with them, either). After several hours of wearing them, it feels a bit awkward to smile and with "S" sounds. This sounds pretty normal, too? I am still trying to figure out how to smile for pictures for my job - it feels like there's a big block of something on my teeth, and that I have to smile around that. Feels super awkward. My bottom two front teeth also have a space of the tray on top - I'm guessing because they will move over time to fit those trays a little better..?
Other than that - I really have no pain. No edges cutting my mouth or anything. Wondering if I will have a tension headache in the morning??
Happy to be sharing my experience and hope to have some cheerleaders along the way. I can recklessly abandon projects I was once gung-ho about and don't want to get frustrated with these things and rip them off and delay treatment...so I may need some help around here! :D
After a horrific experience at a dentist getting Lumineers on my front top teeth several years ago (the dentist actually gave me a medicinal overdose), I finally made the leap to speaking with a dentist (outside of cleanings/maintenance) once again to pursue fixing my teeth. I chose a very highly-rated dentist who has done quite a few cases of Invisalign. He regularly attends conferences and is up-to-date on all the latest technology and findings. His bedside manner is also awesome, and he was very happy to answer any questions I had about the process I visited a few times for checkups/some minor cosmetic work to see how I liked the office/staff/dentist before I finally signed away for Invisalign. This was a BIG step for me, as I am scared of people touching my teeth after the experience I had several years ago (also on that note - one of my $1000 Lumineers chipped off while flossing after only being on for 6 months - what a waste!).
The impressions process with Invisalign was really fast and easy. They took a ton of pictures and took the molds (not nearly as bad as I expected - no gunk running everywhere, no icky taste), and I just came back in today to get fitted with my trays (top and bottom). The dentist has not put in the brackets yet, because he wants me to get used to the trays and not be overwhelmed (this is my first time wearing ANYTHING on my teeth - I wasn't able to get braces when I was younger).
The biggest problem for me is the new lifestyle change. I am ALWAYS eating on the go because of my job. I was also worried at first about how I would talk/sing (I am also a singer), especially in front of kids, but it sounds from the reviews here like this shouldn't be an issue (my dentist also told me he'd worked with public speakers and a few actresses with the same concern - it wasn't an issue with them, either). After several hours of wearing them, it feels a bit awkward to smile and with "S" sounds. This sounds pretty normal, too? I am still trying to figure out how to smile for pictures for my job - it feels like there's a big block of something on my teeth, and that I have to smile around that. Feels super awkward. My bottom two front teeth also have a space of the tray on top - I'm guessing because they will move over time to fit those trays a little better..?
Other than that - I really have no pain. No edges cutting my mouth or anything. Wondering if I will have a tension headache in the morning??
Happy to be sharing my experience and hope to have some cheerleaders along the way. I can recklessly abandon projects I was once gung-ho about and don't want to get frustrated with these things and rip them off and delay treatment...so I may need some help around here! :D
Replies (11)
Replies (1)
August 8, 2014
Hoping that things have been going so well for you, that you haven't even considered updating. But I'd love to hear!
I never got rid of my lisp, but it wasn't a big deal. I can sing in my retainers (which are harder and thicker than aligners) but I wouldn't perform for an audience in them. You may wish to practice both smiles and speaking/singing in front of a mirror to see whether the results are acceptable to you. Otherwise you may have to schedule time without the aligners just like you have to schedule your eating time, and since you have so little time, you'll have to be very frugal. I'm very interested to know what kinds of solutions you come up with! We have one community member, JLD_Sail, who plays trombone and has had to deal with that.
Most people don't get a headache, but if you are prone, you may.
What was the solution for your Lumineer that popped off, by the way?
One thing to consider--maybe performing a bit for friends and seeing whether they notice the aligners a lot. Or even video recording yourself and taking a look. Everyone I've talked to here on RealSelf agrees that they notice the aligners way more than others do. Plus, it's not like there's something wrong with fixing your teeth. If it makes your singing unintelligible that's one thing, but if it just means that a few people notice that you're wearing braces, maybe that's not such a big deal.
I remember trying to do a choir rehearsal in a Hawley retainer the first time I got it. I was asking a question about some German pronunciation and the conductor literally couldn't understand what I said. But after a week, I had no trouble rehearsing in it. Still, I couldn't have performed in it. But it's a huge piece of plastic on your hard palate. :)
Anyway, I hope you find a way to solve this. I hope it's just a matter of practicing and stuff. Even if you got AcceleDent, it'd be amazing if you could just halve those 27 weeks! Imagine, done with Invisalign in 14 weeks--or however long it ended up being. That's less than 4 months!
I look forward to your next update!
Also, if a learning opportunity about orthodontics wouldn't be wholly amiss with your character (obviously, I have no idea what you do so yeah, if you work for Disney, there are probably regs as to whether you're allowed to wear them,) you may also consider seeing any any possible child noticing as a teaching op. Once again, there is nothing at all wrong with fixing your teeth, and a huge number of those children (probably the majority) will be getting orthodontic work during their lives. But kids are pretty used to braces, seriously. My kids (4 and 7) never ask other people about their braces. They've just seen them too much. Now, if you were wearing headgear, they'd ask!
I look forward to seeing pics! Once I do, I'll recommend some other community members for you to meet :).
It's going to be so great for your bottom teeth to match the top! Your bottom crowding is obviously quite severe. We've got loooooots of people in the community working on crowding like that, though. Invisalign is great for it :). Let me introduce you to some other reviews of people working on moderate to severe crowding:
HenryZ (had to have a tooth pulled, he's nearly done)
Mil ou's crowding is mainly on the bottom and it's pretty moderate, but there is an overlapped tooth and she had problems with bleeding in the beginning.
humbleoracle has pretty severe overcrowding in the bottom jaw
Dante555 has severe overcrowding on the bottom but nearly none on the top
Sunluvva's crowding is pretty severe
Ceclarlinetlo just joined us but is 6 months into treatment.
AreYouKiddingMe, jbranchfield, Yangche, and Ewag2014, and shannon1990 are our newest.
mlb502, one of our RealFriends, started with pretty crowded teeth as well, but she's nearly done after a long time.
And if these connections don't work for you, do feel free to find others in the community. Everyone is super friendly!