POSTED UNDER Invisalign REVIEWS
36 Year Old Female, No Kids, No Partner...not Sure if I Can Handle This, but Here Goes - Shepparton, AU
ORIGINAL POST
Cost in Australia: $8990 Tray 1 - Day 4 I was so...
WORTH IT
Cost in Australia: $8990
Tray 1 - Day 4
I was so excited about getting my new smile. Even on the day of fitting my first aligners, I wasn't nervous. Just excited.Then I was shown my treatment plan...
27 sets of aligners (54 weeks of invisalign treatment), 15 attachments to start (8 on the top and 7 on the bottom), and they had to file the sides of 2 of my teeth to make room for them to move.
I'm not excited about how long it's going to take. My orthodontist doesn't like to use Acceledent, so I'm stuck with that time (she says there's no evidence that it does what it claims). I'm also not happy about where the attachments are. All of the attachments on my top teeth are on the front teeth, so my lip sticks out. May as well have had braces. At least that's how I feel right now. I was very down for the first few days after having it done. I've pretty much cancelled dating for the next year. I keep telling myself that I'm going to look like a million bucks when it's finished, but it doesn't really make me feel better. I just have to get used to them.
Apart from how I feel about my appearance, they're actually pretty good. I can get them off and on just fine. Have to consolidate my eating though so I don't have to brush and floss as often (it gets old really quick), and my teeth hurt when I take my aligners out and eat (not while they're in), but it's not extreme or anything. Not pain, but sore.
Tray 1 - Day 4
I was so excited about getting my new smile. Even on the day of fitting my first aligners, I wasn't nervous. Just excited.Then I was shown my treatment plan...
27 sets of aligners (54 weeks of invisalign treatment), 15 attachments to start (8 on the top and 7 on the bottom), and they had to file the sides of 2 of my teeth to make room for them to move.
I'm not excited about how long it's going to take. My orthodontist doesn't like to use Acceledent, so I'm stuck with that time (she says there's no evidence that it does what it claims). I'm also not happy about where the attachments are. All of the attachments on my top teeth are on the front teeth, so my lip sticks out. May as well have had braces. At least that's how I feel right now. I was very down for the first few days after having it done. I've pretty much cancelled dating for the next year. I keep telling myself that I'm going to look like a million bucks when it's finished, but it doesn't really make me feel better. I just have to get used to them.
Apart from how I feel about my appearance, they're actually pretty good. I can get them off and on just fine. Have to consolidate my eating though so I don't have to brush and floss as often (it gets old really quick), and my teeth hurt when I take my aligners out and eat (not while they're in), but it's not extreme or anything. Not pain, but sore.
Rebecca.M's provider
Replies (5)
August 17, 2016
Thanks Teddiemc. It's taking some adjusting but I'm finding more and more that I forget I'm wearing them. I've been reading the updates of another girl who felt the same about hers when she first got them. Very helpful. Her updates give me milestones to look forward to. Before, I only had the end to look field ward to. My outlook is much more positive already :)
August 19, 2016
Hi Rebecca .... Ive not done a blog for my invisalign journey, but I do check in from time to time to see how others are getting on. Im on tray 28 of 39, so have been going for just over a year, with about 6 months to go. I too spoke to my dentist about acceledent and was brushed off. I really wish I had changed dentist and gone to one who approved of using it. I regret not pushing for it - my treatment will take nearly 80 weeks instead of just 39. Now I'm just resigned to slogging out the remaining 6 months. My teeth are looking much better, so the invisalign braces do the job, but changing trays every two weeks is waaaaaaay too slow.
August 21, 2016
Hi. I agree 2 weeks does seem slow - I did a lot of research before I started invisalign and have asked my ortho about acceledent a couple of times but he says he would definitely not recommend it - he is on the board of various invisalign committees and goes to their conventions etc and they are saying it is not a good thing. I really trust his judgement so I hope that makes you feel a (little) bit better! Good luck :)
September 11, 2016
I'm I'm tray #20 out of #24 and some parts of it gets better other parts seem to get more challenging. The good thing is that you can remove them to brush and floss unlike having food stuck in conventional braces. Starting out was rough I get headaches. I use an emery board on the sharp edges of the trays and use a medical glove to grip them to remove them. I now have some stubbornness with my front teeth and the fangs that aren't moving as easily. I keep focus on my goals and after going through this process I will always use a retainer as directed to not have to go through this again because your teeth shift naturally.
Replies (0)
UPDATED FROM Rebecca.M
8 days post
A bit over a week in...
I got my first trays in on the Friday, my teeth were the sorest they'd been the whole time on the Following Wednesday, and then the soreness just stopped and all is good. So the last 3 days have been a breeze. I still have a bit of a lisp and I'm still figuring out smiling (my top lip sits above my attachments when I smile), but I'm feeling so much better about my decision now. Can barely wait another 6 days to change into my second lot of trays!
Replies (3)
August 20, 2016
Glad to hear things are going well! I was the same, by the second week it was really easy, I forgot they were in! Then I went back on Tuesday and had my attachments fitted and tray 2 put in. OUCH! But actually, its all settled down again, and like you I'm looking forward to my next set of trays!
August 21, 2016
Sounds like you're getting on really well - it's all a bit weird at the beginning (my lip gets caught on the top of the aligners when I smile!) and the attachments can be annoying, but I haven't ever regretted starting this process. I don't even bother going into the bathroom to take them out when I am out now - just hide behind a napkin! I'm on Tray 9 of 26 and finally feeling that my teeth are beginning to noticeably move. I have read a few times that from Tray 10 onwards it all starts to happen :) Good luck - look forward to seeing your progress :)
August 22, 2016
Good for you for doing this for yourself! You won't regret it. Yes it's definitely not fun in the early days. I had all those problems as well. But at some point you just get used to it and it's not such a big thing anymore. Take pictures! You won't notice changes when you look in the mirror every day but you will see it when you compare photos every couple weeks. I couldn't believe the difference in mine when I compared 1 to 8! In only 3 months the changes are amazing!
Congratulations on taking this step for yourself. It sounds like, despite the challenges of getting used to life with Invisalign, you're adjusting well. I hope that trend continues and that you'll keep us updated!