40 Year-old Periodontal Patient's Invisalign Story - Southwest,Florida

When I visited my dentist to pick up tray 7, I learned that Invisalign was requiring me to have a new dental impression because they wanted to check on my progress - because I'm a perio client, need to be careful, etc., etc.

Now, just to be clear, here's what a dental impression involves for me. If you'll take a look at my photos, you'll see that I have 'black triangles' (gaps) between my teeth. When the impression plastic spread over my teeth, it also fills those gaps. Then, to remove the impression, the plastic between my teeth, by necessity, has to be torn out. That tearing happens by the force of pulling said plastic against the teeth above the triangle/gaps. Make sense so far?

It *hurts*.

We're taking Invisalign slow (3 weeks per tray instead of 2) because of my perio stuff - precisely because my teeth need a little baby-ing, extra time to adjust, etc.

So, here's my question. How concerned, really, can Invisalign be about the stability of my teeth, since they required an impression that stresses my teeth and, yes, destabilizes them? (They were newly loose for a few days after the impression.) In what way does this determine my 'progress'? Also, if Invisalign was so very concerned, why did they wait for tray 6/7 out of 10 to require this checkup? Shouldn't they have checked much sooner? I am, after all, almost done, at this point. And, hey, here's a thought - how about a *non-invasive* x-ray to check stuff out, rather than causing mind-blowing pain and tooth looseness.

And here's an interesting additional tidbit: apparently my dentist had to pay Invisalign extra for this 'service' of checking on my progress by disrupting it!

So, this week, I should be hearing the results of this "check-up." My dentist has said that things are looking great - the very best that he hoped for. And yet, I can't help wondering if Invisalign's "results" will show that I need additional 'services' at additional cost...

So, that's the news.

Haven't posted in a while, mainly because the status is pretty much...quo. New trays >> two to three days of moderate discomfort >> two and a half weeks of mild discomfort >> next set of trays. I've achieved a rhythm and a grumpy acceptance with the whole thing. Of course, all of this is made easier by the fact that at the end of tray five (my current aligner), I will have reached the halfway point - only five more aligners to go.

As you will see from the photos, not much appears to have changed. As I noted before, the main work of these aligners seems to be to create this ever-broadening parabola. My dentist tells me that once everything is drawn out, the trays will shift everything back in, but in more optimal position.

I appreciate all that, but I sure would like to see those protruding front teeth scooting back.

I did want to offer this bit of insight for anyone who is having pain removing their aligners. I found that, because of the direction of my crowded teeth up front, moving the aligners from left-to-right hurts, but removing them from right-to-left is much more comfortable. Maybe others will find this as well - that a simple change of direction offers some relief?

Wishing all my RealSelf friends a happy spring!

I'm a little over a week into my third aligner. I'm basically accustomed to life with Invisalign; once I even forgot the trays were in (!) and sat down to dinner without removing them. As I was lifting the fork to my mouth, I realized something felt weird - "Oh, yeah, I have braces" - so I did to pull them out in time, thus avoiding the impending gunky mess.

Blood sugar and disordered eating issues continue to be challenging - I miss intuitive eating a great deal. But overall, I am more in charge of my braces, now, than they are in charge of me. That's progress, I think.

If you'll look at the attached photo, it doesn't look like much has changed. (Alas.) However, what isn't so clear in the image is that the braces seem to be broadening the arch of my teeth, so the overall shape of my mouth is becoming more like a parabola than a triangle, where, previously, the point of the triangle was causing so much crowding up front.

Verdict so far: Along for the ride, but SO ready to see visible change.