19 Trays/19 Weeks - 28 Years Old, Overcrowding, Narrow Arch, Invisalign Propel - Springfield, MO

I wanted to give an update about switching trays and how I'm feeling. The fear of removing and replacing the trays is long gone - I've found the process that works for me and it's been flawless so far. I switched to my second set of aligned yesterday after dinner and -whoa!- was it tight. I took Tylenol to help with the discomfort and went to bed early. I woke up and felt much better. Taking the new trays out for the first time was pretty much as easy as before except that I was handling the process more gingerly. My teeth are very sensitive; I couldn't bite into a banana for breakfast but I'm guessing this will subside in a day or two. I'm already noticing a lot of progress! I've uploaded a picture to show the differences from the start of week 1 to the start of week 2. Most noticeably, there is a lot less crowding on the bottom!

I should have had the fillings completed before the Invisalign procedure but my dentist's office didn't have an appointments open - so I found myself, two days into Invisalign and getting two fillings on the right side (one top, one bottom). The good news is that I no longer dread taking out the trays. I have found a great process that works for me (getting the tray loose on one side and then, tooth by tooth, pulling it out). Slow and steady is the name of the game! So I went into the office and got prepped up for the fillings. Took out the trays, laid back to get numb, and I was done about 20 minutes later. The dental assistant was nice enough to re-insert the trays for me since I couldn't feel anything. I waited to eat until the numbness wore off, about two hours later. I could feel slight sensitivity in the bottom filling and it worried me because I thought the pulling movement in the tray might agitate it. I gingerly tugged at the tray, starting on the side with the filling first, and found that there was no pain whatsoever! A few seconds of manipulation and I was tray-free and ready to eat!

On a side note, I still have a lisp (or lithp as it would sound like when I say it) and my bite has changed considerably in just a few days. The dentist assured me that This was normal and that I would NOT need more holes drilled into my gums for the remainder of the propel process. I will return to the doc's office in about 8 weeks for a check up.

Moral of my story: it does get better and easier.

I always wanted straight teeth but it wasn't much of a priority until now. My motivation is that I'm a young professional and want to greet my clients with a vibrant smile.

I agreed to the Invisalign Propel treatment without much explanation of the process. My dentist's office uses the iTero scanner so it only took about 2 weeks for the trays to arrive. They started with putting the attachments on my teeth - not a scary process at all but they definitely feel weird against my cheeks. The worst part of the entire process was the micro-holes that had to be drilled into my gums for the "propel" feature to work. They numbed me up pretty good but I was in an immense amount of pain after the fact - I was still numb when I left the office but I could feel the ache coming on and it got worse within an hour. My dentist had given me instructions to use Tylenol for the pain but steer clear of ibuprofren (Advil) because it is an anti-inflammatory and the inflammation is actually what makes the Invisalign work more quickly. I found that the Extra Strength Tylenol worked quickly and I felt fine within half an hour. What didn't go away quickly was the bleeding from my gums. I had to hide at home the rest of the night because the blood kept seeping into the top tray and making my teeth red. Super gross. The dentist did say that the holes (which I guess are drilled into the bone?) will heal up and the bone will be stronger once this is all over. That seems like a decent trade-off.

I only have 19 weeks of trays but let me tell you - if it had to be longer, I might cry and just quit right now. I know it'll get easier but taking out these trays now tops my list of biggest fears. I hated pulling teeth as a child, which is pretty much why I'm dealing with crooked teeth now...and taking out the trays feels like pulling all of my teeth at once. I've found the only way I can get through it is to play a mind trick on myself and repeatedly think "my teeth are not coming out, my teeth are not coming out" while looking in the mirror to confirm that, indeed, my teeth are still intact. It is much better today than yesterday but it's still a struggle.