Invisalign in Seattle! Tacoma, WA

Thank you for welcoming me!

Continue to shop around for a better price. I have found that most providers will accept a payment plan (they kinda hold your retainers hostage anyway), so try a decent down payment then pay as you go method. I couldn't afford my braces until now ...higher priorities (kids), you know how that goes. We're all envious of something aren't we (human nature).

I am scheduled to wear my trays for two weeks. 10 trays total doesn't seem like enough trays to correct my crazy overbite. I'll trust the process, but I think I'll still have too much of an overbite after these to trays.
58 trays doesn't seem like a lot since you get to switch them out once a week. I wish I could do once a week so i mentally feel like I am not moving at such a snails pace.
Let me know if you experience a significant difference between trays one and two! I'm curious because I am on day 4 of my first tray and they do not hurt at all (hello is this thing on?! LOL). It feels like a tight Crest White Strip.
Enjoy your journey! I will be stalking your posts and progress!

Melissalee,
Thank you for your comments. It is somewhat good to hear that I am not the only person not experiencing any pain, I have few trays and not that as many attachments (nine) as I assumed I would have. And with just 10 trays, that puts me done by summer time. I just don't see that happening based on what my teeth look like today.
Although you haven't had any pain, have you had any tooth sensitivity?
It sounds strange to say, but I am disappointed that I do not have any pain. If I had some pain, I would feel as though the braces were actually working. I am only on tray 2 of 10 (switching to tray three on February 24th), so hopefully future trays will hurt or at least feel like they are working.
I had a voiced my concern with my dentist, but he didn't seem to worried. He asked me to make sure I had in the correct tray and to make sure they are seated as tight as they will go (which I am, and they are)...so I guess I just have to trust the process.
I was issued my first initial three trays, then my first post aligner visit with my dentist will be 6 weeks (whereby I will get my first IPR). I do have a lot of IPR to occur on my front teeth.
Since our cases are very similar, I will be following your progress. Let me know if you start to feel anything!

Hi there. I experienced a tiny bit of sensitivity on the first day when I tried to take out my trays. I had 16 attachments at the start of my program and I believe that the sensitivity was attributed to me not knowing the proper way to remove my trays . I literally yanked at them the first time I tried to get them out. Fortunately, none of my attachments came off. Since then, I really have not experienced any pain or sensitivity. As you said, I am not sure whether that is good or whether it means the trays are not working properly, which is a bit stressful to me.

I can see that my teeth have moved and that my bite has changed. I am just not sure if my teeth are moving correctly. I had IPR done initially when I got my first trays. All the gaps from IPR have closed with the exception of one on my top front teeth, as luck would have it :-(. I really hate how that gap looks and I hope it closes up very soon! The angle of my 2 front teeth have also changed. I hope that this new positioning of my teeth is temporary and just designed to correct my overbite- because I do not like how these particular teeth look at all.

I will see my orthodontist in a few weeks and I am going to request to review my ClinCheck in detail.

Is your dentist going to charge you more if refinements are needed? Mine is. So, I definitely need to get clarification on what that cost will be. I was not aware of the prevalence of the need for refinements and actual number of refinements that many people require. I had thought that if I complied with wearing my trays, that refinements would be minimal. However, based on what I have been reading, that does not seem to be the case. I need to prepare myself for the fact that refinements might be necessary. With the investment we are making, our teeth should be as close to perfect as possible, even if it ends up taking a bit longer! I will follow your progress as well. Hopefully the fact that we are experiencing no pain is a good thing!

Hi lyrastar,

I incorporated all of your suggestions. I found wax (after digging around on a back shelf), and I ordered from Amazon, retainer brite and chewies (despite my dentist saying "you don't need those things"). So tell me, what have the chewies done for you? Do you feel you need them, or is it all just a marketing ploy (your opinion)?
My trays are also still clean, bright and odorless. I am finatic about cleaning them (I am using distilled water, anti-bacterial liquid soap, and hydrogen peroxide...until the retainer brite shows up in the mail).

Yeah... not a huge fan of the chewies. They apparently help your trays to seat themselves better, but I have so many attachments I feel like it happens automatically anyway. More of a slobbery annoyance for me at this point. I haven't used them the past few days since I'm nearing the end of my first tray and it's clearly fitting well. I'll probably try them again on the second tray to see if I can feel a difference.

You will love the Retainer Brite! Especially since you've been using all of that other stuff. I've found I can use 1/3 or 1/2 of a tablet and it's still great. I usually use it in the morning so I can start off feeling fresh, it's been working well.

Have you looked at a sonic cleaner? I think that's the last thing I would recommend (for now, anyway). If you only have 10 trays maybe it's not worth it, but I feel like you're going to get refinements since 10 seems really low (but I'm not an orthodontist so what I say is only worth so much)!

Yes...sonic cleaner...Thanks for the reminder. I will buy one. Although dentist has not mentioned it, but based on my clin check and I only have 10 trays, I am pretty sure a whole 'nother set of retainers are are in my future; so the investment in retainer gadgets are worth it.

Thanks for the feed back on the chewies, and again i am looking forward to your posts about your second trays!

You know that's true... even if 10 does it for you (I hope it does!) you'll still have retainers afterwards, so it's worth it. There is a cheaper one, but after reading reviews I got this one and use it either with plain water or with the Retainer Brite tablets - super easy and really reduces my brush time because I don't have to worry about cleaning the actual trays besides pressing "on."

http://www.amazon.com/iSonic-F3900-Ultrasonic-Dentures-Retainers/dp/B00HLBW61C/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1454305184&sr=8-12&keywords=sonic+cleaner

Wow! Thanks for the link! i really appreciate the effort. ;-)

Wow! Whew! I am so glad to read your comment, it sure takes away some anxiety I have around the aligners not working. I am looking forward to any pain and pressure with my future trays, so I can feel like these things are working!

It probably will not take 6 weeks. I believe 6 weeks is the manufactures standard turn around time, but I think most people get their aligners sooner. And your clincheck will be sent to your doctor for approval before your aligners are created. how soon you get your clincheck depends on your case, your doctor and Invisalign's response time. I was fortunate to get mine in two weeks because my doctor submitted a rush because I am moving, and I gave him permission to approve my clincheck without my review (why would I want to approve it... he is the dentist not me. That is what I pay him for. Plus waiting for my review and approval was wasting valuable time!). It is soooo tough waiting. Waiting sure tested my patience! :)

Yours will be here before you know it! Then onto the next waiting game... Waiting to be able to switch into your next set of aligners; then waiting to see the first slight change. I won't see any change until tray 6. (Out of 10). I switch to tray three on Wednesday and it looks exactly like tray one :(

No pain or pressure with my aligners yet, so I am skeptical that they are working. But I will stay the course and hopefully I will start to feel something.

You'll find yourself replaying your Clincheck over and over! :-)

My journey started 3 days ago..woohoo! It took 2 1/2 weeks. You're right, I viewed my Clinchek over a dozen times so far.

Ha ha! Yep! Those clinchecks are quite addictive! I look at mine to see which teeth are supposed to be moving with a particular tray.
So you're on day three. Wasn't the first day exciting and full of wonder and antiipation around taking them in and out, and cleaning them, and the funny lisps (although people I know didn't seem to notice my lisp or aligners until I pointed them out). So...what do you think so far? Did you find all of the information on this sight helpful? How many trays total do you have? I sure did. I got great tips; from how to deal with sharp edges, wax, chewies, and cleaning my aligners. I am only on tray two, but feel like a pro at it! This forum is great. Be sure to post progress pictures, even if it is just for your own purposes (that was one of the things I still look at). I REALLY REALLY appreciate the people who posts lost of pictures. I follow similar cases that either started around the same time I did, or are abojut three months ahead of me, so I can see how and if their aligners are changing their teeth. Fun to do when I have a bit of down time and sitting on the couch.

I was too excited the first day...I called my ortho's office a couple times last week to make sure the aligners hadn't came in...so anxious. I got the call Thursday at 4:00 and she said they had a 7:30sm appt. on Friday. I jumped on it. My first day was full of exploring...I kept looking in the mirror. The aligners were giving my teeth firm hugs. It felt comforting on Friday, but what a change on Saturday!! I removed them for breakfast and wanted to put them right back in. My teeth were throbbing and I swear they were loose. I had to remember this is a means to an end and something I wanted for a very long time. This forum has been very informative. I must admit, I think it's an addiction. I ordered a cute makeup bag to carry my supplies in..toothbrush, toothpaste, mirror, floss, wax, sanitizer and case. The only thing I find difficult is to remove the aligners and brush my teeth in public restrooms. My teeth are my secret, for now anyway..lol. I will take your advice and post more pictures as I change trays to track my progress. I'm in it to win!! I have 27 trays + refinements (don't know how many yet) with 21 attachments on my teeth. They feel weird and I always feel like I have food stuck in my teeth when my aligners aren't in. My lisp isn't bad, but I trying to avoid saying "s" words. I am definitely on the Invisalign diet...I eat three meals a day and drink water instead of Coca Cola :( major downside to this but better for me. I strategically plan when to eat, I ask myself "Is it worth it"?

Yes! 100% worth every sacrafice! We're going to look great when we are all done! One year/two years seems so far away, but once the aligners become daily routine habit, I anticipate the journey will be over sooner than we realize. I think once we get to the 3 to 4 month mark, whereby, I have read on this forum, is when most people can actually see a marked change, the rest of the time will fly by! The confidence a pretty smile gives a person is priceless. When I see people with pretty smiles I get a little envious. I still haven't found a cute make up bag yet. I have a bag for my invisalign gear, but it's not as pretty as I would like. I'll put some effort into finding a better one. Thanks for the tip about putting a mirror in the bag. I hadn't thought of that item. I think once I experience some discomfort with my aligners I might not want to take them in and out as much as I do now, and I too can get on the invisialign diet...hey what girl doesn't mind shedding a few pounds. What a fabulous side perk! I get to switch my aligner out tomorrow night (yay!... and the two weeks seemed to go by faster than the first two weeks which seemed to last forever), fingers crossed tray three might finally provide some discomfort! I want to be able to complain! ha ha!
No matter how diligent I am about brushing and flossing before bed (and I do extra at night), I have noticed that if I eat or drink something with sugar, I still wake up with feeling like fur is on my teeth! yuck! I think it is because the saliva is not circulating and removing the sugar/bacteria on my teeth as much when the aligners are in. So I avoid sugar in the evening. And the area around my attachments never feel smooth and clean like my teeth do after brushing and flossing (i wonder if that is just how the cement feels, or am I just really not scrubbing them enough...I'll ask my dentist on my next visit...unless someone here knows). Two things I really do not like about wearing the aligners
1.) my teeth never really feel clean no matter how much I brush.
2.) I forget I am wearing them and inadvertently pop food or drink in my mouth, or use my teeth to try to tear open a bag or something like that, then bite down and instantly be reminded that I have my aligners in (thankfully I haven't cracked them yet). Once I start feeling pain/discomfort maybe I won't do that anymore!
I will update my pictures every other tray for now, since I won't have any significant movement until tray 6. So nothing for me or anyone to see really.

LOL @ you wanting to feel discomfort. I can't wait until you do! You will quickly try and edit that statement. You definitely will not try and use your teeth for anything other than softly chewing food. You are right...the sacrifice is worth every bit.