So Far, So Good! - Texas

I'm on my fifth week of invisalign (tray 3) and so far I have not noticed a real difference in the appearance of my teeth, but I have to say that I really feel like they are moving. It's much too soon to see results but I'm pretty confident i'll see them soon, as tray 5 looks way different from tray 1!

I keep reading reviews from people complaining about the "buttons" or attachments. Honestly, they are not noticeable on me at all, and I can't even feel them when my trays are off. Luckily most of mine are on my bottom teeth, and they really begin on my canines and go back toward the molars. Even then, I have 9 attachments and no one has noticed a thing, even when my aligners are off.

As far as the aligners being invisible...from what I've experienced, they really are! The day I got them, I came home and had a long conversation with my boyfriend and he didn't notice a thing.I'm also a school teacher and not one student or colleague noticed I was wearing them. In my opinion, they are a little shinier than natural teeth, and I do find that my mouth is puckered in an odd way so as to hide the trays...but otherwise they are virtually invisible.

My only bad experiences so far have been 1.the IPR (inter-proximal reduction)and 2.the insane migraine headache I had after the attachments were put on. The IPR was seriously awful for me because I'm already horrified of the dentist, and that drill sounds god-awful! I was so afraid that it would cut into my gums! It didn't...whew! BUT he also used something called a diamond strip (i think), which is like wide floss that feels like sandpaper, to even out the gaps between teeth.When he was using that, the strip was placed right on the corner of my mouth, and he basically sawed into it for a few seconds! I had half a Joker smile for a few days! not cute. (IPR is done to avoid tooth extraction--basically it forms very small gaps between teeth to allow for more tooth movement)It's not as bad as it sounds, but I felt like my teeth looked a little hillbilly after that. Luckily the trays hide those little gaps.

As far as the migraine...I was using tray 1 for two weeks without any attachments on my teeth. My dentist wanted me to get used to the process of wearing them. So when I went back for my 2nd set of trays, they placed the attachments on my teeth and my new trays felt soooooo horribly tight!!! It really felt like I was ripping my teeth out whenever I removed the trays. That first night I had a migraine that lasted 24 hours. But never got one after that. The pain factor overall is really minimal. All you need is some tylenol when you get a new set of trays.

All in all, I have had no terrible complaints so far. But again, I am still way early into my treatment. Hopefully I'll have a much more insightful update in the months to come!