POSTED UNDER Invisalign REVIEWS
My Invisalign Journey, 43yr Old Mum - UK
ORIGINAL POST
I started invisalign on 24th July and I am...
KazzalouAugust 17, 2014
$3,900
I started invisalign on 24th July and I am currently in the 2nd week of tray 2. I have been told that 1 will have 27 aligners on upper and lower and 27 attachments :-(
I wore quite a basic brace on my top teeth when I was younger and had wisdom teeth removed as my mouth was too crowded but as I have got older my lower teeth have crowded together and moved and as a result have started to move my top teeth. ( I will try to post photos).
I have been happy the past three weeks with invisalign. I struggled at first getting the bottom one off my teeth but since moving to the second tray have found it really easy to remove (I can even sneakily do it at my desk at work!!). I have eaten out quite a few times and as long as the bathrooms are quite good I have had no issue flossing and cleaning in them!
I have an appointment with the orthodontist on Thursday where he will fit tray 3. I am dreading this as this is when I will get attachments (27 ) put on every tooth except my two problem teeth at the bottom. In my months of trawling the web for blogs and diaries I have not seen anyone with so many.
My other concern besides all of the attachments are that I have read about people getting a lot of cavities from warring invisalign despite excellent oral hygiene - a friend advised this could be due cleaning straight after eating and not allowing your saliva to neutralise the acid in your mouth. I have started trying to leave cleaning after eating to 20-30 mins but then this cuts in on my optimal time !!!
Will update on Thursday after my attachments :-0
I wore quite a basic brace on my top teeth when I was younger and had wisdom teeth removed as my mouth was too crowded but as I have got older my lower teeth have crowded together and moved and as a result have started to move my top teeth. ( I will try to post photos).
I have been happy the past three weeks with invisalign. I struggled at first getting the bottom one off my teeth but since moving to the second tray have found it really easy to remove (I can even sneakily do it at my desk at work!!). I have eaten out quite a few times and as long as the bathrooms are quite good I have had no issue flossing and cleaning in them!
I have an appointment with the orthodontist on Thursday where he will fit tray 3. I am dreading this as this is when I will get attachments (27 ) put on every tooth except my two problem teeth at the bottom. In my months of trawling the web for blogs and diaries I have not seen anyone with so many.
My other concern besides all of the attachments are that I have read about people getting a lot of cavities from warring invisalign despite excellent oral hygiene - a friend advised this could be due cleaning straight after eating and not allowing your saliva to neutralise the acid in your mouth. I have started trying to leave cleaning after eating to 20-30 mins but then this cuts in on my optimal time !!!
Will update on Thursday after my attachments :-0
Replies (6)
August 19, 2014
Hi and welcome to our Invisalign community! So happy that you are finally getting to do this for yourself :):):). We have one community member, 28 Attachments, who had more attachments than you. I've not heard from them since February, but I mentioned that you'd joined us. I hope they come back to update :).
I'm not entirely certain why doctors use more or fewer attachments, but generally, they provide extra power to the aligners, so hopefully that means your treatment will go very well :). They may need to move all of your teeth in order to make more room.
As far as hygiene, I know I had zero problems with cavities (although I thought I'd gotten many of them because I had lots of dark spots on my teeth, but it was deposits.) It's one of the advantages of Invisalign, and studies I've read have shown that there is much better hygiene and better outcomes cavity-wise with Invisalign than with regular braces. But you really do have to follow the instructions, and not eat snacks without cleaning. PreOrtho has some great info on her hygiene regimen on her update from March 20, 2014. This includes a baking soda rinse to neutralize the pH of your mouth. A must-read for sure!
I like to introduce people to a mix of reviews. We've gotten a slew of Invisaligners from the UK lately, but here are a couple of older UK Invisaligners.
Cazzieboo
Nicky.j
Also, here are some others with moderate-to-severe crowding:
HenryZ (had to have one tooth pulled, he's nearly done)
Mil ou's crowding is mainly on the bottom and it's pretty moderate, but there is an overlapped tooth.
humbleoracle has pretty severe overcrowding in the bottom jaw
Dante555 has severe overcrowding on the bottom but nearly none on the top.
Sunluvva's crowding is pretty severe.
Ceclarlinetlo just joined us but is 6 months into treatment.
AreYouKiddingMe, always has really funny updates.
jbranchfield, is on tray 9 already.
Yangche just started in July.
Ewag2014 should be on tray 3.
shannon1990, aurora1206, and Megastar are our newest.
mlb502, one of our RealFriends, started with pretty crowded teeth as well, but she's nearly done after a long time and a lot of work!
Don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything :).
I'm not entirely certain why doctors use more or fewer attachments, but generally, they provide extra power to the aligners, so hopefully that means your treatment will go very well :). They may need to move all of your teeth in order to make more room.
As far as hygiene, I know I had zero problems with cavities (although I thought I'd gotten many of them because I had lots of dark spots on my teeth, but it was deposits.) It's one of the advantages of Invisalign, and studies I've read have shown that there is much better hygiene and better outcomes cavity-wise with Invisalign than with regular braces. But you really do have to follow the instructions, and not eat snacks without cleaning. PreOrtho has some great info on her hygiene regimen on her update from March 20, 2014. This includes a baking soda rinse to neutralize the pH of your mouth. A must-read for sure!
I like to introduce people to a mix of reviews. We've gotten a slew of Invisaligners from the UK lately, but here are a couple of older UK Invisaligners.
Cazzieboo
Nicky.j
Also, here are some others with moderate-to-severe crowding:
HenryZ (had to have one tooth pulled, he's nearly done)
Mil ou's crowding is mainly on the bottom and it's pretty moderate, but there is an overlapped tooth.
humbleoracle has pretty severe overcrowding in the bottom jaw
Dante555 has severe overcrowding on the bottom but nearly none on the top.
Sunluvva's crowding is pretty severe.
Ceclarlinetlo just joined us but is 6 months into treatment.
AreYouKiddingMe, always has really funny updates.
jbranchfield, is on tray 9 already.
Yangche just started in July.
Ewag2014 should be on tray 3.
shannon1990, aurora1206, and Megastar are our newest.
mlb502, one of our RealFriends, started with pretty crowded teeth as well, but she's nearly done after a long time and a lot of work!
Don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything :).
August 19, 2014
Thank you twoplusone, I will definitely check these out. Will update after Thursday with how attachments went. I think my main issue is that I went from having moulds done to having brace fitted with no appointment In between to prepare me for what would happen, amount of attachments etc. I was only shown my clincheck when I asked at the brace fitting would I need attachments, he then quickly said yes 27 and only then did I see the video. It is almost as if he didn't want to tell me!
August 19, 2014
That wouldn't surprise me. It's a lot to process all at once. But even 28 Attachments got used to it, so I guess it will just take a little longer than normal. At least you didn't get the attachments at the same time as the aligners! Some people get that, and they have to go through that initial pain and figuring out how to live with attachments at the same time.
I look forward to your update, and good luck!!!
I look forward to your update, and good luck!!!
August 20, 2014
Hello! Thanks for posting about your Invisalign journey! I am getting some overcrowding issues fixed like you, and I am also improving my overbite. I was given 37 trays top and bottom and I am currently on #18. The time will fly by I promise! While I do not have 27 attachments, I do have 18 plus two buttons on my bottom molars to attach my elastics to so I guess you could say I have 20! It felt very strange having all the attachments on for the first week or two, but I got used to them. I haven't heard about the cavity issue. When I went into my dentist for a cleaning around month 3 of having aligners I was told I had virtually no plaque and it was the cleanest they ever saw my teeth. I figured it's from brushing about 6 times a day once I started Invisalign. I look forward to seeing your updates!
August 20, 2014
Sairisan thank you so much for your reassurance. That does make me feel better. You're right, the time does fly by, this past month has gone by so quickly. I keep telling myself the attachments are what will make the big difference to my teeth and will be worth it at the end. Have you cut down eating sweet things since you had your brace? I eat very well and have now cut snacks but have been eating chocolate , cake etc in the evening after dinner. Maybe I will cut that out and then not worry about the brushing straight after eating. I have had a few glasses of wine with braces in so will stop that too! Good luck with your treatment. I look forward to seeing how you get on.
September 6, 2014
I'm glad to hear you are getting used to the attachments! After awhile they stopped feeling weird for me too. I was really bad at taking my aligners in and out at first with the attachments too, but overtime it gets easier! I used to be quite a snacker throughout the day and overtime I have cut that down a lot. I usually don't take my aligners out unless I plan to eat a full meal or a snack that will actually fill me up. I still only drink water with mine in as I learned pretty quickly anything with colors is a big no as they can stain quickly. I also avoid any toothpastes and mouthwashes with obvious dyed colors. I think the biggest thing that gets old for me is having to put them back in after eating out at a restaurant, or dealing with them on a long road trip.
UPDATED FROM Kazzalou
28 days post
27 attachments
KazzalouAugust 21, 2014
Had the attachments fitted today. 27 in total, with unfortunately 2 attachments on each of my front two teeth. However I think they are only noticeable really close up and the colour of the attachment was close to my colour.
The fitting of the attachments was ok, your mouth is kept open with a rubber disc while the ortho polishes the teeth, dried them and applies glue . The attachments are then added by placing a hard aligner containing the attachment onto the teeth for a few minutes. The whole process was very quick and not too bad at all. The worst bits I found was when the ortho polished some of the excess glue off that was quite sensitive.
The aligners are not as comfortable as the other 2 as the bumps do rub slightly against my lip but again nowhere near as bad as others have experienced with them.
The good news from my visit today, my ortho said if I stick to 22 hrs wear min I can go down to a 10 day cycle which means I could be finished by May, hurrah!!! I was given tray 4-7 and my next visit is 9th October.
The fitting of the attachments was ok, your mouth is kept open with a rubber disc while the ortho polishes the teeth, dried them and applies glue . The attachments are then added by placing a hard aligner containing the attachment onto the teeth for a few minutes. The whole process was very quick and not too bad at all. The worst bits I found was when the ortho polished some of the excess glue off that was quite sensitive.
The aligners are not as comfortable as the other 2 as the bumps do rub slightly against my lip but again nowhere near as bad as others have experienced with them.
The good news from my visit today, my ortho said if I stick to 22 hrs wear min I can go down to a 10 day cycle which means I could be finished by May, hurrah!!! I was given tray 4-7 and my next visit is 9th October.
Replies (9)
August 22, 2014
Going down to a 10-day cycle: that's brilliant news!!! Keep up the constant wear :)
You may find that the attachments start to wear on you over the next couple of days, but hopefully it won't!!! Good luck, and thank you for the update!
You may find that the attachments start to wear on you over the next couple of days, but hopefully it won't!!! Good luck, and thank you for the update!
September 1, 2014
Interesting that 22 hours wear = 10 day cycle....I may ask my ortho about that in October..... But good news and I will following your journey....
September 3, 2014
Awesome! Good for you!
September 3, 2014
Also, quick question? Do you notice that your teeth ache a bit more since you got the attachments?
September 4, 2014
Hi. They did at first but I am two weeks into them now and find them no trouble at all. Even when I take aligner out they are not annoying as they were at first.
September 4, 2014
Thanks so much for the info! Also, do you notice your aligners are discolored by the end of your two weeks? No matter what I do, mine still look a little sketchy by the end!
September 5, 2014
Hi claireanne19, Going down to ten days has helped, my last ones looked much better. I tend to soak mine when I eat and then clean with toothbrush and toothpaste. Plus, since I have had the attachments I find when I am at work I don't have time to mess around taking out to eat so I have mainly been having 2 meals a day and just drinking loads of water and that seems to have kept my cleaner than when I took them out for lunch or snacks. I had a nightmare yesterday morning - I tried one of the childrens plaque disclosing tablets the night before and mustn't have rinsed it out enough because I woke up in the morning with a pink mouth! I was terrified I had dyed my aligners pink ( i was only on day 3 of these ones as well) but luckily came off. How are you getting on?
September 21, 2014
It was all going really well until last night. I was due to change to tray 6 but when I opened the packet I found it contained 2 upper trays and no lower. Typically it was a Saturday night so I now can't speak to dentist until Monday. I am hoping this will not cause a big delay in my treatment. Not very happy Invisalign customer :-(
Replies (0)