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POSTED UNDER Invisalign REVIEWS

44 Year Old Going for Invisalign for 12 Months..... United Kingdom, GB

ORIGINAL POST

I am starting the process tomorrow and having my...

Nicky.j
WORTH IT$5,900
I am starting the process tomorrow and having my first aligners fit. I do hope that I can share the journey positively and relatively pain free! I have a front crown (the one that is lower than the other) which has a post into my jaw due to an infection as a child. The plan is to pull my other teeth forward to align with the front teeth. I have a narrow jaw so the smile should be wider...

Nicky.j's provider

Cleveland orthodontics UK

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UPDATED FROM Nicky.j
1 day post

Day 1 fitted today

Nicky.j
Tray one in today (1 of 23). I have to change to tray 2 in 2 weeks, I go back to othodontist in 4 weeks time.
They feel ok, like pressure on my teeth, I took them out to eat lunch and already feeling a little tender after only a few hours....but all normal apparently. I have painkillers ready just in case.....

Replies (0)

UPDATED FROM Nicky.j
1 day post

Day 1 fitted today

Nicky.j
Just to add that I have not had any of the fixtures out on yet, we will do that at my next appointment. Added photo of aligners on,

Replies (7)

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May 9, 2014
Hi and welcome! :)  Your teeth really aren't that bad--and 12 months is a pretty short-middling treatment time--it'll fly by! :D  Still, it's exciting to imagine even arches, isn't it?  Did the doctor talk to you about evening out your bottom teeth at the end of treatment, like filing down or anything?

The attachments will make the experience a little less comfortable, so do be mentally prepared for that, but they are also what makes the treatment most effective!

Have you had time to look around and meet some of our other community members?  I'll give you some names to start with, but feel free to look around and meet people.  Everyone is very friendly and welcoming!

If you see people with the RF badge, they are RealFriends, which means they're very active and helpful.  We have a few in Invisalign: mlb502PreOrtho, and viktoriajv.

We also have a growing community of Invisaligners in their forties!
fab45mom is right around tray 7.
Kristen1166 is 47 and about four months into treatment.
AreYouKiddingMe is 50 and quite new.
shepherdqueen (48) and her teenaged son are doing Invisalign together and she updates for both of them :).

If you need anything, please let me know--I am also here to help!  I look forward to following your progress!
May 12, 2014
Thanks for commenting/replying! In terms of my bottom teeth - I am going to see what happens during the journey. My upper teeth have always been the issue. I have been reading that a few people say that at the end of their treatment they go in and are given 11-20 more trays!?? How depressing is that? Is this normal? I will take a look at the community more.....I am based in the UK and can't find anyone else in the UK (not that this matters of course :-)) Thanks,
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May 12, 2014
Hi Nicky! Congrats on starting your treatment!! Well, sorry to say that refinement trays are very common. Some people do not need them, but the majority do. Sometimes teeth just don't move as they are planned out by your dentist/ortho. The good news it, the time really does go by rather quickly. My original treatment was 19 trays (well 19 on top and 28 on bottom but we stopped at 19 and did refinements) and I got 15 refinement trays. I started my treatment March 2013 and only have 5 more refinement trays to go! Once you get used to the process and get your schedule and routine down, it will start going by a lot quicker. Take some pictures every time you change your tray so you can see the progress... it really helps with motivation! :) I started my treatment on my 41st birthday - now 42. I've just posted an update in my review and you can see how far I have come. :) As far as the teeth grinding - I catch myself grinding a lot. After the first few days of tray wear the sensitivity and soreness should go away and won't wake you at night. Until then maybe some Tylenol or Advil etc to help. The trays keep your teeth protected from the grinding and there is no worry of damaging your trays from the grinding. Wish I had a better answer for you! :)
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May 13, 2014
Yeah, it's interesting about how our members are scattered.  We have a large number of Australians right now--apparently there's been an advertising blitz for Invisalign there--but the Brits I know here on RealSelf are doing braces or Smilelign.

As far as grinding/clenching, the doctors say there's generally nothing to do about it, other than trying to de-stress, like you said, and actively thinking about not doing it.  The bite issues are generally resolvable as long as you work with your doctor.  They can use a combination of trying different types of retainers (like Hawley or bonded retainers instead of the clear trays, which some people just cannot keep in their mouths without clenching (guilty!)), different lengths of retainers, and equilibration.  They were able to resolve my open bite issues, though it took a long time. :)
May 15, 2014
You have lovely teeth now :-)....I suppose if refinement trays are needed I will go down that route too! I have only done a week now and apart from worrying about cleaning the trays, and a slight earache which may or maynot be related....things seem to be going ok. 1 week down 45 weeks to go!
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May 17, 2014
BTW, I forgot about another woman from the UK.  She's called Katherine87. :)
May 20, 2014
Hi I am based in the uk. ( London) I had my first tray fitted 3 days ago and Just came across this site . I have the knobbly bits on the aligners where the attachments will go on my next visit. Main impressions so far is that I am aware of the knobbly bits under my lip and so feels more uncomfortable or irritating than pain ful. I expect will feel more when the actual attachments are on the teeth. Good luck. Keep thinking of straight teeth. Louise.