50+ and Trying Invisalign to Improve my Smile - Starting April Fool's Day 2014 - Waterloo, ON

It's April Fool's day of all days. A perfect day to start wearing braces. I arrive at my dentist's and am taken into the treatment room. I am recovering from a bad cold but coughing is down to a minimum.
The last time I was in to see the dentist he made molds from my teeth with goopy plastic stuff. This stuff makes you want to gag, especially when it gets on the back of your tongue. While the dentist does tell me what will happen next, I notice that it is really on a ‘need to know’ basis. Perhaps this is in order that I don’t get scared off before I even begin.
I am reclined in the chair while my dentist proceeds to shove an appliance into my mouth to give me fish lips and make it easier for them to begin my prep work. Step one involves shaving my two front teeth down the middle to make for room for tooth movement. This is not exactly fun. It also sounds like they are drilling, but I experience no pain per se.
After that the dentist proceeds to add several attachments to my teeth – little tooth-coloured bumps which will help hold the ‘trays’ of aligners in place. The assistant opens the window for fresh air as they smell of glue and solvents are not particularly refreshing. She ends up putting a blanket over me to keep me warm as they work. All told I was in the office for an hour and a half. I was scheduled for one hour. I did not anticipate so much work. I thought that they would just hand me my trays and I pop them over my teeth like nothing. Not quite.
Last step was actually popping the trays onto my teeth. The dentist does this for me. The aligners feel strange but do not hurt. It feels like pressure against my teeth. Before I leave, the dentist asks me to try to take them off. I try but in the end he has to remove them for me. Then I am sent off (having already been in the dentist’s chair longer than anticipated). This concerns me because what if I can’t get them out on my own? I worry about this as I leave.
I pay the Dentist office $250 for this set of aligners and I take a ‘free’ tube of lip gloss. ( I already paid $2,000 when I agreed to start using invisalign.) I feel like I deserve a treat for sure. I walk out the office and see my reflection in the mirror. I cannot see the aligners. I am pleased that I do not see big railroad tracks marching across my teeth. Now what?
It's lunch time and I have to take aligners out. For the first time. I am at my daughter’s house. I help get my lunch ready and then, at the last possible minute I attempt the removal of the aligners. They are very snug and clip on well because of the attachments. I pry and pry but cannot get them off. I feel a little claustrophobic. Finally I pop them out. It hurts. Good grief! My daughter tells me of course braces hurt. Of course it's hard to eat. Don't I remember what my daughters went through? Suck it up, Princess.
Before I know it the timer dings and I see my 30 minutes for lunch is over. I run back to the washroom to rinse out the aligners. At this point I have obviously not done enough research on what I was getting into. I didn’t know I was to brush the aligners and my own teeth, as well as floss, every time. But common sense says I should rinse them at least before re-inserting them. After much ado I get them snapped back into place. I feel like I have really accomplished something.
My daughter and I run some errands and get a coffee to take home. My dentist told me I could drink coffee, no sugar, with my aligners in. I take cream. Does that count? I drink the coffee and start researching online. I find this site. No, you should not drink coffee. Are you kidding me? I see I also have to assemble a little zip-up bag to put aligner container, toothbrush, paste, and floss in a one-stop baggy. My dentist did not mention this.
I had plans to dine out with my husband and second daughter and her fiancé this evening to celebrate their buying a house. I decide the best thing for me to do is take aligners out before leaving for the restaurant because I know I will be sipping red wine (and boy did I deserve it) prior to the meal. No, you can’t drink alcohol with aligners in. And no, I did not think I could take the aligners out in a public washroom yet. All in all I was out for 2 hours. As soon as I come home I brush, floss and replace aligners in my mouth. They feel strange. Just some pressure on my teeth. I can deal with this I think.
I go back to the computer and read more reviews. I finally go to bed with aligners and wonder what tomorrow will bring.

April 2, 2014
First full day with aligners. The aligners make my tummy not feel well. I look online and discover others found the same. I thought it was nerves, but maybe it’s the plastic. Later I read that I should wash aligners well before using them to help avoid this side-effect.
I prepare my breakfast and have everything ready to go before I remove my aligners. I am having an apple (cut up) with cereal and almonds and walnuts. I sprinkle this with flax seeds and cinnamon. I brew a cup of coffee and set the timer. I attempt to take out aligners. They hurt like crazy. I can't get them off. Finally, finally I pry them out of my mouth. I start to eat. Are you kidding me? It hurts to eat an apple and walnuts. What was I thinking? As I read my paper and softly chew, I soon discover it is already time to begin cleaning regime. But I am not finished eating yet! I scarf down the rest of my cereal, chug my coffee and fly upstairs to brush, floss and re-insert. 38 minutes. I'm 8 minutes over.
One thing is for sure. I have no intention of snacking. I am not taking the aligners out any more often than I have to. I am already worrying about lunch. My husband is going out of the country for a few weeks and we are going out for a nice lunch before he leaves. He picks a restaurant that has private washrooms. I don't even want to go because of the aligners. However, I agree to try.
We sit down at a table and order our meals. First comes a glass of Pinot Grigio and some homemade bread. I just sit and stare at the wine and fresh bread. After waiting about five minutes I go downstairs to the washroom to remove aligners. I take a little cup so I can rinse my mouth and the aligners. I return to the table in 5 minutes. I sip my wine and munch my bread. My order arrives four minutes later. (Yes, I am timing it.) I eat my salmon nicoise, drink the rest of my wine and finish my bread. I also order a cappuccino. I know I want a coffee and decide it is better to add on a few minutes now and not take them out again later. As soon as I drink it I go back to washroom, rinse my teeth and pop aligners back in. Total of 40 minutes. I went over eight minutes at breakfast and now will have to take ten more minutes off supper to keep to the 22 hours a day. What a hassle. I intend to tell my dentist that it is near impossible to remove the aligners for only 2 hours a day.

April 8th
End of first week. I have a scheduled appointment with my dentist this morning to see how I am doing with Invisalign. He decides I still need an adjustment on my top left tooth. I think I have way more buttons or adjustments than the average person. I count them. I have 20. I even have 2 on a single tooth. And on the front teeth. That is because my aligners have a big job – to move my eye-teeth back where they belong. I am feeling self-conscious about the attachments. They are not small. My braces may be invisible but the attachments feel very noticeable to me. I tell the dentist it is practically impossible to keep aligners in mouth for 22 hours a day. I tell him I use a timer and everything, but it is always a mad scramble to eat, and then brush my teeth, floss and then brush the aligners before getting them back in again.
He laughs at my anecdotes, but I wasn’t kidding how hard it is to comply. And I do try!
He gives me the next two sets of aligners and then I am due back at the dentist mid-May 13th. (That’s when I tell him I am going to Europe and NOT looking forward to it at all.)
By the end of my appointment, he says he wouldn’t be disappointed if I wear the aligners 21, if not 22 hours. Knowing this will let me relax some. From the reviews I read, those people who do not wear them diligently end up extending the time they need to wear them. I do not intend to extend my time.
Today’s adventure involves a trip to the mall. My daughter wants to grab a bite at the Food Court for lunch. Are you kidding me? I don’t want to (duh - because of public restrooms and pulling out my teeth in public) but she said I had to try it sometime. So we find a table and my daughter goes off to order and get the food. Then she returns to the table and I scurry to the public washroom. I look at the main public area and then I notice the mother’s area. A woman is in there breastfeeding but I decide it is the best place. I can face the wall, away from anyone, and wash my hands over the sink. Then I can stick my hands in my mouth and pop out the aligners. They are not as difficult to get in and out as they were the first few days. I put them in my case and then hurry back to my lunch. My daughter has already started hers. I tuck into mine. When we are done, we go back to the little mother’s room. I now carry a cosmetic bag with my dental care equipment. I brush my teeth and my aligners and put them back in my mouth. Whew. All in a day’s lunch. My daughter is good for me. I don’t think, (no, I know!) I would not have attempted this without her.

April 15
Tonight I start my second tray of aligners. 2 out of 32. Sigh.
In the afternoon I pick up a Timmy’s coffee. I use a straw and drink it with my aligners in. Tonight I change them so I figure it won't matter if they get dingy.
That night I also sip white wine with my aligners in. But I notice my teeth were beginning to feel sensitive. Then I realized that I have been brushing my teeth with Crest, not Sensodyne when I was away from home. I need to buy a small Sensodyne and a small regular toothpaste to take for when I am out.
After supper I decide to put my new aligners in right then. It is 8 pm and I am told (by people online, not my Dentist) to put them in at night when I go to bed and take an Advil. Tray two is definitely more tight. It is not easy getting them on. The big concern is getting them off again tomorrow morning. It is tough on my nails, and more of my nails are ripping and breaking. I tried a crochet hook but it didn't actually catch on to the edge of the aligner to pull it off. I have some rough bumps on the inside of my upper lip. I noticed these after week one and told the dentist at that time. He did not seem concerned. Some people file the edges down on their aligners. Not sure how to do this so I will just keep an eye on my lip lacerations and make sure they don't get really bad. And so ends my first fortnight and first tray of aligners. They really do change your life. And at this point I can say, and not in a good way. However, I am not a quitter. And so forward march.

I decided to announce on Easter Sunday to my parents and my older brother and his wife, that I got Invisaligns. At church I had skipped going up for communion because I never thought about communion and taking bread and wine. I didn’t bring my kit with me, so I had no place to put aligners in even if I took them out. I decided I had to ‘confess’ to my folks when they came over for dinner, because everyone wondered why I didn’t go to communion at church. It was like wearing a target on my back. After assuring my dad I wasn’t pregnant, I told him I got ‘braces’. My brother smiles and says, oh I did that a few years ago - but I didn’t tell anyone. (He was living in a different province at the time and so I rarely saw him.) Are you kidding me? I stare at his teeth. They look great. I told him I wish he had shared his experience so I could have talked to him first. But it did make me think that maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea. I wanted to know two things. Did he soak his aligners? Yes – 50/50 vinegar and water. Also how did he take communion? He said he took them out for that. No big deal. He also said he didn’t tell anyone and no one noticed. He still wears a retainer at night and he loves his teeth now. And there you go.

Day 31 – May/1/14
It’s been a month since I began the invisaligners. I have always been pretty good with self-discipline, and so I knew I could do this. First you have to practice the behavior until it becomes established as a good habit. It’s still not a habit I love, but I think it will become so when I start seeing changes in my teeth. After reading several other people’s stories about their invisaligners, it has become clear to me that my teeth were worse than I thought. I look at some people’s pictures and I can’t see why they are even bothering with invisible braces. But teeth are such a personal thing! I did not take a picture of my own teeth at the very beginning. I took one after two weeks of wear. I just took another at 4 weeks. I see just how far my two incisors stick out. I see how crowded and crooked my lower teeth are. I can’t believe I didn’t see this before. It helps me realize why I am going through all this. My teeth are darn crooked! I realize that this is the new motivation I need to see me through this process. As long as I didn’t feel braces were necessary, I had also felt the hardships from the aligners weren’t worth it.
Perhaps we invisalign users now know what it feels like to be an aspiring Olympian athlete. Discipline, discipline, discipline. You cannot do what you really want to do. ( But you know what you really want to do is not good for you anyway – like drinking a lot of coffee or red wine or sweets.) And there is a big reward waiting for you at the other side. No immediate gratification here. It’s all about delayed gratification. And hopefully straight teeth!
Cleaning: Now that I have a couple of sets of trays to compare to each other, I see that drinking coffee with aligners does indeed stain them. I now soak my aligners in the 50/50 vinegar solution once a day. I decided that I would not use hydrogen peroxide in my mouth. Vinegar is a natural substance and so I can handle that. I soak mine at breakfast because lunches I am often out, and supper is often shared with others or going out too. So breakfast is a good time to soak them, and then brush them and then begin my day.
Changes in my life:
1. I have a time limit to eat. I also eat with a timer. This way I can be sure to stick to my 30 min./30 min. /60 min. routine. I save more time for supper so I can also enjoy a glass of wine. If done earlier than my allotted time I pat myself on the back and put aligners back in.
2. I drink my coffee with my meals (breakfast and lunch only), and not afterwards as a leisurely indulgence.
3. I clean my teeth 3 times a day – after each meal. And sometimes I just brush my teeth with aligners in before bed to freshen my mouth.
4. I drink nothing but water all day long. When I’m starving – I drink more water.
5. I do not snack between meals. (Too much fuss to remove aligners, and also NO time)
6. As the cook I no longer sample my cooking. I don’t take aligners out until after I dish up everyone else’s meal first. That way I maximize my eating time.
7. I find going out to eat feels more like a 'necessary evil' than a fun thing to do. (Do they have private washrooms? Do people think I have a bladder problem because I leave the table before and after meals to attend to my aligners? Did I extend my time limit?)

So far I haven’t experienced pain, only pressure. As someone else said, the pressure is good – it makes you feel like the aligners are working. I would like to see a visual change, but as yet, I’m not sure I really do. I have ‘miles to go before I sleep’.