Hello Lovelies!
Guess what??? I chose Invisalign as a method to straighten and close the gaps in my teeth. I think I can read your minds....How much does that cost? Your teeth look fine so why do you want to mess with them? Do they hurt? How long do you have to wear them? Can you eat with them? Etc, etc, etc.
The aligners are the name for the clear trays that you must wear at least 22 hours out of the day. They have been pain free for me thus far. Instead of pain, I usually experience tightness that I feel for the first 2 days after I don a new set of aligners. By day 3, the tightness is usually gone away. During my first week, it took me a little time to get used to something being in my mouth and on my teeth ALL day. The only time that I remove them are when I wake up to brush and floss my teeth and when I eat. I try to brush my teeth after each meal and snack before I put the aligners back on. At times I just floss with the flossing sticks and rinse my mouth with a mouthwash. I also rinse the aligners with cool water before I put them back on my teeth. My arsenal of oral hygiene items includes flossing sticks and a small bottle of mouthwash that I keep in my my purse at all times.
I have "attachments" on my teeth. I actually have 13 of them right now. YES, 13! They are on my side teeth; 6 on the right side and 7 on the left. A couple of my teeth have 2 attachments on them. Attachments are tooth colored bumps or buttons that are placed on your teeth to assist the aligners with rotating the teeth. They are more noticeable when my trays are out. I was VERY concerned about this because I am very self conscious of my teeth when something about them doesn't feel right. But, after I put on the aligners I could only notice one of them. I think that is great being that I can only notice 1 out of 13. My orthodontist didn't tell me about this during my consultation. I found out about them when I was told that my aligners were in and that I need to come in and get my attachments placed on my teeth. I was like "What the"!!! Then, they told me that I would have 13 of them. I could have fallen onto the floor! I was praying that they were not on my front teeth.
The day that my attachments were placed on my teeth, I found out that I am actually going to have 17 of them. The remaining 4 will be placed on my teeth a little later during the process........ALL ACROSS MY TOP FRONT TEETH. That is going to be interesting.
The attachments on my bottom teeth make removing the aligner difficult. I was given a tool to help assist me with removing the aligner. The best way that I found to remove the aligners was to start from the inner rear area of the aligner. This goes for the top and bottom aligners. I make sure that I am careful when removing the aligners because I don't want to break them or the attachments.
I have to change my trays/aligners every two weeks. Each pair of aligners help to shift your teeth closer and closer to your final look. I have a total of 43 aligners to complete on the upper teeth and 43 on the bottom teeth. My total procedure time is 20 months. I know it will be worth the wait! All in all, my 6 week experience has been a success and a learning process. I will be sure to keep you updated throughout this process.
Below are pictures that show my teeth before and after the attachments and aligners. In a future post I will talk about the cost, do's and don'ts, as well as questions to ask during your consultation.
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| Before Aligners and Attachments |
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| Aligners in place |
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Attachments (Pointed out with green arrows) |
Chime in if you have any questions or if you have anything to say about your experience with Invisalign.
Until Next Time,
Indulgenceiskey
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