Started Invisalign on Oct 11th. So far good. Pros and some questions

[sushesh]

Hi,

After debating a lot on whether to go with the treatment or not and reading lot of reviews, I finally decided to go with invisalign and started wearing aligners from Oct 11. Now it's already 3rd day.

I am 34 and I have to wear 26 top and 23 bottom.

First the pros:
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1.As all the others mentioned, I was worried about pain, but frankly there was no pain at all but little discomfort. Also, there was little issue in taking bottom one out. bottom front teeth is little sensitive. But it's good so far.

2. It's really invisible. I have gap on front teeth and I was worried that everyone will notice it. I went to my friend's house on first day itself and stayed for 3-4 hrs. No one noticed it. Kudos to invisalign.

3. I don't have problem in talking. No lisp issue. I feel some discomfort and keep biting the teeth but I beleive it's just matter of getting used to it. Hope I will not have talking problems later too.

Cons:
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I have not seen any disadvantages till now except that we need to remove before eating and brush teeth after every meal/snack. One of the challenging part is to make sure to wear 22 hrs a day.

Questions:
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1. Does aligners exactly fit till the top of the tooth? For some of the teeth (front top ones), it doesn't go all the way up and cover the entire tooth. Is it common?

2. It's mentioned that we will have some soreness in the gums. But aligners doesn't touch gums at all. Do we still likely to have soreness in the gums?

3. I will be having my attachments(7 top, 6 bottom) from 3rd tray. Will it be very difficult to remove aligners after having attachments?

4. Some times I feel that top aligners is not fitted properly and it's loose and may come out. But when I go and check it is not. It's just a feeling. Do others also feel the same?

5. I have started wearing 1st one from Saturday afternoon. So for next aligner I should start from saturday. But I prefer starting from Friday night. Is it ok if I start from friday night ?

Sorry for the long post. Thanks for everyone in this forum and it has been really helpful.

-S

[HappyHeart]

Hi there
Congratulations on your choice to use invisaline.
Here are some answers as far as my experience has been
1.) My invisalines have a gaps at the bottom of my teeth. I was told that was ok and sometimes it allows for movement etc.
2.) The soreness is from the tooth movement more than the invisaline touching the gums in my experience
3.) You will get used to taking them out even with the attachments. Just be careful as that seems to be where everyone cracks the alligners due to pulling them to hard or just constant movement in one area.
4.) Not sure on #3 as my alligners never seem so loose they could fall out. You may want to check with the Doc on this one. Mine do get looser but not super loose and only after about day 3 or so.
5.) I changed my date to end on mondays so I actually moved my tray removal 3 days to work with my days off and appointments. The doctor said after 10 days there's little to no movement anyway at this point and not to worry about it. Worked for me but you may want to ask the doc

Hope this helped, Hope your journey is as uneventful and easy as mine has been. Hang in there you will have beautiful teeth in no time.

[Adam]

Hey, welcome to the forum, here are some of my views with my experience of Invisalign so far

Questions:
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1. Does aligners exactly fit till the top of the tooth? For some of the teeth (front top ones), it doesn't go all the way up and cover the entire tooth. Is it common? - Mine covers right to the top, it could be that they are not on securely? Sometimes, typically when attachments are fitted they are not pushed on right. However as you do not have attachments, provided they feel tight and there are no real gaps at the bottom of the tooth, they sound like they should be okay, but really if you're concerned you should visit your orthodontist. However he would have noticed this when fitting them.

2. It's mentioned that we will have some soreness in the gums. But aligners doesn't touch gums at all. Do we still likely to have soreness in the gums? I think the soreness comes from the teeth moving the roots of the teeth, so that is what can make the gums sore. However I have not experienced any soreness yet.

3. I will be having my attachments(7 top, 6 bottom) from 3rd tray. Will it be very difficult to remove aligners after having attachments? - At first more than likely, but you get used to them, and learn how to remove them easier. I find I have to learn with every new set of trays I receive.

4. Some times I feel that top aligners is not fitted properly and it's loose and may come out. But when I go and check it is not. It's just a feeling. Do others also feel the same? - Never experienced this, it might be because you're getting used to them now. Usually your teeth move in the first few days and then the aligner acts more like a retainer until your next set go in. When you get your attachments, this will pass I'm sure.

5. I have started wearing 1st one from Saturday afternoon. So for next aligner I should start from saturday. But I prefer starting from Friday night. Is it ok if I start from friday night? - I do this, I am due to change every Thursday, but change Wednesday night and sleep with the new trays in. Makes the discomfort of new trays easier to take too

If you have any more questions please ask.

Good luck,
Adam

[mariahfromchicago]

Good luck with your invisalign! Great stuff to know!

[sushesh]

Thanks for the reply.

As such the top aligner is not loose. But it's just a feeling. I feel like biting all the time. If I check it's perfectly fitted to the teeth. May be after couple of days the feeling goes off.

One more question.

1. Can I eat mint while wearing aligners?

-S

[Adam]

I know what you mean about 'feeling' loose. Mine feel like that, but I know they're not, and the attachements lkeep them in good.

[Sunny]

You should not eat anything while you have the aligners in. Water is the only recommended fluid. The reason being, that whatever slips into the aligners, is sitting on your teeth until you remove your aligners and therefore the risk of damage to the enamel of your teeth is increased significantly. The eating/drinking issues, is probably one of the biggest down sides to invisalign, when compared to other types of orthdontic treatment.

Today we had a client change to ceramic brackets due to the inconvenience of having to remove aligners constantly to eat and drink. He has medical issues that require him to eat and drink several times during the day and he was just finding it too difficult. He also realised that every day he was short of the required number of hours for wearing the aligners, his treatment was being compromised. He's very positive about the change to ceramic brackets, as now some additional issues can be addressed that invisalign were not able to do, so we're sure it will go well for him.

Good luck with your treatment Sushesh!