Just got started...

[germangirlinva]

Hello everyone!

I live in Virginia and I just started wearing my invisalign braces yesterday. I spent about 4 hours in the dentist's chair yesterday to have some IPR done on several of my teeth and I had 11 attachments bonded to my teeth. It was very difficult and for the first few hours, it hurt because of the intense pressure on my teeth. I have lots of crowding and I did not have braces when I was a small child. In the past, I considered regular braces, but I felt that the invisalign gave me a good option. I hope, they will work. Yesterday, I felt like an 10-wheeler hit me in the mouth, but this morning was a lot better. I still have difficulty getting the retainers out and I seem to have a lot more saliva when talking. Speech has not been affected at all and I don't have any pain, just some general pressure and I generally do not like having these things in my mouth, but I guess that's the price I'll pay...

I was a bit concerned about the IPR. I had .5 mm taken off on several teeth and especially my front teeth have a very small, but noticeable gap. It bothers me, but you cannot really see it unless you come very close and when I wear the trays, you cannot see the gaps at all. My dentist did the IPR's to make room for my teeth to shift. I have to say, it was the scariest part of the entire procedure.

I have 13 trays for my top and 21 for the bottom.

Nice to 'meet' everyone here. This forum is very helpful

~ Katja

[Sunny]

Hi and welcome and great to read your treatment has started!

It usually takes a short time to adjust to having the aligners in your mouth, but I'm sure you will adjust quickly.

Many people find that they produce more saliva in the early days, as this is the bodies way of trying to 'get rid of' the intruder. As your body adjusts to the aligners, hopefully you'll find this saliva production reduces.

It's fantastic that we now have the option of IPR, as once it would have meant teeth had to be removed to have space made. With IPR smaller spaces can be made, which means our teeth aren't affected so much.

Make sure you keep well hydrated and remember to only drink water with your aligners in.

Good luck with your treatment!