16 hours into Invisalign...

[Lindsey M]

Hey, Y'all.

Yesterday I started my Invisalign journey. I am very excited!!

After spending a good part of yesterday reading blogs and forum posts about Invisalign, I was very surprised, however, by some of the information that my orthodontist gave me. He told me that whenever I first insert a new aligner, I must wear it for 18 hours straight. He told me that it is fine to eat and drink as normal while wearing my aligners during this 18-hour period and that I ought to brush with my aligners inserted. This seems contrary to what I have read here. I have now been wearing my aligners for 16 hours and have only drank water.

Also, I was shocked that my treatment includes 24U and 24L. I expected much less. I wore braces for three years as a teenager and wanted to correct the shifting of my teeth that has since occurred. In fact, my mother told me that doing Invisalign is one of the silliest things I have ever done because my teeth are great. I have started to notice my teeth shifting in pictures, though. So here I am. I am not complaining, but I thought maybe I would have 15 aligners at the most.

Best to everyone!

[little miss sunshine]

This does sound really strange. How will you get rid of any trapped food and sugary drinks if you don't take them off for 18 hours...... I like putting mine in before I go to bed the night before I switch so they can be in for about 10 hours just so the teeth are less painful. I've never eaten with them in.. doesn't it feel weird???

good luck

8/35 U
8/28 L

[Lindsey M]

Thanks ~ the other element of surprise for me is that I feel no pain. I feel somewhat uncomfortable, as though as I am wearing an athletic mouth guard at work, but I do not feel any soreness. Maybe I will when I take the aligners off to eat??
Also, thankfully my speech is only slightly altered, and I think that I am the only one who notices the difference. I left my orthodontist's office yesterday and directly taught a class. So far, so good!!

[GoofyGG]

Blimey, if you haven't already take them out and get some food - you must be starving!

[little miss sunshine]

woohoo sounds like your adjusting really quickly to them... I have only had one set that caused me pain constantly for the first 2 days. The rest have been just pressure like wearing a mouth guard that sometimes give a tiny bit soreness when removing.

Keep us posted

[GoofyGG]

Thanks ~ the other element of surprise for me is that I feel no pain. I feel somewhat uncomfortable, as though as I am wearing an athletic mouth guard at work, but I do not feel any soreness. Maybe I will when I take the aligners off to eat??
Also, thankfully my speech is only slightly altered, and I think that I am the only one who notices the difference. I left my orthodontist's office yesterday and directly taught a class. So far, so good!!

You'll probably feel the pain when you take them out. Some will be painful, others will be a breeze.

[Lindsey M]

I just took out my aligners for the first time after 18 hours of straight wear. I ate and brushed etc. and put the aligners back on. I really feel as though I am having too easy of a time adjusting to Invisalign. My aligners popped out quickly, and my teeth are not sore at all. My bite, however, felt different with the aligners out, so I know that something is moving! When it came time to put the aligners back in, though, I had the feeling that I attribute to the look that my dog give me when he is told to go into his crate: confinement does not hurt him yet he does not want to go, but he will. Alas, my aligners are back in.

[Nicki11]

18 hours eating and drinking? I don't even know how you'd go about eating with the trays in. I don't think you'd be able to actually bite down on anything plus I think you could do damage to the trays, like scratching them or breaking them.

I have occasionally drank alcohol with them in but even this I've been worried about so made sure to drink lots of water too.

I keep mine in for approx. 20 - 22 hours per day and my treatment is so far on track. Like most people, I put a new tray in just before I go to bed to get the maximum wear at the start but this is recomended to reduce pain associated with new trays, not because there is some kind of minimum wearing time at the start.

Good luck!

U - 5/20
L - 5/13

[Phil]

Rubbish. Just wear them for the prescribed ~22 hours/day.