Invisalign Review After 20 Weeks - Very Satisfied

I have been wearing Invisalign aligners for 20 weeks. This is my experience.

Visibility. They are less visible than braces, but not totally invisible. If people are three feet away or more, they can't tell you are wearing them. If they are closer, they may be able to. They may see the "attachments" (little bumps the ortho puts on your teeth to help keep the aligners on and to help them pull on your teeth) or they may see the aligners themselves. You should ask your ortho upfront where your attachments will be. If they need to be put on your front teeth, they will be visible and you should really think about whether you want to proceed. Mine are not on my front teeth, but they are on teeth that are visible. Someone noticed one once and asked if I was wearing Invisalign.

Speech. I lisped a lot for a couple of days when I first started wearing them, and a little for a week or so unless I focused on not lisping. After that, if I left the aligners out for a long period and then put them in, I lisped for a few minutes until I got used to them. Now I do not lisp at all.

Discomfort. With my first couple of sets, I felt no discomfort. With every set after those, I have felt significant pressure when I first put them in. I would not describe the feeling as pain -- just intense pressure. I always put a new set in at night. By morning the intense feeling is gone, but I still feel pressure for a few days.

Taking them out. I was told to wear them 18-20 hours per day minimum. I have modified this somewhat without slowing things down -- I wear them 18-20 hours for the first few days, then less. I change aligners every two weeks, and by the end of two weeks I probably wear them no more than a total of 14 hours a day and sometimes less. I try to put them in for 20 minutes or so periodically all day, as opposed to going to long periods without wearing them. I go by how much pressure I feel. If I feel a lot of pressure after leaving them out for awhile, I know I've overdone it and I wear them more.

Care. You should not drink anything colored while wearing your aligners, because they stain. You cannot eat while wearing them. You are supposed to brush them after every meal. Sometimes I don't, which is kind of gross but has not caused any problems. I rinse them frequently, because if I don't they start to feel slimy.

Progress. After 10 weeks, my teeth are considerably straighter. I hope to be done with my upper teeth in six weeks, although my ortho has told me that the schedule is a target, not a guarantee. We may decide to keep going with more aligners if we think more straightening would be good and if she thinks aligners can accomplish anything. She has also warned me that I may get to a point where aligners will no longer do anything and to accomplish total straightening, I would have to wear traditional braces for a few weeks. I do not plan to do that under any circumstances.

Overall satisfaction. I am very pleased. I would do this again.

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