My Experience with Invisalign

I just finished with Invisalign! I documented my experience on Instagram (in the highlights), but also wanted to recap the entire experience with a blog post.

I got Invisalign through my dentist. Truthfully, my top teeth were pretty good – I had a tooth on the bottom that had started to turn in and it was throwing off my bite. I had braces as a kid, so I didn’t think I needed that much work on the top. My dentist told me it would take 3-4 months and I figured that it couldn’t be that bad and would be done quickly, so I went for it. My insurance also covered a huge chunk of it, which is one of the major reasons I decided to go ahead with it. Side note: I know some people do Smile Direct or other online ones, but my dentist said she was not confident in those because there’s no one monitoring you. I had to go in for several “adjustment” appointments, where they basically took little strips of sandpaper in between my teeth to make room for my teeth to move.

So let’s start from the beginning. I would be going through a total of 9 trays for the upper teeth and 20 trays for the bottom.

The first day I got them, they felt super weird but it was not painful. I got them on January 4th.

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I definitely had a lisp and was self-conscious about it! Since I do Instagram stories, I was sure everyone was like, “what is wrong with her speech?!”

When you go to get them, the dentist might put “attachments” on your teeth, which are like little tooth colored bumps. They help your teeth move. You can’t really see them unless you’re up close and kind of looking for them, but they do feel weird when you take out the trays. I always was running my tongue along them.

Day 3: This was my first day back at work after winter break. I honestly wanted to throw them in the trash. They made my mouth SUPER dry, which made talking all day long difficult. I did mention this to my dentist and she said I’m the first person in 10 years to say that. Usually people say they have too much saliva, which is a problem I would’ve welcomed. Even sipping on water all day made no difference. Plus, taking them out to eat was painful.

Notes: I’m a grazer when it comes to eating, so not being able to eat whenever I wanted to was kind of hard for me. Taking them out, eating, then brushing and flossing takes time and I didn’t always want to do all that, so I wouldn’t have a snack. My daughter also started asking if I was ok every time I took them out, probably because she thought I was taking my teeth out or something. Fun story: I also managed to get the flu during the second week of having them and ended up leaving them out most of one night because it was making me sick to have them in. I also recommend getting Aquaphor for your lips because mine were extremely dry (could’ve been due to winter though). At work, I needed to adjust my lunch to make sure I had 5 minutes to brush, floss, and reinsert the trays.

2nd tray: They felt different for the first day or so, but felt normal much faster. For the first 4 trays, I had to wear them for two weeks. Lisp comes back for the day after you change the tray. Despite what some people told me, the lisp does go away. It comes back a slightly, but does fade.

5th tray: This was the first one that I had to wear for only a week. 4 more trays to get rid of the upper ones! Now they feel normal much faster (less than a day).

9th tray: I’m officially done with the upper ones!! I got the attachments taken off, and it’s nice to run my tongue along smooth teeth again! I’m hoping that only wearing one will help with the dry mouth. It feels much nicer to only have one in.

16th tray: I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve read about some people needing refinements, which lengthens the process. I asked my dentist at my most recent appointment if I’d be completely done after the 20th tray and she thinks I will be. I have trays 17 and 18 and then have another appointment to get the final two trays.

Last tray: I had an appointment on June 21st to have my bottom attachments removed and to order the bottom retainers. It feels so good to have smooth teeth again. It took about 6.5 months, from start to finish for me. I was told initially it would take 3-4 months, so it’s something to consider especially since I really only had one tooth that was the problem. So if you have more extensive work that needs to be done, it will definitely take longer. It also depends on your dentist’s recommendations for changing the trays. I’m currently wearing the last tray during the day until my bottom retainer comes in and then I will transition to only wearing the retainers overnight.

My Tips:

-Get Aquaphor for your lips. I don’t know if it was because it was winter or what, but mine were super chapped in the beginning and I needed something heavy duty.

-Get wax from the drugstore. Initially, there were some edges that were really irritating to parts of my mouth and putting some wax over these parts helped with the soreness. This didn’t last the whole time (probably only a month or so).

-Make a little bag with a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss and a case for work. That’s what I would take to the bathroom with me after lunch to brush and reinsert my aligners. If possible, avoid putting your aligners on a napkin because the likelihood that you will accidentally throw them away is high!

-Change the trays at night. I changed them right before I went to bed. If you typically get sore teeth, take some Advil too.

-Buy retainer cleaner on Amazon. I bought the one below:

-You don’t have to take them out to drink, I just used a straw. I’ve been told that they will stain fairly quickly. I’m not a coffee or wine drinker, so I don’t know how quickly drinking those would stain them.

 

Other Things To Note:

-My dentist had me pretty much coming in once every four weeks (sometimes less) for adjustments or to get new aligners. That meant taking time off work each time. I was able to schedule my appointments at the end of the day, but it’s still something to ask your provider how frequently you’ll have to come back. I think I went to 8 or 9 appointments between January and June.

-Retainers: You’ll have retainers to wear at night when the process is finished, but the cost was not included in my original quote. My dentist provided me with two options (one was around $300 and the other was around $600 but was the one she recommended because you get 4 sets and are pretty much good for life – this is the one I ended up going with).

 

My Final Thoughts:

Would I do it again? I’m really not sure. I didn’t love the process, but it had everything to do with the dry mouth for me and obviously having a profession where I need to talk all day long. My dentist assured me that this is not everyone’s experience and is rare. You can bet I’ll be wearing the retainers every single night because I don’t want to do this again!

 

If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected] or hit me up on Instagram and I’ll do my best to answer! 🙂