Yesterday was a big day. Not only did I put my notice in at work (more on that later), but I finally received my Invisalign trays. The last few months I’ve been going through the process starting the Invisalign experience so I thought I’d share a little about this experience and fill you in on how the next 5-6 months go. To fill you in, I’ve had braces before. Like a lot of people, permanent retainers weren’t offered and I didn’t do my job of wearing my retainer on a regular basis. Fast-forward nearly 15 years my front tooth is starting to snaggle and my always perfectly aligned bottom teeth are in disarray.
In April I went for a consultation with Dr. Vincent. At this time, we talked about my options and how he thought the different options of straightening my teeth might play out. After our meeting, I decided to proceed with finding out more about Invisalign and scheduled an appointment to get impressions made. In early June I had impressions made and at the end of June I sat back down with Dr. Vincent to see exactly what our options were. While traditional braces could have worked just as well, we opted to go with Invisalign Express. Express is the best option for me because it is essentially invisible and I don’t have any major bite issues requiring more expensive Invisalign treatment. After the decision was made to proceed with Invisalign Express, I scheduled one more appointment for molds and impressions to send off to the Invisalign company which would help shape my series of trays. Following these molds, I was told it would take 4-8 weeks to receive the trays and begin treatment.
My trays arrives in four weeks exactly, but due to my crazy schedule, I just received them yesterday. Each person using Invisalign is different, but many patients have to have tiny enamel or clear colored grips applied to their teeth prior to or during certain Invisalign trays. Today I had several grips put on the top and bottom as well as had a few of my teeth “sanded” or filed in between to make the spacing work better. Overall the whole appointment only took an hour including putting in the first set of trays.
Each set is worn for two weeks at a minimum of 20-22 hours per day. A few things I find difficult (but manageable) are not being able to chew gum, drink coffee or hot liquids while they are in. That being said, the only thing you can do is drink room temperature or cold water while wearing them. This will take some figuring out with my morning coffee routine.
So far I’ve worn the trays a full day and I can already feel my teeth aching. From my brace days, I know this is a good thing, but boy is it an adjustment to get use to. My estimated time frame with Invisalign is 20 weeks or 10 trays at two weeks each. Stay tuned for further updates and photos.
*Any photos shared are for the purpose of demonstrating what Invisalign looks like and to show progress.
Notice at work?!? You definitely need to fill us in! I can definitely see myself getting Invisalign in the next couple of years, especially for my bottom teeth.
ohh i cant wait to see the results! xo jillian – cornflake dreams