... and it was only supposed to be 8 months!
So far, it seems to be going well. After a very long wait for the order to be processed, I'm on my second set of refinement aligners (4 top w/ 4 attachments, 7 bottom with 3 attachments). The impressions were made in August and I was scheduled to get them in November, but they did not arrive in time for my appt and when they did arrive, there was no time to see me until mid January. I thought it was crazy, but whatever.
So, I wore the same set of aligners from Aug to Jan - lots of cleaning and scrubbing to try and keep them nice! That whole time I had no attachments and I swear it made get kind of slack - I would take them out to eat or drink and forget about getting them back in! And, they got so loose, that if I laughed (OK, guffawed) the top one would slip off. Same for playing sports - if I forcefully said certain words, they would just about fly outta my mouth!
Anyway, the first set of refinements fit great and hurt like hell. The second set still looks pretty good, but I swear my problem tooth is still not moving like I want it to... errr!
I like the new packaging, wish I had it for all of mine as the little bags would be great for storing and tracking old aligners.
I've been considering making some crazy art project with all the aligners when I'm done - a mobile, a sculpture, who knows... something wacky!
As for helpful hints, here are mine:
Keep them in water when you can - drying them out makes an icky film unless they are sparkling clean!
Denture cleaner works great, esp with a child's toothbrush.
GUM soft picks rock! (https://commerce.jbutler.com/profession ... oup_ID=639)
In a pinch, a piece of sugar free gum, a Brush Up and a cup of warm water can your teeth pretty clean. Just brush ASAP.
Don't spaz about taking them out for a special occasion. Make up the time later.
And, most of all, Invisalign are not invisible, they are not "easier" than traditional braces, and you gotta have faith!
A year into it...
Moderator: bbsadmin
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Invisibeth
- Posts: 28
- Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2008 4:51 pm
Thanks for your tips! I hope your treatment ends up how you want it to. You have a great attitude! I cannot believe the stories I'm hearing about "wait times." Yikes!
You're right about the denture cleaner. I'm on my 2nd aligner, and I started using Efferdent with the first one, and it works great. I use the tablets 1 or 2x/day, for 15 mins while I'm eating, and when I was finished with the first one after two weeks, it still looked spankin' new. I drink coffee (just a cup or 2 in the mornings, then clean them right after) and drink white wine/clear ocean with them in, too.
What a fantastic idea about the gum!! I absolutely cannot go without popcorn at the movies, and the other day, took the aligner out, ate my popcorn, then tried my best to rinse with water (without leaving my seat) before popping it back in and brushed/flossed when I got home. A 2-minute gum chewing session would have been great! (Though it probably loosens teeth! I've never been a fan of gum-chewing in general...)
Good luck with the rest of the treatment!
You're right about the denture cleaner. I'm on my 2nd aligner, and I started using Efferdent with the first one, and it works great. I use the tablets 1 or 2x/day, for 15 mins while I'm eating, and when I was finished with the first one after two weeks, it still looked spankin' new. I drink coffee (just a cup or 2 in the mornings, then clean them right after) and drink white wine/clear ocean with them in, too.
What a fantastic idea about the gum!! I absolutely cannot go without popcorn at the movies, and the other day, took the aligner out, ate my popcorn, then tried my best to rinse with water (without leaving my seat) before popping it back in and brushed/flossed when I got home. A 2-minute gum chewing session would have been great! (Though it probably loosens teeth! I've never been a fan of gum-chewing in general...)
Good luck with the rest of the treatment!