Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi Everyone,
I have been lurking for a few months prior to getting my invisalign. All the tips and blogs have been very helpful.
I have had in invisalign fitted yesterday and my dentist warned me about discomfort (as my teeth are 'crossed' over), however I am not really experiencing any discomfort (except when I am taking the braces out to eat) that a lots of users have experienced. I should be grateful about this but I am paranoid that my teeth will not be straight.
My buttons are going to be attached when I have my 2nd tray - do you think this is the reason why I am not experiencing any discomfort??


Can anyone tell me if herbal tea like green tea or mint tea is ok to drink with invisalign? My dentist advise me that this could stain my teeth.
Can you still suck on sugar free mints with the braces in??


Thanks,
Holograms

Hi, and good luck with the treatment! I'm on about 6 of 18, and so far, so good!

My correction was really minor, with one front tooth just beginning to cross over the other. Nobody could really notice it, but I could , and also noticed that in photos, it was "progressing," so I figured I better nip it. I don't know if your "cross-over" is more severe. However, when I got the first one in, my head was a bit "tight" and sore, but I really did have any pain. (I had braces in my teens-- I'm 40 now-- so it was a tightness with which I was familiar). Generally, when I've switched to the rest of them, from the 2nd one on, I have absolutely no pain. I also switch them at night, since I'm a grinder, so I pop it in at 10pm, and when I wake up in the morning after all that grinding, presto! A perfect fit!

With respect to staining, I was told by my ortho to avoid red wine, and similar types of drinks, for that reason. At first, I was really paranoid, and switched to white, and drank red only when my aligner was out or when it was almost time to switch to the next one! I always drink coffee with it in (about 2 cups in the morning). I've gotten a lot more relaxed about it, though, and will drink a glass without removing it. One thing that I think has been really helpful is that I use Efferdent about 2x/day. When I take them out to eat, I drop them in a warm Efferdent glass for about 15 mins. I have to say that I have nary a mark on my aligners, even at the end. They're shiny and new when I'm putting them into the land of used aligners...

Hello! Tomorrow, mine will have been in for a week. My discomfort has decreased greatly. I also have TMJ so I was really scared as to how it would all "go down" but, so far so good!

Good luck to you!

Thanks for the tips you guys? I have 32 trays to go - yikes!!!

p.s - what does TMJ stands for??

Meryaten wrote:TMJ stands for temporomadibular joint - the jaw joint. However, a lot of people erroneously use TMJ to refer to temporomandibular joint disorders - TMD. The incorrect usage has become so widespread that even doctors and insurance companies will often use the term TMJ when actually referring to TMD, probably (I would assume) to avoid patient confusion.

Thanks!

Luckily I have not suffereed from TMJ or any type of extreme pain.

Hello All! I am also a newbie but have visited this board a handful of times. I approved my ClinCheck last Tuesday and I'm just waiting to hear that my trays are in! My treatment will last about 20 weeks, starting on my bottom teeth and then my top will follow so that I finish them together. I will need the buttons and the tooth shaving (not sure if that is the correct term).

Chole wrote:Hello All! I am also a newbie but have visited this board a handful of times. I approved my ClinCheck last Tuesday and I'm just waiting to hear that my trays are in! My treatment will last about 20 weeks, starting on my bottom teeth and then my top will follow so that I finish them together. I will need the buttons and the tooth shaving (not sure if that is the correct term).

Hey Chole - welcome.
I have had my invisalign in for a week now. Prior to my 1st tray my denitst filed in between serveral teeth. He said that this would encourage more movement. So I think tooth shaving is the same

holograms wrote:

Chole wrote:Hello All! I am also a newbie but have visited this board a handful of times. I approved my ClinCheck last Tuesday and I'm just waiting to hear that my trays are in! My treatment will last about 20 weeks, starting on my bottom teeth and then my top will follow so that I finish them together. I will need the buttons and the tooth shaving (not sure if that is the correct term).

Hey Chole - welcome.
I have had my invisalign in for a week now. Prior to my 1st tray my denitst filed in between serveral teeth. He said that this would encourage more movement. So I think tooth shaving is the same

Thanks! I am getting my botton tray today and having 4 buttons placed, I was told I dont need the shaving/filing until my 7th tray. I am so excited, I have to go through the boards and pick up some helpful tips.

Welcome Holograms!
I didn't have to get buttons until my third set of aligners so I can tell you that it is really nice to start out without attachments. It really helps ease you into the process and once you get used to the whole thing then you are really ready for the attachments and those are just as much a breeze to get used to as just the aligners themselves. I didn't feel a great deal of discomfort with my first set, the second was worse and the third-with the newly attached buttons-was no worse than my first set. The only problem was learning how to take the aligners off again since my strategy ended up being a bit different once I got the buttons and getting used to the feel of the buttons as my cheeks touched them(only took a short while for them to feel completely normal)

Of course, just my opinion as I only ever had the one option, though I do wonder what it would have been like to get the buttons from the get go.

I got the attachments right from the beginning. They are the rectangular type, and some are horizontal and some are vertical. There are 3 on each side on the lowers, and 2 on one side of the upper and 1 on the other. It was hard to get the trays off at first, but still only took about 3 minutes. I used the hook invisalign makes (the ortho included it with the first trays) for only a few days. Now I can just use my fingers, and it is very quick-- but it definitely is a learning process, and the application of different approaches to see what would work best.

I think the attachments make me want to get the trays back in my mouth as soon as possible, as they are annoying without the trays covering them. The rectangular ones have very distinct edges. I really don't think that having them from the beginning made it any more difficult to adjust to having the aligners. It seems from my reading of the posts on this board that most people start out without the attachments and get them later. I was somewhat surprised when the ortho said that they would be applied right away, but at least he told me that when I reviewed my Clincheck.

Devushka wrote:Welcome Holograms!
I didn't have to get buttons until my third set of aligners so I can tell you that it is really nice to start out without attachments. It really helps ease you into the process and once you get used to the whole thing then you are really ready for the attachments and those are just as much a breeze to get used to as just the aligners themselves. I didn't feel a great deal of discomfort with my first set, the second was worse and the third-with the newly attached buttons-was no worse than my first set. The only problem was learning how to take the aligners off again since my strategy ended up being a bit different once I got the buttons and getting used to the feel of the buttons as my cheeks touched them(only took a short while for them to feel completely normal)

Of course, just my opinion as I only ever had the one option, though I do wonder what it would have been like to get the buttons from the get go.

Hi,

Thank for the advice. I am getting my buttons/attachments fitted tomorrow.
Like yourself my first tray was not painful (slightly uncomfortable). In fact, I was expecting a lot of pain and was worried when I didn’t experience it.