Metal Mouth Message Board

Hello Everyone

I just started Invisalign this past Tuesday. I was really anxious to get started. It took about four weeks for them to arrive. When I got the attachments placed on I had no idea they were going to be visible. I have a total of 11 attachments. The 2 on the canines are so obvious..it looks like I have fangs. Oh well..something I have to just get over. I will have 15 upper and 18 lower. Soo it should go by fairly quickly.

My case isn't very drastic I think. I just really wanted to close this small gap I had in between my two front teeth. So far, I have a pretty bad lisp going on. I had to talk in front of my whole class with them on for the first full day and i felt that I was just slurring everything. Hopefully, this gets better over time because it's kinda embarrassing when I have to stop so I'm not spitting all over the place. The sucking out the saliva is kind of annoying too. I've already managed to irritate the heck out of my cheeks and tongue. But no complaining anymore..because I'm really excited to see how beautiful my teeth will look once I'm done I did not get a chance to see that ClinCheck video..but will definitely ask my ortho the next time I go in for a visit.

Hey AllSmiles86 - I also lisped noticeably for the first 2-3 days then it went away. I was consciously trying to say words with S in when I was alone in the car etc so I could figure out how to say it without lisping.

I also talk alot and find myself drinking about 3 litres of water a day to keep my mouth from drying out so make sure you have plenty of water to hand because if the aligners dry out your tongue kind of sticks a little bit which makes speech a bit slurred.

I am on set 8 of 17 on upper and lower and the time has flown by and I am already getting people notice the difference, which is brilliant.

Definitely ask to see your clincheck - I ask to see it every 6 weeks so I can see how much progress my teeth have made - it's easy to forget when you spend so much time looking at them every day! The clincheck reminds you of what you are doing this all for too so its a nice little motivator

Yes, it honestly does get easier, I promise! Perhaps your ortho can email you the clincheck. I got my refinements the other day and I forgot to ask so I called him after the appointment and he emailed it to me. Worth a try, it is such a motivator.
As for the sore cheeks and tongue, you really shouldn't have that if the aligners fit correctly. If I were you I would give them a thorough look over and see if there are any rough edges. If there are give them a light file with a nail file and it is soooo much better. There is no need to put up with any pain.
Good Luck!

It definitely gets easier after a few weeks. Like Myhollywoodsmile, I have found some of my aligners come with rough edges and can irritate the inside of my cheeks. Also, it takes a day or so for new aligners to fit correctly over attachments. Most of this gets easier after a couple of weeks.

Don't worry about the visibility of your attachments. I have them on my premolars that are very visible when I smile - they look like small tooth - colored squares. So far, I haven't seen anyone staring at my teeth to see what they are. When you look at your teeth in the mirror, you are much closer than most people will be.

I have eight attachments, most of which are on my pre-molars. These tend to be very uncomfortable and can cause small sores inside my cheeks if I have my aligners out very long. This definitely helps me be compliant but is a problem when I have long restaurant meals.

Good luck - you should be finished in less than a year!!

It definitely gets better. I had the same lisping/slurring for about a week (and for a day with each new aligner as my mouth gets used to a slightly diff shape aligner). I would too practice the S and Th sounds in the car or alone. I had bad excess saliva in the beginning too and that is quite a bit better now. If I remember that lasted a couple weeks but it did get a bit better each day. I now go between dry mouth (like the previous have said I keep water with me all the time) and a bit excess saliva - the excess happens mostly when I'm talking alot, and the dry mouth more when I'm breathing through my mouth due to allergies or a cold, etc.

I had my dentist email me mine too - I'd bet yours could too.

Good luck!!!

Oh, and yes, I had the raw/sore cheeks and tongue the first few days too. I have to do a bit of filing of sharper/rough spots on all my aligners to help. I don't think they can ever get them totally smooth without any sharp or rough spots. I'm sure it's all automated and not exactly perfect! I just use the light colored side (finer side) of a emery board nail file. Works like a charm.

I don't talk differently at all. The first thing I said to the hygienist when I put them on, I slurred, then started over and was fine. I had to physically speak differently to sound the same at first but not anymore.

The other night I was drunk and as I was talking to my gf at the end of the night I kinda had a Joan Cusack thing going on because I was speaking without any inhibition.

There was a rough edge behind the lower incisors that naturally I couldn't leave alone, so I developed a few pimples on the tip of my tongue.

I drink coffee with them in but no sugar. I don't really care about staining because I have whitening gel and access to other products through my sister who's a hygienist. I can't do just one cup, not gonna happen, so I continue my daily routine of 3 cups in a row over about 2 hours. I drink it at about 110 degrees. Can't do cold coffee either. Aligners look fine overall. A little staining in the bottom molar areas, but in 10 days or so, smell ya later to this pair, right?

Don't worry about anyone noticing your invisalign or attachments, I'm in dental school and almost no one notices them.

Hang in there! Invisalign can take some getting used to, especially talking with them. After about a week, you should be able to talk ok with them. If you are talking in front of your class, you can take them out and put them pack after your done speaking. =D