Notes From a Year In (UPDATE: 2 years)

Message

#1 Post by **blair** » Mon Nov 26, 2007 8:22 pm

I'm a few weeks shy of being a year into my Invisalign treatment (22/42U and 46L) and I thought I'd offer up some of my thoughts and experiences for those who are still considering or just beginning.

I was a borderline case for Invisalign; my ortho was leaning towards a traditional treatment because I would need four extractions (the teeth behind my canines), but I really didn't want metal braces (I'm vain), and so she agreed. I probably will need traditional braces for a short while after Invisalign to finish aligning my bite, but I'm really glad to have chosen Invisalign to do the bulk of the treatment - it's so much easier, and I've only had one person notice (or at least, who said something something) who I didn't tell outright. My ortho says that so far, everything is going perfectly - I'm getting really excited, as the trays I'll put in around Christmas show really noticeable closure in my extraction gaps compared to the trays I have now.

I honestly think very little about having my trays in; you really do get used to them and I barely notice they're in, except the first couple days of a new tray. I remember being pretty sore from my first tray, but they don't bother me as much anymore when I put them in - they're tight, and harder to get out at first, but my teeth aren't really sore. I do try harder to keep my trays in as much as possible the first day or two, as it makes them easier to put back in. Also, putting them in the night before really helps - that way you'll have a good 8 hours of uninterrupted wear.

As for eating and drinking, my ortho told me I can drink pretty much whatever I want with them in, as long as I rinse with water periodically and stay away from super-hot beverages that could melt or deform the aligners. I regularly drink water, beer, wine, and mixed drinks with them in, and milk and juice more rarely (I'm not a soda drinker). I try to brush as soon as possible afterwards, but sometimes it's a couple hours if I'm out. I've had two dentist appointments in the last year, one of them last week, and I was told my teeth looked perfect at both of them (I had one small cavity last week, but it was at my gumline and unrelated to Invisalign). I do take the trays out for eating.

I brush 3-4 times a day, flossing about half of those (depending if I've eaten something fibrous), and I usually run my toothbrush through the trays as well with a bit of paste to clear out any gumminess. I soak the trays in Efferdent at least every other day, which helps to freshen them quite a bit. I've never noticed any clouding, though the new trays do look clearer than the ones I discard. Not by much though, and it's not noticeable when they're in.

I generally wear the trays at least 22 hours a day, though sometimes towards the end of a set I get a little more lax, though not by much. I think having them in makes the extraction gaps less noticeable, so I tend to want to have them in. Plus, my teeth feel kind of naked without them.

I'm really satisfied with my treatment so far, though I've gone in knowing I will probably need to finish with traditional braces (which I'm not thrilled about, but I'll probably get ceramic). My teeth were really pretty crooked, and it's great to see them starting to straighten. I can't think of too much else, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

#2 Post by **nogota** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 10:32 am

Thanks for all that

It's always nice to hear how things have gone for others. In the few months I've had them, my experiences have been pretty similar to yours. Good luck with the rest of your treatment. The traditional braces aren't too bad. I have them on the bottom, and I barely notice them most of the time.

#3 Post by **diehard** » Tue Nov 27, 2007 12:56 pm

holy crap blair its as if uv brrn inside my mind when writing that stuff so much is like what i do and how i feel really spooky

#4 Post by **blair** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 1:14 am

Just wanted to say that I put in tray 24 the other day and as of today I am seeing some serious differences on my bottom teeth (the more crowded)! My canines used to slant across my middle bottom teeth, and they're getting close to straight now and the extraction gaps are closing! I think it will only be 2-4 more trays until my gaps are all closed! I'm so excited!

My bite is still pretty off but I have almost a year left to go of treatment, so I'm hoping it will get corrected by then. I'm also wishfully hoping that I won't need to go the metal brackets route to fine tune it all (especially as I'll be moving out of state well before treatment is done), but I doubt I'll have much luck there. At least the cosmetic changes are finally really getting visible!

#5 Post by **blair** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 8:31 pm

bump and an update: about to change to tray 31, and everything is still going swimmingly, though I'm STILL waiting for the gaps to close. I know they will, though. Newbies, feel free to ask questions!

#6 Post by **bellini** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 7:58 pm

Thanks! So helpful.

I just got mine today.

#7 Post by **blair** » Wed May 14, 2008 7:52 pm

Tray 35 update: HOLY GOD THIS TRAY HURTS. It's actually only the lower tray that's bad, but it's been over 24 hours and it's still actively tender (normally I only feel it at this point when removing and inserting the trays). Here's hoping tomorrow feels better. I also got my two (small) cavities filled without incident, despite my ortho's apprehension.

I now have up through tray 37 in my possession, and because I'm transferring offices (same ortho, different location), I'll soon have the entire rest of the set - I'm just going to drive them over rather than have them mailed. It's really strange that there are so few trays left to go. I know a lot of people originally only have as many total as I have left (7U/12L), but the end seems in sight, finally. There's still work to go, though, so I'm eager to get a glimpse of those last trays to see how it'll all turn out!

Also, when I was in at the ortho the other day, she thought one of my canines had a bit of lag from the tray, and that the attachment might be inhibiting movement. So she took the attachment off - my tooth is so smooth now! I'd wondered how well they'd be able to sand off the attachment glue, and I can now say it comes off perfectly.

#8 Post by **PigletInIowa** » Sat May 31, 2008 7:37 am

Hi, Blair,
Sorry I've been trying to reply your post almost everywhere trying to get answers for some questions. So if you see repetitive post, please don't mind. I saw your post and learned that you had 4 pre-molar extractions and are using Invisalign to close them. My question is how big are the extraction gaps you had to start with. I have 2 upper pre-molar extracted and regular braces, but I'm considering to switch to Invisalign since the regular braces are just driving my crazy. I couldn't eat well, couldn't sleep well, the inside of my mouth is constantly irritated that I have to use wax almost half of the time:( But I remember my ortho told me at the beginning that Invisalign is not good for closing extraction gaps. Mine are 6mm each. But it seems your gap closing process is going really well, so I'm just wondering how similar our cases are and how big a chance I have to be able to switch?
Any Info would help!!! Thanks a lot!

#9 Post by **blair** » Sat May 31, 2008 9:07 am

Hmm, I'm not sure how big my gaps were. I'd guess they were at least 6mm though?

Invisalign does have trouble closing gaps; I haven't had as much as some have. Honestly, at this point, it feels like it's taking longer than it should - my bottom gaps are almost gone, but my top gaps still have probably half or a third of the original gap to go, and I only have a half dozen more trays for the top. It's slow, to be sure.

As I'm sure you've read, the real problem with Invisalign closing gaps is that the teeth tend to "tip" into the empty space. I haven't really had problems with this (thank god), but I'm not sure why not: I don't know whether it was the skill of my ortho, my dedication in wearing the trays, or just luck. It's certainly something to consider carefully, though.

I guess what I would think about (or ask your ortho about) is how long it would take to close the gap with braces, and then switch to Invisalign after that. I've mentioned before, I'm slated to finish for a couple months in partial braces (though I'm hoping against hope that any refinements can be done with Invisalign). This isn't uncommon with Invisalign, so consider that you may very well end up in braces again.

Lastly, if you're really set on Invisalign, find the most experience, confident Invisalign ortho you can - they'll probably have better results as well as a better idea of what Invisalign can and can't effectively acheive.

Best of luck!

#10 Post by **PigletInIowa** » Sat May 31, 2008 2:22 pm

Thanks a lot, Blair! I'll definitely keep that in mind! And I'm actually prepared to have the braces on until it's suitable for Invisalign if that's what it takes. For me, even shaving off 3-4 month of wire braces would be tremendous for me, since the past 2 month in braces has been the most traumatizing experience for me. Even just one day would make a lot of difference.

Unfortunately, for the sesame little Iowa City I'm staying now, I don't have that many choices for Invisalign carriers. Even though I'm so close to the U of Iowa College of dentistry, they don't even carry Invisalign, and the chair of the ortho department even blatantly claim Invisalign would not work for me, while the fact is they donâ€™t have it! Iâ€™ll wait to ask my ortho and if he says no, I might have to drive 40min to a slightly bigger city further away but with a preferred carrier.

#11 Post by **blair** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 7:40 pm

Sooooo embarrassingly enough, I found out today (after TWO YEARS) that I in fact have more upper trays than lower trays, rather than the other way around. So I actually have 47U/42L and have been reading the tray cases wrong the whole time.

I saw my ortho today, and both she and the assistant commented that the bottoms were almost done - in fact, I've finished the last tray (42), but there are some refinements to be done. At first, I thought there was no way that could be true, but when I looked closer in the mirror tonight, I saw that my bottom teeth really ARE almost straight - there's a tiny bit of overlap with one tooth, but the ortho said it should be very easy to fix.

As for the top, I was actually glad to hear there are still five trays left, as the gaps are almost - but not quite - closed. The teeth are straight, but still some gaps to fix. So I've got 43 in now, and I need to go through 47 - at that point, we'll do refinements. The ortho seems pleased, and I have to say that aesthetically, I am too. One of my lower molars did end up tipping a bit into the extraction gap, but the ortho seemed unconcerned. She said that everything could be fixed with a month of fixed braces, but I may opt for Invisalign refinements anyway, as I work in an extremely image-conscious business. It'll probably be until the new year until everything's set, but I'm so acclimated at this point that I don't mind at all.

Anyway, I'm pretty pleased! I was so used to thinking of my bottom teeth as crooked that I barely noticed that they're almost straight now. I'm looking forward to finishing up the last few trays, getting my refinements, and then probably doing a course of whitening once the attachments are off.

#12 Post by **PigletInIowa** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 7:58 pm

Hi, Blair,
It's really encouraging to see your great progress. I'm just wondering when your gaps were being closed, do you know if your back teeth were moved forward or not?
Thanks a lot!!!

#13 Post by **blair** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:23 pm

Thanks! I feel like as one of the long-termers in the trays, it's helpful for me to speak up about the experience of doing a *lot* of time in them.

As for the back teeth, yes, I think they were moved forward, though I had a lot of crowding in the front (esp on bottom) so some of the gap was closed from those moving back.

#14 Post by **blair** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 7:00 pm

I've now finished the initial round of trays and had my impressions for my revisions taken today. I'm much happier with my teeth than I was when I started, though my bite is still off and the bottom teeth are very slightly crooked (hence the revisions).

It's really satisfying to have the attachments taken off too. My teeth feel so smooth. Since I've already been in this set of trays for about a month and I will be for another month, I'm cutting back to wearing my trays part-time (bedtime to lunch) until I get my revisions. It's freeing, and I'm enjoying having no trays or attachments for a bit (it has been two years, after all!). But I'm still looking forward to seeing my revision plan in the next couple weeks! I hope to see my ClinCheck before Christmas.

I'll post pictures at some point soon. Unfortunately I seem to have lost my "before" pics... perhaps I'll request them from the ortho.

#15 Post by **Alex2411** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:01 am

glad your happy with your treatment so far. you should post us some pictures