Getting invisalign tomorrow... some questions, concerns...

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#1 Post by **JoBee** » Sun May 22, 2005 3:47 pm

Hi, everyone! I'm glad I found this message board, it seems to be full of info.

I am 24, and I had braces from age 13-16. I have a small mouth and I had crowding, had to have a bunch of teeth removed to make room for everything, etc. Well, being 16 and stubborn meant I didn't wear my retainer the way I was supposed to. And I only found out recently that you're supposed to wear those things for your entire life. Who knew? Not I.

Anyway, over the last 8 years, my teeth have shifted a little. It's not bad and most don't notice unless I say something, but I wanted to correct it now before they got any worse. I was interested in invisalign because I'm vain, hehe. He said I should only have to wear them on the top for 6-9 months, and on the bottom I'll have a metal aligner -- it's very small, the one he showed me fit over the 4 front teeth. Only one tooth is a little crooked on the bottom and part of me thinks I shouldn't even bother with the bottom, but I know if my top teeth are perfect I'll regret not getting them all fixed down the road.

He said the way my teeth are, they will always want to go back to the way they were, so after everything is said and done he will install a permanant retainer. I had never even heard of such a thing, but 2 of my coworkers have them. Again, who knew?

So after months of x-rays, molds, etc. I got the call about a week ago, and my braces are in! I go in tomorrow morning to get them, and I was very excited, but after googling and reading some things I'm starting to get nervous. I'm starting to wonder if I'm a right candidate or not... None of my teeth have to be rotated (I think), so that shouldn't be an issue. I would hope that my ortho would have told me if I wasn't a good candidate. When I brought them up, he said that they were the Rolls Royce of braces, and the cost was higher -- I was quoted $2500 for the regular braces and $3950 for Invisalign. He never mentioned this might not be a good option for me, just that I wouldn't need to be in them very long.

Plus, what are speedbumps? I've NEVER heard of these and am wondering why they use them at all.

Now I'm beginning to wish I had done all this research before I got deep into the process. I'm not at the point where I'll back out, but now I'm just worried something will go wrong and I'll end up having to get regular braces because invisalign won't work for me.

I took some pics of my teeth too, if anyone cares:

#2 Post by **jennielee81** » Sun May 22, 2005 4:00 pm

HI!

I don't have invisalign, but I went for a consultation and wanted them very badly. I was not a good candidate and my ortho told me so. I'm sure your's would also have told you if this wasn't for you. Trust him!

About speed bumps, here's a little info that's been posted and also a great homepage about invisalign with wonderful speed bump pictures.

They're basically little "handles" for the aligners to grab hold of. Bumps are bonded out of white bonding material. Good luck tomorrow and...Here you go!

http://members.aol.com/debbiap/photos.html (pictures of speed bumps)

viewtopic.php?t=1369 (previous discussion of speed bumps)

#3 Post by **JoBee** » Sun May 22, 2005 4:06 pm

Thank you for the links!

So I guess my question is, does everyone get speedbumps? My dr. never said anything about them.

One of the other reasons why I went with Invisalign is because I didn't want anything on my teeth. I had staining from the last time I had braces, and after I'm done with invisalign I'm going to spring for professional whitening to get rid of all that.

I guess I'm just having reservations because I'd never heard of this before, you know?

#4 Post by **jennielee81** » Sun May 22, 2005 4:14 pm

I don't know if everyone gets speed bumps. Sorry!

I didn't want conventional braces either at all and was devistated when I found out that invisalign wouldn't work for me. I'm 8 weeks in with metal lowers and Opal uppers and I'm starting to be less embarassed by these things. Now that my teeth are almost straight, I am FAR less self contious.

You'll be fine....we're all here to help you through it!

Let us know how tomorrow goes!

#5 Post by **rooroo** » Sun May 22, 2005 6:48 pm

I had speed bumps with my Invisalign treatment. Check out my thread about what Invlisalign did for me in this same forum. I have some pictures, and in both of the pictures that show late in the Invisalign treatment I have speedbumps. The first one you can barely see them and this is only because of the angle the picture was taken at. The second you cant even tell. I had no staining at all from the speedbumps because it was very easy to clean on and around them. The reason you get staining with braces is its so hard to clean around them so you get tarter buildup on your teeth, and then they look stained.

My ortho also didnt tell me about the speedbumps. No one ever noticed them though, so don't worry. You'll be fine. Let us know how it goes. Good luck!

#6 Post by **JoBee** » Mon May 23, 2005 6:02 pm

Well, I got them this morning. Sure enough, I have speedbumps. While they were showing me how to take the aligner in and out, 2 of the bumps popped off. They redid them. They said if a couple come off it's ok, as long as they don't all come off then I have to go in and get them replaced.

I came home and ate lunch, and after brushing my teeth I noticed one of the bumps came off again.

I'm a little sore, which I expected. I just took some Advil, so hopefully that will kick in soon. My jaw is also sore because I have a small mouth and having to open so wide for them to get in there doesn't feel great after a while.

I'm also a little frustrated because my dr. had told me 6-9 months, and I have 25 aligners, which means 50 weeks. So, for the next year I'll be dealing with this.

Oh well. I just keep telling myself it will be worth it in the end... At least, I hope it will.

#7 Post by **rooroo** » Mon May 23, 2005 7:32 pm

It will be! It's so worth it in the end if Invisalign does everything that you need it to. You will be sore for probably a week this time, and after that you'll only be sore for a few days. Just keep up on the advil and clean them regularly. And you'll get used to taking them out. Trust me, they're way better in the beginning than braces are.

Good luck. Keep us informed about how your treatment goes. Oh, and the year will fly by. 9 months from now, your teeth with look great and you'll be wondering how time flew by so fast.

#8 Post by **Invisaguy** » Tue May 24, 2005 7:59 am

Congrats JoBee,
Don't worry, before you know it you will forget your even wearing them (for the most part!) I'm on aligner #5 of 48 top and 21 bottom and so far things are going really well. As far as the speedbumps go, I had one pop off the day I got them in and on my third set I chipped one. I got both issues taken care of pretty quick but other than that I have not had a problem. It will help getting used to taking them in and out and hopefully you won't have to worry about breaking them as much. How many bumps did you get? A couple of tips...replace your aligners at night when you are moving to a new set (and take tylenol PM while doing so!). This way you can sleep off the a bit of the soreness the new ones can cause. Also be patient in your progress as invisalign tends to work the back before the front and can be a little deceiving as far as your progress is concerned. I'm still happy I did it and I'm sure you will too. Good luck!
P.S. Nice to see some fellow Chicagoans on the invisalign threads

#9 Post by **Babie** » Mon May 30, 2005 8:28 pm

Hi JoBee!

Like you, I'm new to Invisalign. I started wearing them three days ago. So far, one of my tooth hurts whenever I remove the invisalign. I'm not sure if it has to do with the "bump" attached to my tooth. It could be that the "bump" is too thick. It's the only one that tends to "stuck" onto the invisalign. Removing the invisalign is difficult and painful; it was like pulling a tooth out of my mouth. The pain lasts for a while. Eating can be painful as well. Now, I'm not sure if I should tell my Orthodontist about this problem. I don't want to be perceived as a baby; like I can't stand the discomfort. I'm also struggling to wear the Invisalign for 22 hours a day. Last weekend was quite a challenge, coz I was eating out in restaurants. Brushing teeth after meals was quite a challenge, coz I was getting in the way of other people trying to use the sink.

I hope you have an easier time wearing your invisalign.

#10 Post by **rooroo** » Tue May 31, 2005 2:53 pm

Just a suggestion to those of you dealing with first day put-in-take-out soreness. If its really painful, first take a deep breath and pop a few Advil.

Next, realize why it hurts so much. It's not that your teeth are "getting stuck" on the speed bumps, its that you teeth are getting used to their position with the aligners in, and when you take the aligners out, your teeth spring back to their original position. So it hurts a lot to take them out, and even more to put them back in. Trust all of us that have been through it, it goes away within a week of beginning Invisalign, and the more aligners you go through the less it hurts.

Finally, if it hurts so much that Advil doesn't help, go on a liquid diet and eat with the aligners in. My ortho said I don't have to take them out to eat soft foods as long as I make sure to clean them twice a day. So on those first few days, try eating soup with them in. It feels really weird the first few times, but you get used to it. Only thing kind of gross about this is some foods will get stuck under the aligners, so you'll need to check your teeth in the mirror, and maybe stick to broths and big, soft noodles. You may still have to take them out to get food out, or try rinsing vigourously with water. This way, you can take them out once or twice a day rather than 3-4 times a day, and save yourself a little pain. I'd only do this as long as it hurts really bad to take them out. Once you can take them out and bear the pain, go back to your regular schedule of eating with them out.

I was able to eat grapes, bananas, and soups with the aligners in. Oh, just a note, make sure the soup is not piping hot. Hot liquids can deform and discolor your aligners.