Newbie to Invisalign and a few questions

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#1 Post by **hoolie** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 6:22 am

Hi all

I'm on my first set of aligners and am on day 6. Got 13 L and 18U to go. A couple of questions.

Did anyone else have a sore mouth at the start as the roof of my mouth is tender today and I have a spot on the inside of my mouth where one of my attachments will be which is also sore? I've got the dry mouth and drinking more water (seems to be a common problem reading some other posts).

Also should your aligners cover your gums? Both aligners just cover the molars at the back but as you work your way round to the front they cover the gums especially at the back. Its not uncomfortable but just wondering if thats right?

Many thanks
hoolie

#2 Post by **ChicagoJohn** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 7:24 am

The roof of my mouth never got sore, no but I can see how you would feel that since Invisalign starts moving your molars and your arch right away.

My aligners do cover up my gums on the back side a bit but not really on the front. In fact, they don't even reach the gum line on the front side but they've fit better with each tray.

I'm at the very end of my two weeks with my 3rd set of aligners and I can tell you that all of those weird annoying mouth sores and things like that did not come back after I was done with my first aligners. I think my mouth just got used to having them in after a couple of weeks so all of those tender spots toughened up a bit and now it no longer bothers me at all. When I start a new set I usually inspect it and file down any rough looking edges with a nail file before I put them in for the first time so that my tongue doesn't get raw in any spots.

Good luck with things! I'm on 3/7L and 3/15U and it's already a breeze. I start #4 tomorrow!

John

#3 Post by **hoolie** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 4:59 am

Hi John
Thanks for getting back to me.

Must admit that one sore spot has gone today (well like you say just got used to it/toughened up). Roll on tray 2.

Any tips for getting them off as find it a bit difficult at times. Having attachments fitted next week (7 in total) and that's meant to make it harder to get them out.

Have you noticed a difference yet?

Hoolie

#4 Post by **ChicagoJohn** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:42 am

I've got 7 attachments and they were all put on with my very first tray so I don't know how much more difficult it will be for you when you get them on versus not having them on. But I can remember trying to figure out the best way to get them off when I had my first tray on and it took a few different methods but what ended up working the best for me, and it's the one that I've stuck to is I start from the back on the left side and just work all the way around almost one tooth at a time until it comes off. You might find that something works better for you using a different method but I think most people tend to start from one side in the back and work around that way. And be very graceful if you can when pulling a tray off and putting it back on with attachments! I broke one off one day when I was in a hurry and I forced my bottom tray on too fast and it snapped a button off. I had to spend my Saturday morning at the dentist getting a new attachment put on.

As far as noticing a difference, after only 3 trays I haven't really noticed any movement in the front teeth, which are the ones that are crooked, but I have certainly noticed that my molars, or my arch, has started to widen out because my bite is no longer the same. Plus I can already physically see that they've moved outwards some. I'm taking pictures the night before I change to a new tray every time and I'm hoping to maybe see some difference tonight when I change to #4. I do see a difference in the shape of the trays though when I compare aligner #4 to aligner #1 when I put them next to each other. It's frustrating because Invisalign seems to move all of that stuff in the back first before focusing on the crooked teeth that I want straightened.

When are you putting your 2nd trays in?

John

#5 Post by **hoolie** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:57 am

Hiya

Well you were right about the soreness in the mouth easing - day 12 of my first set of aligners and it all seems to have gone. Hurrah.

Going on Thursday for my 2nd set of aligner and the dreaded attachments. Getting better at taking the aligners out just hope its not much more difficult with the attachments on. Will keep you posted.

Feels like my back molars have moved very slightly as my bite feels slightly off - hopefully they're on the move.

Noticed much more difference since you started your next set?

Hoolie

#6 Post by **ChicagoJohn** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 7:07 am

Yeah, around day 12 of any aligner feels like nothing is even going on with your teeth, even with attachments. I start getting anxious to put a new tray in around day 12 but I guess you need that easy time to let your teeth adjust to their new position for a while before moving them again.

Tray #4 was the hardest to put on for the first time so far. It was really painful and I thought that I might even need to call my dentist for help but I managed to get it on. Once it finally snapped on I realized why it was so hard. It's because it's focusing in on my front crooked teeth a lot. Wow it really hurt on those teeth for the first two days but now it's been 5 days and they no longer hurt at all. I can definitely see a difference in the front teeth now. So I guess my first 3 trays moved stuff around in the back and tray 4 started with the front teeth finally.

Good luck with the attachments! Getting them put on is a breeze but getting the aligners on and off will be a bit tricky at first but it'll get easier as time goes on.

#7 Post by **hoolie** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 5:58 am

Well finally got attachments today - a week later as my otho wasn't happy how I was taking my aligners out.

Feels very weird like bits of food stuck to your teeth. Glad they don't notice much though.

You were right about the aligners settling down at aligner number 2. Mouth feels much better.

Got aligners 3-7 today so that will keep me going for a while. Had a sneak preview of aligner 7 and some teeth will be straight by then. Yippee.

Hoolie