Invisalign

mada82

Hey All.

Has anyone had this done? I read a blog online saying it can be a nuisance taking it out and putting it back in at meal times.

I’m trying to weigh it up vs braces.
The quotes I have are very similar in price.

CreepOfTheWeek

mada82 wrote: »

Hey All.

Has anyone had this done? I read a blog online saying it can be a nuisance taking it out and putting it back in at meal times.

I’m trying to weigh it up vs braces.
The quotes I have are very similar in price.

I am currently 8 weeks into my Invisalign journey and so far I love them.

Yes, you have to take them out before eating any meals, then brush your teeth after eating and reinsert and it did take some getting used to but with braces, I think there are some foods you have to avoid completely and with Invisalign, you can have whatever you want!

On the plus side - I've stopped snacking which in itself is great! My teeth have gotten so white even in the first 2-3 weeks the difference was amazing due to all the brushing as I'm probably brushing my teeth about 4-5 times daily. It does become second nature and I have become so comfortable with them and even brushing my teeth in restaurant toilets after a meal out. I don't even notice the "effort" of taking them out and popping them back in it is very easily done in less than 30 seconds. You can drink with them in, apart from maybe red wine or coffee which stains the retainer and so aesthetically it would not look great.

The cons I suppose are carrying around a toothbrush, floss and toothpaste on your person at all times, something I'm completely used to now. Tea and Coffee can warp the plastic retainer if they are consumed while too hot.

The way I look at it is I've spent alot of money to get the Invisalign and so I will ensure I follow the correct procedures with the Invisalign to get the best results possible. I also only have them for 23 weeks so it is not a huge amount of time to commit to just ensuring you take them out to eat and brush after to get an ideal smile. The movement and results I have had already is amazing. I would 100% recommend the Invisalign braces.

If you have any other questions fire away!

mada82

Thanks your the reply. The blog I read made it out to be a real struggle removing and adding them back, you say 30 seconds does it, that sounds grand to me.

How do they feel in your mouth? Would it be really noticeable? I’m wondering will it affect sleeping at night if it feels like there something In your mouth.

CreepOfTheWeek

My dentist wouldn't let me leave the practice without first ensuring I was capable of taking them out with ease. You basically unclip them from your back teeth on one side and kind of pull forward and they come out very easily. I have nails though also which I think helps. He did also advise me that there would be some pain and sensitivity which I didn't think would be bad but for the first 5 days the pain was crazy and I felt like all of my teeth were going to fall out. I genuinely questioned after spending all the money if I would go ahead with it the entire process. All I can say is eat soft-ish food for those first few days and religiously take paracetamol before bed to ease the pain/pressure feeling. My mouth was also cut and I had blisters on my tongue as essentially there was this alien plastic in my mouth. BUT I will say I haven't had any issues since then. So for the first 5 days maybe I would have had a different opinion but now they are second nature. (I also think you can bring the retainers to your dentist and ask them to file down the plastic sides if they are really bothersome and also dental wax is apparently helpful but I struggled on and was fine after a few days)

Now I actually prefer when they're in, I have attachments which are sort of little tooth coloured spiky bits attached to your teeth that the Invisalign click onto and I believe this is how the teeth are manipulated into place. So when the Invisalign are out I am very aware of the attachments when my gum/lips/tongue touch off them, now it's not painful or uncomfortable but just a weird feeling and so i prefer the smoothness of the Invisalign retainer. So far I don't think anyone has noticed them in my mouth unless up really close, one day my other half asked me if I had them in because he really couldn't tell. I think they look noticeable but I think it's because I know they are there... They are very clear though so not in your face.

Sleeping at night is fine, like I said the first few days I was in pain and sleep was quite broken as a result but now I have no issues and when I change my retainer to a new one (once a week) I change them at like 10 pm take 2 paracetamol and head to bed and have little to no pain. It also means you're sleeping through the initial breaking in! I think you actually become very used to them being in and it feels more normal to me now especially as you're wearing them for 22 hours a day basically.

Only other thing that has changed is my mouth is quite dry when wearing them and my lips have become dry also so I've really upped my water intake (good thing) and I just make to have lip balm with my toothbrush/toothpaste pack that I bring around with me and this seems to solve the problem. They are by no means the easiest thing to deal with but the pay-off for integrating it into your routine is easy and worth it.