Brace Yourself: My Invisalign Experience #1

If you've been reading my blog for a while or read my past few Invisalign blogs (here and here) you'll know I am currently in the process of getting Invisalign braces. Yesterday, after about a 6 week wait for my custom made aligners, it was finally time to get them put on. Before my appointment I was filled with nerves and excitement. It felt so weird to know I was finally getting braces after years of hiding my teeth!

After a short wait it was time to head in to see David. He made me sit in the chair and showed me the clear plastic aligners he was about to click on to my teeth. Mum came in to take some photos - which I'm sure David was over the moon with ;-) 

David made it look so easy to get the aligners in, when he gave me the bottom ones to try and put in myself I didn't realise there was a knack to it! After a bit of a fiddle around they were clipped into place. I wouldn't say they were painful to put on, just very tight. There's a certain pressure while wearing them, which is to be expected seeing as you're essentially moving your teeth with an appliance in your mouth that you're not used to.

David explained a few do's and don'ts with the aligners. The standard rule is to wear them for 22 hours a day and to only take them out to eat and drink. He explained you can drink water and clear sugarfree drinks with them in, but that anything else would get trapped in the aligners and could cause decay.

The Invisalign labs send your orthodontist a digital timelapse of the progress that will be made with each aligner. The end result was an incredible difference - if my teeth look that straight by the end of my treatment I'll be thrilled! After receiving a very exciting Invisalign 'goodie bag' containing 2 aligner cases, some Retainer Brite tablets to clean them, a crochet hook kinda thing to remove them and my next 2 aligners, I was all done! As per the name, they are practically invisible. No one noticed I was wearing them until I told them - it's amazing how far we've come from wires and brackets.

Each aligner has to be worn for 2 weeks, but the 2 extractions I need done to make room must be done before I put the next set of aligners in. So far, I'm finding them quite comfortable to wear. There is some mild discomfort and pressure as I mentioned but today is day 2 and things are a lot more comfortable. I slept like a baby the whole night through! I did pop a Nurofen before bedtime just in case I was woken up during the night but I can't see this being a problem. 

Below: L-R: My teeth at the moment, how they'll look after the extractions, and how they should look at the end of my treatment.

The only thing I am having difficulty with is taking the aligners off. As my front top teeth are very overcrowded the aligners are very tight in this area so I am scared I'm going to pop a tooth off whenever I take off the aligners! This is a totally irrational fear, of course. Today I'm finding it much easier to remove them - they're on and off in two minutes. Everything is a little bit saliva-y at the moment because my mouth isn't used to the aligners just yet, so every time I speak I feel like I should hand around umbrellas. Very attractive. Eating is also fine, it hurts a little but I haven't had to liquidise my food just yet. Ooh yeah, look at me now.

If you're looking to invest in your smile and give Invisalign a go for yourself, there's no better person than David. I felt so comfortable throughout the whole process and I have no doubt everything will go smoothly! I'll be sure to keep you all updated - hopefully it will help even one person by reading about my personal experience.

Check out David McConville Orthodontics here and on Facebook here.