Getting Attached: My Invisalign Experience #2

I'm back with another Invisalign blog! I'm now on my 3rd aligner tray and about 5 weeks into my treatment. Time flies eh?! It gets easier and easier as the treatment goes on. Yesterday I had to pop into David McConville to get my attachments (or buttons, whatever you want to call them) put on. If you don't know what attachments are and see Invisalign bloggers mention them, they're basically bumps of filling material placed onto the teeth. They click into place on the aligners and help rotate or push teeth back, sort of like elastics on traditional wire braces.

I was a little scared as I've heard horror stories about getting these put on but I reminded myself this is the hardest bit and if I can do this I'll be over the worst of it. David had a quick check to see how my teeth are fitting into the aligners (all good, phew!) and then got started. He put a massive plastic contraption in my mouth to keep my cheeks away from my teeth - wouldn't want skin glued to my teeth!

Next, my teeth were dried with air and any saliva was sucked up. The teeth must be really dry to get the glue to adhere. This was all totally fine. He placed a bit of the adhesive on each tooth which needed an attachment. I must say, the glue tastes GROSS. It's bitter and yucky, so make sure you don't swallow any if you can avoid it! The glue was then rinsed off with some cold water. This was very uncomfortable for me simply because one of my teeth has a large silver filling in it and it was verrrrry sensitive to the cold water. I did a bit of hand clenching at this point!

David piped some filling material into the template aligners - so he knew exactly where to place them - then placed them over my teeth and cured them with a UV light. Top teeth attachments - done!

The process was the exact same on the bottom. Dry, glue, rinse, dry, pipe, cure, done. The last step was to polish the attachments so they weren't all rough in my mouth. This was the most uncomfortable part. It didn't hurt by any means, but the polishing tool made the high pitched whistle of a filling drill and it brought back awful memories of being in the dentist chair! Still, it was done after about 60 seconds and then I was free to go. It took a bit of manipulating and wiggling to put my aligners back on but I did it.

When I got home I was absolutely starving so I attempted to pop the aligners out to eat. I won't lie, after about 10 minutes of trying to pry them off I was getting quite frustrated almost to the point of tears, but I finally did it. David suggested using my nail to pull them off but my nails got filed down the same day so this wasn't possible. In the end I used a dental explorer - I believe that's what they're called - a hook like metal contraption they often use to scrape your teeth at the dentist. It worked a treat! And I didn't pull any teeth out in the process. Success. Update: Day 2. The aligners are much easier to take out now - it doesn't hurt at all.

If you're worried about getting the attachments I hope this provided some solace. It's not pleasant by any means but it's certainly not awful! It's all over in around 30 minutes and then you can think about how great your teeth will look at the end of your treatment. I can't wait to see the changes now I've had 2 teeth out to make space and have the attachments on - stay tuned!

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.