I thought it might be interesting to keep a diary for a single day of my braces; how often I remove them, number of times I floss, brush etc. Of course, having written it I can see that it really isn’t that interesting at all- yes, my life really is this boring! However, it might be useful for people considering braces to see how often you have to remove them and it has also been useful to me, in showing me that I am really not achieving the twenty two hours a day. I would love to tell you that ordinarily I am much more compliant but the sad truth is I think this is probably fairly indicative of the amount of hours that I manage to wear these things. Must do better…..
- 6am Alarm, get up and shower. Braces stay in.
- 6.30 Go downstairs. Remove Invisalign and toss them on the kitchen bench on paper towel-yick! Have breakfast then spend 40 minutes chivvying children and brushing hair.
- 7.30 Children leave for school and husband and I grab a quick coffee on our back deck.
- 7.50 Brush teeth, floss and give braces quick clean before putting them back in. Yikes. 1 hr 20 minutes out. I think I would have convinced myself it was about 30 minutes if I hadn’t checked.
- 8.10 Check emails and do some work on my computer.
- 9.15 Get peckish and remember box of Cadbury’s Favourites in the pantry. Braces out and on the kitchen bench (new paper towel!)
- 10.15 Box of chocolates almost finished and braces still out. Realise and panic. Dash upstairs to brush/floss and put braces back in. Another hour. Whoops. Total time out so far 2hrs 20 minutes
- 10.40 Glass of water- Aligners can stay in.Yay!
- 12.20 Lunchtime. Sandwich, crackers and a banana. Eat it on my deck in front of my laptop. Brush, but don’t floss.
- 12.37 Aligners back in. Total time out so far 2 hrs 37 minutes
- 4.00 Arrive home from kids after school activities. Remove aligners and throw them on the kitchen bench. Grab a snack.
- 4.24 Realise aligners still out, swear loudly, do rudimentary brush and throw them back in. Total time out of mouth 3 hrs 1 minute. Gulp
- 5.54 Husband arrives home and serve dinner. Take aligners out- you guessed it, paper towel on the kitchen bench. Eat dinner fast as have to go out.
- 6.27 Brush and put aligners back in. Total time out. 3 hrs 35 minutes
- 9.00 Out watching Midsummer Nights Dream. Grab a glass of champagne in the interval. Hide in a corner of the room and remove my aligners. Put them in case in my handbag.
- 9.15 Queue for the toilets too long so can’t brush or would miss second act. Put aligners back in. Total time out of mouth 3 hrs 50 minutes.
- 10.45 At home. Take aligners out and put them in Steradent solution whilst I brush and floss.
- 10.52 Aligners back in. Go to Bed. Total time out of mouth during whole day. 3 hours 57 minutes.
As a quick summary what I can see is that I brushed 6 times during the day but only flossed 3 times. Whoops. That my aligners were in my mouth for 20 hours and 10 minutes. Just. Also that I really, really need to wear my aligners more. But you knew that already.
My orthodontist is 
>This is brilliant! I probably do the same. I don't realize how much time goes by, thinking it's only 30 minutes, when in reality it's more like over an hour and my braces are out so I make a mad dash to go brush and floss. I must admit, I probably max out at 20/21 hours a day. I like to sip my coffee in the morning so that's good for an hour. Lunch is usually at work and if I eat at my desk, it's only 20 minutes, but if I go out with my colleagues, there goes another hour. Dinner is at least an hour and then with it being summer here (Toronto Canada), an evening out for an ice cream is good for another hour! If I'm really conscious about keeping them in for 22+ hours then I feel like I'm on the 'gobble and brush' routine where I'm eating and brushing really quickly afterwards!
Anyhow, glad to see that I'm not alone. I really enjoyed your post!
>Thanks Terrie! Glad it's not just me then. I know what you mean about the "gobble and Brush routine"
What we really need for Align Technology's next development is Invisalign Night. Miraculously works while you sleep with no other wear required. Now that I would be happy to wear!
>haha – you're so cute. I'm finding it hard to stay motivated to keep them in as long as possible now that the wedding is over. I think you've got the right attitude in terms of not letting it take over your life though. all the best – your teeth look great!
>Thanks lemon Tree, your teeth look fantastic too! Loved your wedding pics as well. I was amazed how much difference taking off your attachments made to your teeth.
>I moved my appointment for end of September i'm still debating should I do this or not, i have no willpower and don't stick at things for long, still your blog is inspiring….dilemma
>Hi Miss Matilda,
Go for it! Really. If this was something difficult believe me I wouldn't have stuck with it either. It has been so straightforward and required so few life changes that it really has been easy. I think the process of writing the blog makes you analyse the whole process and perhaps makes it sound more work than it is. Honestly, you can do it. I am possibly the world's laziest person so if I can do it you can. Really.
Love your vintage blog btw.
>I was wondering if your ortho has told you you aren't wearing your aligners enough. Are your teeth still on track? I am on 5/17L and 5/21U and my teeth feel like they are adjusting well even though I only average 19-20 hours a day with them in (I'm a vegan- it's hard to stuff a day's worth of calories into < 2 hours). Maybe I am fooling myself though!
>Hi April,
No, my teeth are on track fine and I haven't told my ortho that I only wear them 20 hours a day. I didn't really realise myself until I did this! My teeth do fit into my aligners perfectly. There is one tooth I'm not happy with the position of, but that is it's position on the aligner and clincheck too, so it was meant to be there. I just don't think it looks right. I do seem to be on track, fortunately, although I am trying to be a little more compliant for the set I am now on as it is my last one!
The assistant at my ortho's doesn't wear hers any more than this either, so I think we'll be ok even if it isn't ideal.
Thanks for reading.
>I found this post very interesting and helpful!
Later after dinner I will take some time to read more through your blog.
Chrystal
>It was interesting reading through your diary. I don't wear them for the full time, and the longer I had Invisalign, the least amount of time I would wear them for.
I've been waiting 7 weeks now for my refinements and rarely wear them in the day now – it's almost like I'm just wearing a retainer at night.
Good luck
>Hi this is the first time I have added a comment to your blog as i've only just found it. I think it's excellent and am really glad there are people like you out there doing blogs as they are so reassuring. I'm on tray 2 and had to have two extractions before I started so my teeth definately look worse than they did before I even started which is quite de-motivating. Also, because of these new gaps I need to have 46 upper trays which seems to be loads more than most people! Glad yours is going so well and am looking forward to your next update. Thanks Carolyn (UK)
>Thanks Carolyn, glad that you have found it reassuring! I am nearly finished with my top arch now but have 34 lowers plus refinements. It does go quickly though, although the further through this I go the slacker I seem to get!
Thanks for reading and good luck with your teeth.
>Hi,
I was on tray one and my jaw started to stiffen up. I found out that I have TMJ. The problem is that I clench my jaw. I never realy realized it till I started invisalign. Now I have no choice but to wear them only during the day. Or else my jaw stiffens up and I can't open my mouth all the way. So I just started 2nd set of trays. Not sure how this is going to go. But dentist assured me it will still work. It's either do it this way or lose the money that I've already spent for it. So I only wear them about 13hrs a day. I only have 12U and 13L. Thank You!
>Wow, poor you Anon. I am about to write a post about my jaw clenching problems that I have developed lately- It's painful!
I'll be interested to see how you go on 13hours a day, do you have to wear them for more than two weeks in that case? Good Luck anyway.
>Hollywood smile,
No I don't have to wear them more than two weeks. I will keep you posted as to how things are progressing. Sorry to hear you are having some problems. Hope they go away soon. Just wanted to say thank you for this blog I have learned alot from it.
>My Ortho told me that all of the movement of your teeth happens in the first 24 hours of invisalign wear. She also told me that I could drink coffee with the invisalign in but, was taking a risk that the trays could yellow which, isn't really a big deal since we change trays every 2 weeks Plus….I am sure a little soak in a small amount of bleach water would take the coffee stains out right!
>Hey,
Wow, almost 4 hours with them out? Naughty!
I am now on 9/26L and 9/21U and my invisalign treatment is going seamlessly. I have been wearing them for 21-22 hrs per day though until a few weeks ago when my ortho fast tracked me to 10/11 day switches so I shave off some time off the treatment. He told me I MUST wear them for 22 hrs per day or it won't work. So, I bought a stopwatch and now I'm like, eat – floss – brush religiously and it's HARD. I have the invisalign teen (although I'm far from a teen!) which have the blue dots to show them if I'm cheating or not. So, I've tried to be religious about it but I'm finding it sooooo hard to keep to 22 hrs a day. I felt jealous reading about your Cadbury's Favorites as I've not been able to leisurely eat chocolate or snacks of any kind for a while. In fact, I lost 5-10 pds since starting treatment which is fine with me.
So, my question to you is how long are you wearing each set? Are you 14 days or less?
I have really enjoyed your blog…thanks again for writing this. It's great to be able to compare my experience to other's experiences.
Kind regards,
Sara Louise Petty. NY
>Oh, can I also ask you why you removed them to drink the Champagne? My ortho said as long as I don't drink red wine, I can leave them in for alcohol or most beverages.
Does your ortho say different?
Sara Louise Petty
>Hi, I'm about to start an invisalign treatment, I have an overjet. Was your reduced? Does Invisalign work for that problem?
BTW, your teeth look so much better, congratulations!
>WOW! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR THIS BLOG!!!
Im 36 years old and want to have my crowded/crooked teeth straightened but thought I was too old!
I was interested Invisalign or Trueline, (don’t think the train-tracks are appropriate at my 36 years of age), but thought it could only used for very mild/superficial imperfections.
Now I find this blog and discover you are also 36 years and have used Invisalign to treat a fairly complex problem!
Im on a low income and cant afford expensive treatments though Im willing to take out a loan if necessary. Because of my financial situation I need to have a pretty good idea of the type of treatment that will best suit me before I start forking out money for initial consultations!!
Im so interested in all your advice especially for inexpensive treatment options!!!
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME:
I HAVE HAD ROOT CANAL SURGERY ON TWO OF MY UPPER MOLARS. IS IT STILL POSSIBLE TO HAVE ONES TEETH STRAIGHTENED USING INVISALIGN OR REGULAR BRACES IF ONE HAS HAD ROOT CANAL WORK DONE?
>Hi Sara,
I am on a 14 day schedule and my orthodontist won't change it unfortunately.
I removed them as my orthodontist told me that I can only drink water with them in. I know that other people's ortho's tell them differently but my was adament that it is water only so I am sticking to that. I did ask about white wine but he said best not as it has sugars in it.
Thanks so much for reading, great to get your feedback.
>Hi Anon,
Glad to hear my blog has been useful!
Have you considered contacting a local university. They often offer invisalign at a much reduced price. You need to find one with a good orthodontics course as the students always need people to work on.
As regards your root canals that is no problem. I have had several root canals as well as crowns and metal posts and none of it has been a problem. Invisalign seems to be remarkably flexible with these things. I'm not sure where you live but if I were you I would consult the Invisalign website to find the most experienced provider in your area and get a quote from them first.
Thanks for reading.
>This is so helpful!!! Thank you. I just began Invisalign earlier this week and am peckish as fitting food into the routine just seems like such a struggle. I keep feeling guilty whenever I take them out, but your schedule helps me see that thus is the reality of living a "normal" life with these things and is a good reminder to do the best I can while being realistic.
I just had my Invisalign put in today. I only need sixteen trays, and I’m just having my top teeth aligned. Well, it’s nearly 8 pm, I had them in around 12 pm, and WOW, I can’t BELIEVE the pain I just experienced trying to remove them for dinner. Holy crap, they were absolutely fine when they were in, barely any pain. I guess it’s just the adjustment to having them… oh well. It really scared me though, to be honest. I thought something was seriously wrong.
I’m with you Emily I’ve had my first tray in for about 24hrs and when I took them out the first time wow super painful I nearly cried the second time and I have quite a high pain tolerance I think it’s the attachments argh!
Hi
Has anyone had dental contouring prior to starting Invisalign? I am considering two options of either one tooth extraction (lower premolar)plus one area of contouring, or, no extraction and considerably more contouring…………………any experiences of this welcomed!
Thank you
Sara
Hi Sara,
I’m sorry I haven’t had experience of this. My dentist (not ortho) attempted to remove a tooth before I started Invisalign and couldn’t get it out. However when I started Invisalign it turned out that I still didn’t need any tooth reduction anyway. Maybe other people would have more experience of this?
Thanks for reading….
Really enjoyed reading this blog, thanks so much for the information. Bit of a new experience wearing the braces so its good to hear how others are getting on. Many thanks
Yeah really helpful, thank you
Nice to hear from others going through the same thing, thanks for all your comments. Matthew
No regarding the tooth extraction but yes I have to have my teeth slenderised, I’m a bit nervous. Can you give me some information on the process?
I’ve just started Invisalign – on my first tray. I was a bit worried about taking them out first time and thought I wasn’t going to be able to do it – but it’s easier once you get the knack.
When one of you asks about having a tooth slenderised, do you mean a bit of filing? I had this done on one tooth before I started and had been a bit nervous beforehand. But it was just like putting a piece of sandpaper between two of my teeth and didn’t hurt at all. I’ve got to get this done several times throughout the treatment. It’s good to read other people’s comments and know I can ask about your experience. Before I started, I got the dentist to put me in touch with an existing Invisalign patient, so I could see what the aligners look like for myself and have a chat about how he felt. That was really useful!
Thanks for this blog – very encouraging. I am on my first trays too – 44 trays upper and 20 lower – so this is going to take like 88 weeks – a year and a half. And they don’t look that bad to start with!
Quite a commitment and yes it is hard to get up to 22 hours. I like to have a leisurely glass or two of wine after dinner a few times a week and what with that and lunch and breakfast…so I have stopped drinking tea of coffee during the day and just have water and you know I don’t mind at all at the moment. I am really determined to make it work though – having spent £3k I have no choice!
Helpful blog thank you! I am onto my second tray but I am panicking because there was one night during tray 1 where I left my Invisilgn out for about 10 1/2 hours and a couple of other nights where it was about 6 hours left out. I have fitted into my second tray ok, is this ok do you think? Must try harder now to keep them in longer!
God. I have just started my treatment 20L and 15U and am seriously thinking about phoning my orthodontist back and telling him that I want to cancel the treatment. My teeth are actually not that bad. I can see myself taking them out whenever I’m out and about in public. I am totally paranoid about them. Feel like I have made a really bad decision and they hurt like hell.
Did you end up quitting? I’m in the same boat you’re in…
Hi
Good to read other people’s comments on this blog. I was wondering how other people coped with Xmas and New Year. I found I was nibbling a lot when I was socialising so my Invisalign was out for much longer periods than usual. I’d been given 3 trays and told to come back to the dentist in 6 weeks. But in the end I extended the period for each tray and have postponed my dentist’s appointment – to ensure that my teeth had enough exposure on the current trays before moving to the next. Is this what other people have done when there’ve been periods like this?
I’m on tray 1, day 13 and will switch to my 2nd set of trays tomorrow. I’m wondering whether I’m fooling myself. For the first few days, I wore them for 20-22 hours/day. My teeth were sore and it was hard to get them on and off. But, within 4-5 days, my teeth were much less sore and it was pretty easy to get them on/off. So, over the next few days I started to leave them out for social events (because I my speech sounds strange to me) and I’ve averaged 16-18 hours/day the last few days. This doesn’t seem to have increased the difficulty of getting them in/out. They seem to fit very well and the reduced wear-time doesn’t seem to have changed this.
So I’m wondering whether there are issues I should be aware of. If I wear each new set of trays for 20-22 until they are easy to get on/off and then gradually reduce my wear-time toward the end of that 2-week period will I have problems down the road? Have others had this same experience? Thanks!
Hey…
Thanks for the really beautiful post.I am really impressed by your way of using invisalign braces.This is a very encouraging post for me because i just took the invisaling braces and your post will be helpful to me.Thanks again…
Emma
Thank you!! I’m 67 – Tray one – having such a difficult time removing the braces – the white wine (with or without) helps ! But not during the day when I get so hungry and don’t want to go through the removal process – the Invialign Diet!
I have a question if anyone can help me. I received my first aligner today and it seems like in the back the aligners feel not as tight as in the middle to the front. I feel the pressure so that doesn’t worry me but did anyone feel this when they started. It just feels like when I bite down on the back molars the plastic squishes downa and back up again. Is that normal.Please please let me know.
Thanks.
Can anyone tell me how much you have paid and how bad your teeth were? I was just quoted $9,000 (40 – 50 aligners required) which seems alot compared to what I’ve heard others have paid. Even the Invisalign website says up to about $8,500. My teeth arent that bad, just my 2 front ones mainly.
Hi there,
I paid just over $6k JM, although that was in Australia. If you live in NY that is probably about right, in Australia that would be very expensive.
Hi all! It’s my first time blogging and the reason is the same: great blog!
I decided to try Invisalign as my son’s orthodontist recommended it to me a year ago because I was curious about it.
I wore those ugly metal braces from 15 to 18 years old, I’m 42 now… I was supposed to have my wisdom teeth removed at that time but I was too afraid so of course, my teeth became crooked again due to a lack of space.
In the old days, the general dentist who was acclaiming himself the “specialist of braces” would just pull out the “useless” teeth to make space in your jaw… So I got 4 teeth (premolars) removed at the age of 12… But it wasn’t enough apparently…
Arrives the “real” orthodontist” from France in 1984 in Tahiti (where I was born and lived all my life), my Dad decided it was time that I see a real orthodontist, plus he was french from France! You know the rest: metal braces up and down fro 3 years that I decided to have them removed by a general dentist because I decided that at 18 years old, it was just enough!
Here I am today wearing those plastic trays, it’s been 2 months now and I’m still telling my self that I maybe made a mistake in a sense that I find them so uncomfortable and very annoying when it comes to remove them.
I don’t know at this point if i really needed them, well, I have a couple cross bites and my bottom teeth are crooked. I guess I was attracted by the idea of the whitening kit that came with it for free, $4,000 later…
I didn’t use the whitening gel yet, but I will as I paid for it…
Wow, anyways, I try like most of you, to wear them as much as I can but not without difficulty.
I am a mom with 3 children and a husband and boy, you have to have your mind everywhere at all time! And of course, i forget to wear my trays sometimes for 6 hours… Like today for example, I forgot to wear them because I was in a rush: left the house at 10:30am and came back home at 4:30pm, I feel bad!
Well, I’m seeing my orthodontist in 9 days and I will tell her the truth. I already told her at my last visit that I’m not wearing them 22 hours a day but between 16 to 18 hours a day… and she said it’s fine as long as I don’t forget a day but I did…
But the one good thing about it is that I snack less and I lost 5 pounds in 2 months so I’m happy about that!
Can’t wait to be done with the treatment and enjoy my coffee and red wine without worrying about some plastic in my mouth!
One question: does anyone know if the plastic used is safe?
Thanks again and wish me luck!
i just got to work and realized that i left my invisalign trays at home! is this horrbile that i wont be wearing them all day?! i’m so panicked!
Hi there,
Don’t panic snishik- all is not lost! I think they’ll be tight when you get home, but they should still go in. If I were you I would just be extremely vigilant on wearing them for 22 hours a day for the rest of the two weeks and if you are in the second week consider wearing them an extra day or two.
Good Luck!
Hi, I just started Invisalign.. I’m on 1/23 and just about to switch to the next set (in 1 day). I tried the 2nd set on today.. out of nothing but complete boredom and curiosity.. and was worried to see that I couldn’t get them on very easily, especially the lower aligners… also when I put them on I had intense pressure that was alot more painful than the first set of aligners. I know I shouldnt have tried them on early but now I’m worried that they wont fit, or will hurt a lot and I don’t want to go to my ortho and find out somethings wrong.. like you I don’t realise how long I’ve been taking them out for, atleast 2-3 hours a day.. and atleast 6 hours on the first day as I already had a toothache when I started and couldnt take the pressure the aligners put on my tooth. So I’m a little worried I havent worn them enough… any advice?
Also, apologies for sounding like a neurotic newbie