I chose my Orthodontist after a long and arduous search for the right Invisalign doctor. One of the factors that helped me to choose him was that he is a lecturer in orthodontics at a prestigious Australian University. It never crossed my mind though that I might become the basis for one of his lectures.
Apparently though, that is the case. I don’t mind that at all- as far as I am concerned if my teeth can help other orthodontists to improve their Invisalign technique I will be delighted. It is more the title of the lecture that bothers me. My orthodontist cheerily informed me yesterday that my teeth are the basis for a lecture he is giving next week, entitled…”Silly things to try and do with Invisalign braces” That makes me feel so, so much more confident! My only consolation is that he might need to provide an update to the students in the future, so perhaps this will encourage him to do his best work… How much do I wish I could be a fly on the wall and hear what he has to say!
Other than that, my 6 weekly visit was short and uneventful. I asked my query about flouride and he said that as we have flouridated water here now flouride probably isn’t necessary for most patients. However, in patients with large amounts of fillings (i.e. me) it can do no harm. He actually suggested a weekly flouride rinse. His only stipulation was that it should be a ph neutral one.
I picked up three more sets of Invisalign- sets 6, 7 and 8, and immediately put set 6 in. They are tight. For the first time since set 1 at the beginning of this process I actually felt I really had to take a painkiller. I should probably explain something here. I have Crohn’s disease which is an inflammatory stomach disorder. As a consequence I have a lot of stomach ulcers and try and avoid painkillers as much as possible.
When I do take them I try and stick to paracetamol. So I don’t take them lightly, taking one maybe 2 or 3 times a year (as opposed to 2 or 3 times a week like my husband!). Lots of people, I know, always pop a painkiller when they put in a new Invisalign tray in, but generally I haven’t found it necessary. This time though the pain became so much that I had the sense that it was going to give me a migraine, so I decided to preempt that. It seemed to work because by next morning they felt a lot better.
I have had the usual difficulties of removing them with the attachments, and have noticed that there is a tiny crack in the side of one of my molars on the bottom arch. I am ignoring this unless it gets worse as it doesn’t seem to be compromising the strength of the tray. I know that probably I should call my orthodontist, but I know that he will only have two options- to order a new tray, which I don’t want to wait for, or to push me forward a set, which I don’t want to do. So, I am going to try and wear these as long as I can of the two weeks. If they get weaker or snap I will, of course, call him.
I live in Australia, having emigrated here four years ago. Consequently all my family are still in the UK, and haven’t yet seen my Invisalign. They are all arriving next week, and I am particularly looking forward to the comments from my Mother In Law who utterly despises me and will no doubt have some interesting things to say about my braces-I’ll keep you posted!
>Hi Carli,
Don't be nervous! Honestly, it has been so much easier than I expected. I have had the occasional headache but really it has been more than worth it, my teeth look so much better already.
Good Luck!
>hi, i am having my 1st set of aligners today and i am soooooo nervous, i hope they dont fit my buttons today too!! i just wanted to say i love your blog,and has made me feel a little beter,as i read some terrible things about the pain,and i was very worried,as i too have stomach problems and avoid anything other than parecetamol, i also suffer with migraines alot so im hoping that im not in a sorry state later, but feel much more at ease with reading your blog,thankyou carli x
>haha, your blog is so funny!
I'm from the UK too but live in NYC…that explains your humour!
My orthdontist said he is really pushing the limits with my invisalign case (he's one of the top ortho's in NYC, and has been known to treat many celebs) and I also have a narrow arch which he is trying to expand as much as possible.
I'm curious to see your results and I cannot wait to see mine….
This is all so exciting!
>Hello,
I am on my 4th tray… But only becuase they keep cracking. I have 4 buttons on the bottom teeth… I had to move to tray 3 a week early and only 9 days in, the tray cracked…. 2nd tray cracked after a week and the 1st cracked one day before I should change… I am so careful when I remove them… I think I may be bitting down on them because I find that when I wake up in the morning my first instinct is to bite…
I also workout at a high intensity and I have been wearing them… When I am weight training, I bite down too. I can't help it… Maybe I will remove them for my workouts. But when I have them out for a while I get soars on my lips from the buttons rubbing on them…and they hurt. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?
>hello,
i have been thinking of getting invisalign for my teeth, and your blog has been so helpful and encouraging! I have yet to see an orthodontist but will probably do that in the next few weeks.
Thank you for sharing your experiences
>Let us know how it goes with your family ie their comments on your trays. Do they all know you’re doing invisalign? It would be interesting to know if they even notice … or if you’ve already told them if they ‘forget’ because they can’t tell. Good luck with the Mother in law! 🙂
>Thanks everyone, I did actually ring my ortho in the end. My conscience got the better of me!
I have 5 attachments, fortunately starting on 3rd teeth from the front, so luckily not too visible. Did you know that attachments can be put on behind the teeth, Rita. Some orthos do this for front ones.
Lisa, my ortho hasn’t mentioned elastics. Possibly that is because it is my bottom teeth that are pushed back, rather than my front teeth being too far forward. Does that make sense? I hope so!
Thanks for reading!
>Hi there, I just found your blog today and have added it to my favorites! You’re a great writer and I like knowing there are other people out there going through the same things as I am! I have had invisalign for almost 8 months (I’m on 16/20U and 16/19L) and am getting rubberbands next week. I was wondering, has your ortho (or anyones reading this) mentioned using rubberbands to fix your overbite? I’m curious how many people have used this and what it looks like and lastly, if it worked. Thanks for all your info, and keep it coming!!
>6th tray, yay how goood!!!! where are your attachments? I’m getting mine, and two of the most visible will be on my front right tooth and the one next to it on the right too! quite scared about it, because think it will be a lot more obvious? Good luck with your mother-in-law, you’ll be fine!!
>Thanks for your blog, and many helpful comments on forums everywhere.
I’d recommend you tell the orthodontist and get a new tray made, while keeping in the cracked tray (as you are.) This way if the current tray breaks down around day 5 or 6, perhaps your new one will arrive on day 7 or 8, and you wont have to skip ahead or wait as long for the replacements.
Did you notice any new pressure when the tray cracked? I had my first one tear a bit on day 10 and it felt like some teeth were moving in some new directions so i skipped ahead to avoid any regression.