My Invisalign Blog

My Invisalign Braces Experience

My Invisalign Braces Smile!

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Throughout my life people have always accused me of pouting in photos. As a model in the nineties I could get away with that. With Kate Moss as the poster girl that all of us lesser models attempted to emulate, looking haughty and indifferent was all part of the program. In family photos though, you look a little, well, tragic, if you pout too much and never smile.

The thing is though, that I wasn’t pouting, honestly. (Well, not in the family photos anyway) What I was actually trying to achieve was a closed mouth smile; one that still made me look friendly and approachable, but never, ever showed my higgledy, piggledy teeth. I might have looked like I was pouting, but what I was really doing was going through a thousand inner turmoils, each of which started with me mentally begging the photographer not to utter the words “let’s see some teeth”

Obviously though, whatever I was doing wasn’t working. When I look back at those photos now I can see that not only did I not look very happy, I did indeed look self conscious and well, just a little bit pouty. A little too much like trying to look cool, and not enough like I was enjoying the moment.

So, getting my pictures back from my latest holiday, I was thrilled to see that not only am I not pouting, I am grinning from ear to ear! I actually look happy.

I know my teeth aren’t finished yet, and aren’t yet as perfect as I would like them to be, but what I realised, looking at my holiday pictures, is that when all of these photos were taken I wasn’t thinking for a moment about my teeth. I could just smile, naturally and enjoy the moment….. and honestly, that lack of self consciousness is worth the price of the braces alone.

So, I will leave you today with a picture of me at my brother’s wedding last month.

I’m smiling!….

invisalign braces

Travelling With Invisalign Braces…Tip #1

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Well, sorry folks, it’s been a while. Yet again I have been off globetrotting with scant, if any, regard for my blog; so my apologies that my updates have been rather thin on the ground lately. The good news is that I have been merrily collecting tips for travelling with Invisalign whilst on holiday – or rather, what not to do as the case turned out.

It all started so well. I had remembered to carefully pack an extra wash bag filled with all of the Invisalign supplies that I might need on holiday- the sterilising tablets, the floss, the emergency Colgate Wisps, the spare toothbrushes- you get the picture. I had also packed a tiny version in my carry on bag containing everything I might need to get me through the trials of a 24 hour flight from Australia to the Uk. Brushing your teeth in plane toilets is one of the joys that everyone should try to avoid as much as possible, so my plan was to abandon all pretence of wearing my Invisalign for 22 hours on the flight, try to manage about 16 hours, and hope for the best.

With all of the scurrying about, last minute emptying of the fridge, frantic unpacking and repacking of children’s cases to search for missing toys in response to tear stained pleas that a month long trip entails, I didn’t have time to have breakfast before leaving for our 8am flight. So, as is my usual style I whipped out my Invisalign, grabbed a snack bar and a nutritious bottle of diet coke (I know, I know) and headed out to the taxi clutching passports, drink bottles, favourite teddy bears and a thousand other bits and bobs in my clammy, overspilling hands.

Travelling with Invisalign - pack your aligners! Image of suitcases

Travelling with Invisalign – pack your aligners!

Thirty minutes later we were at the airport, bags checked in, feeling surprisingly calm and organised when I suddenly remembered that my Invisalign weren’t in my mouth. After two minutes of frantic rifling I realised, with a leaden stomach, that they were neither in my handbag or my carry on bag. That left two options; they were either in a checked in packed suitcase, or sitting nonchalently at home on the top of my coffee machine. Of course, whilst I had packed the lower aligners that I needed to change to in a fortnight, I had forgotten to pack my previous set as a back up and as the top aligners were my last ones in the series. This meant If I didn’t find them I would have no upper braces for a month.

Two minutes later I was back in a cab, hyperventilating and begging the poor bewildered driver to speed through suburban Brisbane to get back to my house as fast as possible. At this point I knew that it was a round trip of about an hour from airport to my house and that it was about an hour and twenty minutes until my 24 hour, non refundable flight took off, with or without me.

Fortunately, my taxi driver rose to the occasion admirably, his foot never leaving the floor, and seat belt burns not withstanding, we made it to my house in around 22 minutes, a record. Of course, after a frantic two minute search which included a quick scan of all the most likely places that I dump my braces I simply could not find them. Anywhere. I ran from room to room becoming increasingly hysterical and much to taxi drivers amusement even ran back out into the garden and began foraging through the dustbin in an attempt to find them. Finally, after about six frantic minutes I came to the conclusion that they must be in my checked in bags, grabbed the previous sets from a drawer to wear on the journey and flew back into the taxi to start another hair raising grand prix back to the airport.

We made the flight. Just. By the skin of our teeth.

Travelling with Invisalign - image of plane toilet

Travelling with Invisalign – brushing in the plane toilet is not an experience to be savoured!

Of course, it was the usual joy on board of the rigmarole of 24 hours of putting in aligners, being offered a drink, removing aligners, drinking, squeezing past other passengers,queuingg for toilets, attempting to brush teeth in the fist sized, stained sink, returning to seat, five minutes later being offered food, removing aligners….you get the picture. Invisalign on planes are hard even if you aren’t squeezing your teeth into the previous set that you had stopped wearing a week ago. I don’t think I managed to wear them more than about 12 hours out of the 24, and even that was fraught with inconvenience.

It took me 24 hours after we arrived to get over my jet lag sufficiently to launch the search through our 90 kilos of luggage for my set six aligners. Despite checking the fifteen thousand small suitcase pockets, every washbag, the ten thousand pencil cases that my children deem necessary for a months holiday, they simply weren’t there.

Stuck in the Uk, on the other side of the world from my orthodontist, we had extensive email discussions back and forth about what exactly I could do to get my teeth from set 5 top and bottom that I was currently wearing, into the set 8 lower that I had in my bag. In all of the palaver, I had also forgotten set 7. Yes, I really am that stupid. I was astonished to be told that replacements would cost me $600. Gulp. Not only a stupid mistake but a costly one too.

So, to avoid the $600, with a little encouragement, some panadol, and a surprising amount of brute force, I actually managed to move my teeth from set 5 lower, to set 8 lower, skipping two whole sets.This incidentally is really not advisable except in dire emergencies. Hell, they were tight. There were moments, trying to force them onto my teeth where I wasn’t sure whether my teeth or the aligners would break first, but nonetheless, they went in in the end.

My instructions from my orthodontist were then to wear set 8 for three weeks before moving onto set 9 as normal. In the meantime, to also wear set 5 upper as retainers.

Home safe and sound I am still waiting for my orthodontists appointment to find out the damage I have done to my treatment. To this day, having looked through my whole house, I have no idea where set six went- only that they are gone, and it appears gone for good.

So, tip #1 for travelling with Invisalign. Remember to take them with you….

An Invisalign Braces Tattoo?

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I have been a bad, bad Invisalign patient the last week.

On two occasions in three days I have left the house with my Invisalign braces casually strewn across the top of my coffee machine where I have hastily dumped them in my frenzied hurry to get my first caffeine hit of the day.
coffee machine

There is always this horrible moment of realisation, usually when I’ve driven just a bit too far to turn back, or when I am running just a bit too late to mean that turning back is an option- when my children are just reaching the stage where insults are about to turn into out and out back seat warfare, when I suddenly realise that my mouth feels strangely empty and that the zing on my tongue is not toothpaste, but sour coffee and toast…

Of course, I sit in the car in the morning traffic, nose to tail with the car in front, the sounds of my orthodontist’s 22 hours a day mantra ringing in my ears, but still, I don’t go back. There my braces sit, unworn, until the evening.

By the time I get back home in the late afternoon, when I casually sidle up to the coffee machine, pick up my saliva stewed aligners and run them hastily under the tap, I try not to calculate how many germs might have multiplied on them through the day whilst I haven’t been wearing them. And oh, they are tight. I can literally feel that my teeth have been rearranging themselves. Taking their chance to retreat back to their old, higgeldy piggeldy ways.

So, despite the fact that I should be wearing my last upper Invisalign aligner as of yesterday, I am actually skulking around the house in the one before, hoping that it will soon become loose enough for me to dare to change it. I am now so close to the end for my upper arch (although, still forty something more aligners for the bottoms) I want to wear them as much as possible. I want my teeth to be right.

As ever, the hardest thing with these braces is simply remembering to put them back in after eating and to wear them enough hours in the day. So, if you see an odd looking, red-headed woman walking around Brisbane with INVISALIGN? tattooed across her forehead, you’ll know it’s just me, trying out my new way of reminding myself to wear my aligners..

teeth tattoo

Invisalign Braces Update: A Big Reveal….

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Hi there again,

I’m not sure whether it’s been vanity or just a general unease at revealing too much of myself, but I haven’t really posted many pictures on this blog of how my teeth look now in the context of my whole face. Hopefully this post will remedy that!

You’ll have to believe me when I tell you that I selected this first picture very carefully- in reality I am far more wrinkly than you can see here! This picture was taken whilst out and about so I am actually wearing my Invisalign braces although you can’t see them in the picture…

after Invisalign july 2010

This second picture (much more wrinkly- yuck!) shows my teeth in profile and how they are now lining up quite nicely. As you can see I no longer look nearly as “goofy” as I did before Invisalign.
bec teeth 1

Just to give a little contrast, this is a picture of me full face, before Invisalign. If you look closely you can see how my front teeth stick forward…. It’s no wonder this is my only wedding photo where you can see my teeth!
wedding pic

And of course, just to remind me why I started this whole thing… Here are my teeth in all their close up glory just before I started Invisalign….
before invislalign teeth2

As I’ve said before, when I see my teeth as they were then I am only amazed that I ever left the house at all!

Top Ten Tips For How To Remove Invisalign Braces

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Need help on how to remove Invisalign braces? Read on:

I used to have beautiful fingernails before I started wearing Invisalign. They weren’t long and glamorous exactly, but they were long enough, healthy enough and manicured enough to look feminine and as if I at least took a little care of myself.

No more. Since I transferred back to full time wear of Invisalign removing my Invisalign braces has transformed my previously healthy looking nails into broken, torn, ragged shadows of their former selves. It ain’t pretty.

I must confess that over the last week things have become easier, but my first week back in full time aligners reminded me just how difficult it can be to remove aligners at the beginning of Invisalign. I remember the claustrophobic feeling of terror as I clawed at my mouth in a restaurant bathroom the very first week I ever wore them.

Fortunately, having been through all of this before I know that in a couple of weeks removing these things will be as easy as taking off a T shirt, so there isn’t quite the same level of fear this time around. However, I thought it might be helpful to new users to compile a list of tips for how to remove Invisalign. Please, please feel free to add more tips via the comments form. Alternatively, if you think I’ve got them wrong, please set me straight!

How To Remove Invisalign Braces – Top Tips:

  1. Make sure your mouth is warm.
    How To Remove Invisalign - glass of water with ice

    Make Sure Your Mouth Is Warm

    Trying to remove Invisalign after a very cold drink is harder. Don’t ask me why, but it’s true! Somehow the plastic feels less pliable. It also helps if your fingers and the inside of your mouth are drier. If possible, open your mouth for a few seconds before attempting to remove them. Yes you’ll look odd, but it’s worth it. (Don’t drink a warm drink with your aligners in to help though- it can distort them.)

  2. Start at the back.

    Start at the back and work forward

    Lift the aligners off the molars on each side first, then gradually work towards the front. Alternatively some people find that it is easier to work from one side of the mouth to the other. The wonkier the tooth, the harder that section of Invisalign are to remove. Start by lifting off the easier bits and get to those bits last. The same is true of areas with a lot of attachments. Tackle those bits last. In those areas hook your fingernails under the edge of the aligner and lift it up and over the attachment or difficult area.

  3. Try a paper towel.
    How To Remove Invisalign- pile of paper towels

    How To Remove Invisalign – Tip 3 Try A Paper Towel

    Lots of people find that thick paper towels increase the grip on the aligner. Taking either a paper towel or a piece of kitchen paper in your hand place it over the tooth, grasp the aligner firmly and pull off the molars. Do this also for the opposite side and finally the front section. Replace the towel as it gets damp. The increase in grip can sometimes make a huge difference.

  4. Try surgical gloves.
    How To Remove Invisalign - Image of latex gloves

    Image wikimedia

    Many Invisalign patients report that surgical gloves work the same way as paper towels to increase grip on aligners. Many dental assistants also swear by them apparently. In this case the thick rubber gloves that you use for cleaning your house won’t do the trick (urgh!) what you need is the very fine type that you buy in boxes of 50 or 100. These allow you to feel what you are doing, but still increase grip.

  5. Use an aligner hook.
    How To Remove Invisalign- image of an aligner hook

    An Aligner Hook

    Some lucky patients get these given to them by their Invisalign provider for removing Invisalign braces. However they are also available on Amazon here and here.  Looking similar to a crochet hook but designed specifically for removing clear braces they hook under the edge of the aligner and lift it away from the tooth. They are especially helpful for people with attachments when they are first fitted.

  6. Another implement:
    How to remove invisalign - an implement like tweezers can help. image of tweezers

    Not authorised by Invisalign!

    Before I even get started in this one I would like to point out that it is certainly not Invisalign approved and might well result in damage to your aligners. Other Invisalign users have however reported success with other implements such as crochet hooks and even the edge of a pair of tweezers. Bearing in mind that your Invisalign are expensive I would personally probably skip this method, but each to their own.

  7. Give it time:
    How To Remove Invisalign - Give It Time

    Wait Before Trying To Remove Invisalign

    One thing that people tell you constantly when you first get Invisalign is that removing Invisalign braces gets easier with time. Of course, when people told me this I used to secretly believe that I would be the one exception to this and my aligners would be difficult to remove forever. Of course, what I soon realised is that quite literally every hour counts. If you try to remove your new aligners very soon after they are inserted for the first time it will be very difficult. Waiting even an additional hour could make it much easier. If you are ravenous and desperate to eat I can understand that you may be cursing me on reading this tip, but if there is any way that you can, stopping and waiting a while could make your aligners much easier to remove.

  8. Change aligners in the evening:
    How to remove Invisalign - image of woman sleeping

    Change aligners last thing at night

    Similar to tip 7 for how to remove Invisalign, inserting your new aligners at night has two benefits. Firstly it means that you get to sleep through the stage when they feel tightest and most uncomfortable. Secondly, by morning your teeth will already have shifted and the aligners will therefore be easier to move. Popping them in last thing at night, accompanied by a mild painkiller is probably the way to go if you think they will cause you trouble.

  9. Speak to your orthodontist:
    How To Remove Invisalign Image of doctor or orthodontist

    Speak to your orthodontist or dentist

    Some orthodontists don’t put on the attachments until the third aligner. This allows you four weeks of perfecting your removal technique before the attachments are fitted. Once they go on it does become a lot harder, so this period of practice can be really helpful. Also, when your attachments go on ask whether you can wear the template for a day or two to get used to removing it before changing to the proper aligners. The template is softer and much, much easier to remove than a normal aligner. Also, I thought that it shifted the teeth a tiny bit too, so that also helps to make it easier when it comes to time to remove the actual aligners.

  10. Relax:
    How to remove invisalign - image of woman relaxing on a bed

    It’s easier if you relax!

    Remembering my first day in Invisalign I know that relaxing was a long way down a very long list of things that I wanted to do; a list that started with ‘Get these aligners out of my mouth and never, ever put them in again’. The truth is though that the feelings of panic and claustrophobia make the aligners much, much harder to remove. Taking a deep breath and trying to relax, even giving up and taking ten minutes before starting again can be the difference between success and failure.

Hopefully these tips will be helpful to someone else having difficulty removing Invisalign braces. As I said above if you have any other tips on how to remove Invisalign please feel free to share them via the comments section and I’ll update this page as and when necessary- thanks.