When I was younger, I had horrible looking, crooked front teeth. Actually, my entire mouth was a mess, and I was in desperate need of orthodontic treatment. My first trip to the orthodontist was when I was 14 years old. I needed braces! What a surprise! So I went through 2 years of metal tearing up the insides of my mouth, and not being able to eat after each tightening. It was awful, but once those 2 years were up, and the metal was taken off my teeth, they were perfect and straight! I was given a retainer and sent on my way. Well, it wasn’t until about a year later, when my retainer didn’t fit my teeth anymore! Uh oh. All 4 wisdom teeth were fighting through my gums, pushing all of my teeth out of alignment again. So I lived with crooked teeth again, for about 3 years. Until about 8 months ago when I made a life changing decision as an adult.
I debated for a long time if I should go through with Invisalign treatment. This time, it would be me paying for it, not my parents. So it was a serious decision. But I did make the decision, and started my treatment. First, I made an appointment with my dentist to see the orthodontist. She told me I needed to have all 4 wisdom teeth out before we went through with any treatment. The top 2 teeth were impacted. I made an appointment with a very good oral surgeon to have them taken out. It was painful, but worth it. I no longer have to worry about those teeth ever again.
A few months after my wisdom teeth extraction, I applied for financing to pay for my Invisalign. My dentist office works with Care Credit, a special credit card that allows you to finance a lot of medical procedures, not just dental work. I was excited to find out that they approved me! About a week later, my orthodontist took pictures of my teeth on a digital camera. I had some x-rays taken also, which is part of the records that they send to Invisalign. Next, I had impressions taken of my teeth, both top and bottom. That was an uncomfortable experience. What they do is fill a tray with a silly putty like goo, then place that goo-filled tray over your teeth to make an imprint. The orthodontist holds it there for about 20 seconds, to let that goo harden. Then, they take it out to make sure all of your teeth made an imprint. If you gag easily, this may really be uncomfortable and awkward. After the impressions are taken, they are sent out to Invisalign and your aligners are made. It took about 2 weeks for my aligners to come back to my dentist’s office. The great thing about Invisalign, all of your records and treatment are on the computer. You can actually see what your teeth will look like, virtually, after your treatment is complete. It’s really nice to see that when you begin treatment, it gives you some motivation to take it seriously and wear your aligners as directed.
So I’ll explain what the aligners are. They are clear trays that fit perfectly over your teeth, they sort of look like mouth pieces you would wear in sports. These aligners fit tight on your teeth when you first put a set on, because that is what moves your teeth. Once you have worn a set for a few days, it starts to loosen up a bit. This means your teeth are moving! How many aligners you need to wear all depends on your situation. You could go through the Invisalign Express treatment, meaning you only need to wear aligners for 6 months, changing sets every 2 weeks or so. Currently, I am in Express treatment, since I only have to wear my aligners for 5 months. But you could go through treatment for 2 years, and it can get expensive. For my Express treatment, it’s about $2,300. I’m sure that prices vary around the country though, and maybe even which orthodontist you go to. I highly recommend Dr. DiBartola if you live in the Pittsburgh area.
In certain situations, you may need to have brackets attached to some of your teeth to allow your teeth to turn. They are like the brackets you would get with traditional metal braces, but these brackets are white and basically invisible. Each aligner has a space in them to allow room for brackets to fit in. I have 5 in my mouth, 2 on my top teeth and 3 on the bottom. I also had to have spaces cut in 4 of my teeth, to allow space for movement. Don’t worry, this process doesn’t hurt at all. The dentist files down some of your teeth to make a space, you will have a tiny gap for a while, until your teeth move again.
Once you get your first set of aligners, you will wear each set for about 2 weeks, or however long your orthodontist tells you. Mine are 2 weeks each. Most of the time, you will be sent home with 2 sets. Each set is numbered also. For example, if you are on set #2, there will be a number 2 printed on the back of your aligner, with a L for lower and U for upper. It’s important that you take care of your aligners, brushing them often, as well as brushing your own teeth well. You take your aligners out for eating and drinking anything that is not clear. (You can drink water while wearing them.) You also take them out for brushing. You could buy a special cleaning kit from Invisalign that clean your aligners, but I would rather just brush them on my own and use Listerine once in a while. Since saliva doesn’t flow through your teeth while you’re wearing aligners, it’s important that you brush and floss more often to keep your teeth from getting cavities and plaque build up.
I will warn you that it does hurt when you change your aligners for the first time in a 2 week period. I would definitely recommend taking some kind of pain reliever before you change them. Motrin works great for me. They will feel tight for about the first day or two, then it won’t hurt anymore. Make sure you wear your aligners all the time, only removing them to eat and brush. A good tip when removing them: start from the back of your teeth, lift up with your fingers until they pop off, then work your way around until the entire tray is off. Store your aligners in the given case, to make sure you don’t lose them! Remember to save your old aligners just in case your orthodontist needs them for anything, and it’s also nice to see how your teeth have moved through your treatment.
I am on aligner set #4 out of 10. I can definitely see a significant difference in the way my teeth look already! The great thing about it is, it is totally INVISIBLE! Nobody will know that you are straightening your teeth, unless of course you tell them! I am looking forward to finishing my treatment in about 10 weeks. So far I haven’t had any problems with the aligners. I love being able to eat anything I want, without having to worry about metal braces and getting food stuck in the wires and brackets.
If you are considering Invisalign, I would highly recommend it. It is worth the investment, especially if you are an adult like me, or in a profession where wearing metal braces is really not practical. I promise that you will be pleased with Invisalign, and it will be a life changing experience for you too. Remember, your smile is very important to your image, and straight teeth always make a great impression on the people you meet. You will smile more with straight teeth, because you will feel confident about your smile!
For more information on Invisalign, check out www.invisalign.com for FAQ, success stories of other patients, and to find a certified Invisalign orthodontist near you. Good Luck! 🙂
