This week we are turning the blog over to Carin. She is currently in the middle of her Invisalign case and we have asked her to share her experience.

Invisalign is an amazing experience that can be used to shift your teeth using clear plastic aligners. Invisalign can be used to treat a variety of different dental conditions. Recently I started wearing Invisalign to correct a slight shift in my teeth. Here is my story.

I had braces when I was a kid. I have worn my retainer almost religiously since I got out of braces to keep my teeth from shifting back. Since I had my daughter 2 years ago, I haven’t been as diligent in wearing my retainer and when I tried it on again, I noticed that it didn’t fit any more. My teeth had shifted and my bottom teeth were crowding together again.

My husband went through Invisalign a couple of years ago for a similar condition, so I knew it was an option. Recently our office staff went to a continuing education course on Invisalign and I learned about Invisalign 5. This is a quick treatment of only five aligners that can be used to correct small problems – such as the crowding I was beginning to experience. I spoke to Dr. Bob about it and he thought I would be a good candidate for Invisalign 5.

My Invisalign experience started with taking impressions of my teeth. Olga explained everything as she mixed the impression material so I knew what to expect. I had had impressions taken before, so I knew it wasn’t going to be a very pleasant experience. Olga was very attentive though and made it as comfortable as possible. Olga tested the impression trays to see how they would fit and she adjusted them as necessary to ensure that they fit properly. She let me know how long the impression material had to sit and she was conscious about how the impression material was drying. She used the high speed suction to get rid of some of the material that was squishing out to make the experience more comfortable.

A couple of days later, Dr. Bob received my ClinCheck. He reviewed it and went back and forth with Invisalign to make sure that they had my treatment correct. He showed me some of the different movies and it was interesting to see how my teeth would move in just 10 weeks! After Dr. Bob approved my ClinCheck file, my aligners arrived in the office about 2 weeks later.

At my first appointment Dr. Bob showed me the new aligners and had me try them in to see how they fit. I had two attachments that he needed to place as anchors for the treatment. Dr. Bob used the template to place the attachments, and then cleaned off the excess resin to make them smooth. It felt weird, but much better than metal brackets from braces. Once I put the aligners on over the attachments, I couldn’t even feel them. On the other hand, I could feel the pressure on my teeth. It was an interesting sensation. I have “power ridges” on my aligners that help torque the roots back on some of my teeth. Dr. Bob used clippers to adjust the aligners around the power ridges to make them more comfortable.

On the second day my teeth were sore, but only when I was chewing. I took an ibuprophen to help, and it worked fine. Over the course of the next couple of days, my aligners got easier to take out as my teeth shifted into place. I never had any pain or soreness other than the second day. Wearing them was easier than I expected. It did take me some time to get used to the aligners. It was weird wearing the plastic over my teeth all the time, but it didn’t take long for me to become comfortable wearing them. I had a little bit of a lisp the first couple of days, but this went away as well as I became more comfortable. I did notice that I stopped snacking while wearing my aligners. The idea of brushing my teeth after every time I snacked wasn’t convenient, so I just avoided the hassle.

By the time I switched to my second set of aligners, I was a pro. The second set gave me the same pressure, but not as much soreness as the first. I didn’t even need any pain medication for that set. I am currently on my third set of aligners and have found that each new set brings the pressure and soreness, but each new set has less than the last one. My teeth fit together better than they did and they are almost straight again. Just two more aligners and I will have my perfect smile.

My correction was such a small one, I was glad that there was Invisalign 5 available to help. Invisalign 5 was an inexpensive way to correct my minor crowding issue. My whole Invisalign experience has been a great one. I would not hesitate to recommend Invisalign to our patients. Most of our patients don’t even know that I have my aligners on until I tell them!

Carin works at the front desk at our Evanston dental office. If you are interested in hearing more about her experience, do not hesitate to call our office and speak to her.

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