Tray Two

Here is the latest invisalign news for my followers, and anyone else who may be reading my blog :)

Yesterday I switched over to tray #2. I know people are recommending that you switch over before bed, however I was anxious for my teeth to do "something different", so I switched right after dinner. This gave me about 11 hours in the new aligners before I had to take them off this morning. It really was not anymore uncomfortable than set #1. I mentioned in my tray one update I was having problems with the upper tray fitting comfortably on the back left molar. This seems to be resolved with the second aligner!! I was very happy about this to say the least!

Not much else to write about so far. The only complaint I might note is that with these aligners I seems to have more of a lisp. Probably because the tongue has to get accustomed to the slight changes again. Hopefully this resolves itself again in a few days.

Day Five

I thought I better update this as it has now been five days since I started the my invisalign treatment.

So far the treatment is going well, and I am getting accustomed to the aligners being in my mouth. I typically wear them for 22 hours a day. This is an hour less my orthodontist's recommendation of 23. Eating three times a day with brushing and flossing is nearly impossible for me to do while complying with the 23 hour guideline. Having researched the amount of time others wear their aligners, I am confident I will be ok at 22 hours per day.

In my day one update, I noted tightness while wearing, and some pain when removing the lower tray. There is still some tightness when I first reinsert them after eating, however it goes away in a couple of minutes. Also, I have learned how to remove the lower tray so that is does not cause pain. The bottom tray is harder for me to get out since I have crowding, but the upper tray pops out really easy.  While eating I have some very mild discomfort for a few minutes, but it too quickly subsides.

I still have a little trouble with the upper tray not fitting quite right on one of the back molars. I can feel that side of the tray flex a little if I bite down on my back teeth. I am going to call my ortho on Monday and see if I should be concerned. It doesn't so much bother my mouth, but I am concerned it might not be moving that tooth like it needs to. I'll update on this once I find out.

There isn't much else to write about. I will say that I noticed the tip of my tongue starting to get pretty sore two days ago. It feels similar to when your tongue gets burnt eating hot food. My trays  are perfectly smooth, but I can feel the slight edge where the upper tray meets my gum. I am sure the soreness is from my tongue rubbing this edge over and over when speaking. I think it will just take time to adjust, and will go away without problem.  

Overall I forget that I have them. The toughest part so far has been the adjustment to not snacking or drinking soda with the aligners. Right now I am dying for a can of Coke, but looking at the stopwatch, I only have 40 minutes left of aligner-free time today. I will have to wait to enjoy the can of Coke with my dinner!

Day One Invisalign

Today I received the first trays for my upper and lower teeth. The initial fitting wasn't what I expected. I think it was better than what I had imagined. I will have 25 upper and 27 lower total trays. The treatment time is right on with what my orthodontist had predicted during my consultation, 16 months.

As of writing this, I have had the trays on for just over seven hours. There is certainly tightness, but no pain. Oddly, the tightness is somewhat comforting, but still distracting for the time being. I have removed them twice. Once right after I got done at the orthodontist, and once before eating dinner. Both times no pain involved with the top tray removal. This was not the case with the lower tray however. There was some mild to moderate pain with the lower front teeth during and immediately after removal. I though eating would be difficult, however I had very little soreness after a few minutes of the trays being out. Reinserting the lower trays was also a little painful, but it passed after about a minute. 

I am apprehensive about what the removal will feel like in the morning after having wore the aligners all night. Hopefully it will continue to be just brief discomfort and not agonizing pain.

The only real problem to report so far is the upper tray is not fitting as well on one of my back molars. There seems to be a gap between the tray and my gum. This is causing my tongue to rub the edge of the tray while talking and swallowing. My orthodontist stated it appears to be fitting normally, and may take a day or so to properly seat. I am hoping this happens sooner than later.

I dont think I have much else to report on the experience. If anyone has any questions, please ask!!

Invisalign Seat Date Moved Up!

Today I got some exciting news! I looked at my cell phone after getting home from work this afternoon, and found I had a voice message from my orthodontist office. My invisalign trays have arrived ahead of schedule! Upon hearing the good news left by the treatment coordinator, I immediately called them back to find out what seat dates were available (hoping they would have something as early as this week). Turns out they had an opening for 12:00 tomorrow (8/3), needless to say I grabbed it!


I knew there would be a slight chance the aligners may come in early. However I didn't think it would be SO early! No complaints, just surprised! I am actually getting butterflies in my stomach now. I thought I'd have plenty of time to prepare myself over the next few weeks. Not to mention get a few supplies ordered over the internet such as disposable toothbrushes, aligner cleaner, etc. I am going to venture to a few of the drug stores to try and find disposable toothbrushes. I really don't want to drag my sonic toothbrush to work. I hope I can find something that will work until I can order some off the Dentakit website.


My first seat date was at 5:00 in the evening. I purposefully scheduled it late so I would have the evening after work to obsess with my mouth, get somewhat accustomed to the aligners, and figure out how I was going to speak with them in. Now, since my appointment is in the afternoon, I am trying to decide if I should return to work afterwards, or just take the rest of the day off. I am leaning toward just going back to work. At least I will have something to keep my mind off the new foreign objects in my mouth (or in theory keep my mind off of them).


I don't expect to get much sleep tonight. The excitement and anticipation is going to keep me awake, I just know it.


I will update this again after I have been fitted with the aligners. My mouth is on it's way to a better smile, sooner than expected! :)