If you have followed my blog since the start then you likely have seen a couple of the posts I wrote about Invisalign. If not, you might not have a clue what Invisalign is. Invisalign creates clear aligners that slowly move your teeth into better alignment in order to create picture perfect smiles. They are modern day braces. They aren’t cheap but they do come with their own unique benefits. Compared to traditional braces, Invisalign is a lot less noticeable. Since they are removable, brushing and cleaning my teeth is much easier than if I had traditional braces on. I remove my trays to eat and drink anything other than water. No one has asked me about them either, they are very discrete and hard to see unless you’re looking – or are up close.
I guess there are some down sides of Invisalign. I have had a couple minor issues. My 6th and 7th top row aligners have cracked. Luckily for me, they cracked close to the dates that I would normally switch to my new trays. Every two weeks I switch to new trays. I think the aligners make have become weak from me removing them over time. Each time I remove the aligners I was pulling from the same spot.
Unfortunately, this weekend I left my aligners in the DD’s car, I knew I would be going home in the vehicle and I couldn’t leave them in because I was drinking and eating. So I lost the top aligner of my 8th tray. They were left in the car door of the back seat. A friend of mine accidentally knocked them I guess and I couldn’t find it. I am pretty sure they fell on the ground outside in the dark. Thankfully I was to switch to my 9th set of aligners this week anyways, so I just did the switch early.
I was told to wear each set of aligners for 22 hours a day for a full two weeks. When I first cracked one of the aligners, I called the dentist office. They said I was close enough to switching to my next set anyways and gave me the go ahead to switch. Same thing happened with the next set, exact same spot to. It was around the same time, so I made the switch. Switching your trays early is not advisable and this of course would depend on your specific scenario and progression. I didn’t experience much pain or discomfort from switching early, but I think it’s because I have been close to the regular switch date anyways.
Other than that, I am very happy with the progress I’ve seen. My teeth have definitely straightened out and are coming together nicely. I do however feel awkward without my aligners in. Of course I try to minimize the amount of time that I go without them in. Although I do have (at least) 21 more sets of aligners; aka 42 more weeks of Invisalign left. I can’t wait to see the finished look of my teeth!
