I'm getting my Invisalign braces in the morning tomorrow and now I'm getting cold feet. My dh thinks I shouldn't get them. It's like a roller coaster ride, at one moment I'm excited to finally be getting them, then I think about the actual braces and I sort of panic and think, What am I doing? Help.
Debbi
Invisalign braces tomorrow
Moderator: bbsadmin
-
Guest
Well Debi, cold feet sounds about normal, as far as I can tell. Bottom line - do you want your teeth straight, your bite fixed, TMJ possibly better - if you have it. What would be the long term consequences of not getting braces? Will you grind your teeth until you damage them with chipping and cracks? If you answer no to the first set of questions, then get it done. If you answer yes to the second question, the definately consisder getting it done. Bottom line, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. What is important is how you think - and how will you feel 5 years from now if you don't go through with it. Good luck. I know the decision is almost as bad as buying a house!
-
HeatherFeather
- Posts: 123
- Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2004 4:27 pm
- Location: Oakland, CA
Don't back out now - you'll regret in a year, or whenever you *would have* been finished!! It's only a big deal in the very beginning, and then life goes on. You have nothing to worry about appearance-wise with Invisalign, and I wouldn't worry too much about braces discomfort. It can be really annoying at times but it's not crippling or anything. Just do it 
-
Guest
Debi, I've kept up with your story pretty well. In fact, don't think I'm crazy, but I read an update just the other night and saw a pic of you and Damien. I went straight to bed, and a short time later, there we were in the dream world. Haha, anyway, I think I remember that you dental hygenist may have tried the invisaligns and she didn't like them because they were difficult to take off... correct me if that wasn't the case. If it was though, then think to yourself... this sounds like something that is quite variable. You might be able to pop them in and out really quickly. What happened to her or what she's heard is just the bad side, which tends to spread much more easily than the positive notes. Worst case scenario, what will it hurt to give it a shot? A good chance of improvement (think of all the ppl who have had them successfully) and if things don't go well, many orthos offer easy transitions to other types of orthodontic appliances. I say just keep your head and hopes high, and cross any bridge when you get to it.
-Filup
P.S. Sorry if that doesn't make sense... It's finals week=no sleep.
-Filup
P.S. Sorry if that doesn't make sense... It's finals week=no sleep.
-
Dodger(UK)
- Posts: 1269
- Joined: Tue Aug 31, 2004 4:32 am
- Location: Gtr Manchester, England, UK
Hi Debi - it's interesting reading another persons experiences with a different form of orthodontic treatment. This forum is in the main weighted towards braces, metal and ceramic, and other types of appliances. So it's nice to see how someone is adapting to Invisalign treatment. Hope everything goes okay for you. 
invisalign
Thanks everyone for your replies. Everyone is always so nice here. I don't know exactly why I'm feeling so anxious but I can't even sleep tonight! Hey, that's funny, my son and I were in someone's dream!? LOL Hope we were well behaved! Did I happen to have nice teeth? LOL
Actually the dentist assistant told me she didn't like the Invisalign braces because they were too painful to put back in. So one day, she never replaced them. Also, I saw the photos of someones speedbumps and really thought they were very noticable. I'm having 12 on my front teeth (top and bottom). I think it will look like ceramics! (I'm going to put the photos up tonight, if aol cooperates.)
I guess I'm just scared because of all the negative things I've heard. And I have spaces...so how do invisalign braces go from one tooth to the next? Ack! I guess I'll find out tomorrow. My parents already paid for them, (And I'm 48..sob), so no backing out, just feeling stressed out, that's all.
Thanks again for all the encouragment. Now I understand why my 9 yr old had a change of heart.
Debbi
Actually the dentist assistant told me she didn't like the Invisalign braces because they were too painful to put back in. So one day, she never replaced them. Also, I saw the photos of someones speedbumps and really thought they were very noticable. I'm having 12 on my front teeth (top and bottom). I think it will look like ceramics! (I'm going to put the photos up tonight, if aol cooperates.)
I guess I'm just scared because of all the negative things I've heard. And I have spaces...so how do invisalign braces go from one tooth to the next? Ack! I guess I'll find out tomorrow. My parents already paid for them, (And I'm 48..sob), so no backing out, just feeling stressed out, that's all.
Thanks again for all the encouragment. Now I understand why my 9 yr old had a change of heart.
Debbi
How are your aligners now that you have had them a few days? I just got mine yesterday and the feeling is strange. Nothing is sore per se but its the constant feeling of slight pressure that it driving me nuts. It's like I know these things are removable and I want to take them out for a couple of minutes just to stop the feeling. I guess it's like a grain of sand in your bathing suit. It doesn't really hurt but you know it's there so it drives you nuts. 
Invisalign
Hi Cathy,
I've had mine for 9 days now. Mine hurt a LOT for the first 5 days at least. So much that I had swollen lips (which looked pretty good...hee!) and my nose was numb! I couldn't eat the first two days so I drank a shake and took lots of tylenol. I was surprised at how much they hurt but after 9 days I can see that I have "more" spaces. My front teeth have moved slightly together and now there are spaces between other teeth that weren't there before. Tonight (dinnertime) I saw another space on the bottom! My only problem with my bottom teeth is one slightly turned tooth which now has a space next to it. Guess it's making room to turn.
Today I am feeling no pain at all. Well, some when I ate pizza tonight, but other than that, I'm only feeling slight pressure when I have the aligners on. I am hoping that the rest of my aligners don't hurt as much as the first ones. I've heard many people say they didn't feel pain, but maybe they'll feel it when they get to their set of aligners that are going to do some major moving of teeth?
How many aligners do you have? I'll have 18 on the top, 14 on the bottom. How many speedbumps do you have, if any? I had one fall off the first day and had to go in and get it replaced.
I really did think of asking the Ortho to switch me to ceramics or traditional metal, where he'd have more control over how quickly my teeth were moved...and that would control the pain (I assume). You know, the Ortho could just tighten them every two weeks until I felt pressure (not pain). Though I know it would probably take longer. But now that the pain is gone, I guess I'll stick with these aligners.
By the way, they do feel weird in your mouth. Reminds me of having my son's "Dracula" teeth in my mouth this past Halloween! Ack.
Debbi (You can email me if you want to talk more about Invisalign stuff.)
debbiap@aol.com
I've had mine for 9 days now. Mine hurt a LOT for the first 5 days at least. So much that I had swollen lips (which looked pretty good...hee!) and my nose was numb! I couldn't eat the first two days so I drank a shake and took lots of tylenol. I was surprised at how much they hurt but after 9 days I can see that I have "more" spaces. My front teeth have moved slightly together and now there are spaces between other teeth that weren't there before. Tonight (dinnertime) I saw another space on the bottom! My only problem with my bottom teeth is one slightly turned tooth which now has a space next to it. Guess it's making room to turn.
Today I am feeling no pain at all. Well, some when I ate pizza tonight, but other than that, I'm only feeling slight pressure when I have the aligners on. I am hoping that the rest of my aligners don't hurt as much as the first ones. I've heard many people say they didn't feel pain, but maybe they'll feel it when they get to their set of aligners that are going to do some major moving of teeth?
How many aligners do you have? I'll have 18 on the top, 14 on the bottom. How many speedbumps do you have, if any? I had one fall off the first day and had to go in and get it replaced.
I really did think of asking the Ortho to switch me to ceramics or traditional metal, where he'd have more control over how quickly my teeth were moved...and that would control the pain (I assume). You know, the Ortho could just tighten them every two weeks until I felt pressure (not pain). Though I know it would probably take longer. But now that the pain is gone, I guess I'll stick with these aligners.
By the way, they do feel weird in your mouth. Reminds me of having my son's "Dracula" teeth in my mouth this past Halloween! Ack.
Debbi (You can email me if you want to talk more about Invisalign stuff.)
debbiap@aol.com
The dracula teeth comment is such a good comparison. I've been trying to figure one out.
I only have 9 on top but 33 on bottom
Luckily, the top didn't shift after the braces I had as a kid. But I didn't wear my retainer so I have some pretty bad crowding on the bottom, confined to three teeth with one of them turned at an angle.
Are you just brushing your aligners with toothpaste? I am paranoid that I am going to have bad breath with these things in my mouth. I brush them twice a day but I still feel like I should do something else (other than the Invisalign cleaning system - it's so expensive, modest compared to the braces but geez, they should throw that in for free with how much we are paying).
I only have 9 on top but 33 on bottom
Luckily, the top didn't shift after the braces I had as a kid. But I didn't wear my retainer so I have some pretty bad crowding on the bottom, confined to three teeth with one of them turned at an angle. Are you just brushing your aligners with toothpaste? I am paranoid that I am going to have bad breath with these things in my mouth. I brush them twice a day but I still feel like I should do something else (other than the Invisalign cleaning system - it's so expensive, modest compared to the braces but geez, they should throw that in for free with how much we are paying).
aligners
Hi Cathy,
Yes, I brush my aligners with toothpaste every time I put them back into my mouth. So that's 3 times a day. I'm on aligners no. 2 and there is much less pain. These aren't bad at all though it still feels weird having all this plastic in my mouth. I'm still lisping, how about you?
Wow, 33 speedbumps on the bottom? Seems like a lot. Doesn't that make it hard to remove the aligners? I only have 4 on the bottom and it's hard to pull the aligners over those 4.
My computer recently crashed and was in the shop for a week. I lost everything (including my website so I'm currently copying it again). If you emailed, I didn't get it. You should join the Invisalign Users group. I think you might have the most speedbumps! (We were all compaing a while back)
Which aligner are you on again?
Talk to you soon,
Debbi (debbiap@aol.com)
Yes, I brush my aligners with toothpaste every time I put them back into my mouth. So that's 3 times a day. I'm on aligners no. 2 and there is much less pain. These aren't bad at all though it still feels weird having all this plastic in my mouth. I'm still lisping, how about you?
Wow, 33 speedbumps on the bottom? Seems like a lot. Doesn't that make it hard to remove the aligners? I only have 4 on the bottom and it's hard to pull the aligners over those 4.
My computer recently crashed and was in the shop for a week. I lost everything (including my website so I'm currently copying it again). If you emailed, I didn't get it. You should join the Invisalign Users group. I think you might have the most speedbumps! (We were all compaing a while back)
Which aligner are you on again?
Talk to you soon,
Debbi (debbiap@aol.com)
Not 33 speedbumps, 33 trays. Sorry, I mis-read your question. I only have 2 speedbumps on the bottom. I started the second tray set last night. It pulls a little more than the first set but it doesn't hurt as much. I too am still getting used to the plastic. I am a teeth grinder by nature but this stuff is making me grind more. How about you?
Funny story. I soaked the aligners in mouthwash the other night to get them really clean. I took them out and they were BLUE! Needless to say that a little extra brushing and lots of water got it out but it was kind of fun to try out blue teeth for a bit.
invisalign
Hi Cathy,
Oh, now that makes more sense...33 aligners on the bottom.
I also grind my teeth. I find myself really clenching my teeth together when I wake up and have to tell myself to relax. During the day, with this second set of aligners, I like to chew on them. I have this tiny space above my bottom teeth that is just aligner...and another below the top teeth. So when I close my teeth together, the aligners hit but my teeth stay apart. I am getting into the habit of really clenching down (sort of chewing) on the aligners. It feels like I'm biting on a rubber band. Weird.
That's funny that your aligners turned blue. I would have been afraid that I would need to continue to wear them even though they are blue! lol I have had diet coke with the aligners in and have had no problems with them changing color. I'm still on aligner no. 2 and can't wait to finish! I don't know how you could wear these invisaligns for so long. I was told I had 9 months to wear them and that feels like forever.
Debbi
Oh, now that makes more sense...33 aligners on the bottom.
I also grind my teeth. I find myself really clenching my teeth together when I wake up and have to tell myself to relax. During the day, with this second set of aligners, I like to chew on them. I have this tiny space above my bottom teeth that is just aligner...and another below the top teeth. So when I close my teeth together, the aligners hit but my teeth stay apart. I am getting into the habit of really clenching down (sort of chewing) on the aligners. It feels like I'm biting on a rubber band. Weird.
That's funny that your aligners turned blue. I would have been afraid that I would need to continue to wear them even though they are blue! lol I have had diet coke with the aligners in and have had no problems with them changing color. I'm still on aligner no. 2 and can't wait to finish! I don't know how you could wear these invisaligns for so long. I was told I had 9 months to wear them and that feels like forever.
Debbi