Metal Mouth Message Board

So I've had my "teeth" (as I call them) for a whole week now. I'm really anxious to change to my second aligner, just to be moving forward.

I was told at my consultation that the treatment time will be nine months, but upon receiving my first pack of six aligners, it seems there are 42 aligners!! That's 84 weeks, which is almost TWO YEARS! Ugh. Oh well.

I also snuck a peak at my sixth aligner (the last one I've got at home before having to go back to the orthodontist in October) to compare it to my current first ones, and there is a SLIGHT difference.

Anyway, a few questions...

- I find I don't ever get a dry mouth, unlike what many others have described. Rather, I find I have too MUCH saliva!

- I have attachments on my very back molars and this makes it really hard to remove the aligners. It's been a week and I honestly don't ever see a day that I'll be able to remove them using just my fingers. I always must use my "outie" tool, and even that is a slightly different version of the normal one. The normal one wouldn't work (even they couldn't do it at the orthodontist!) so they gave me a slightly different one. Does anyone else have the same issue, that you could never get the aligners out without using a tool?

- HOW do you brush your teeth properly in the toilet stall without water? lol. I cannot usually be standing out at the basin area to brush my teeth but hate brushing without water!!!!! I don't want to bring in a water bottle every time I go into the toilet when I'm out and about after eating, or when I'm at work.

- I find that despite using my chewies each time I put my aligners in, there is a slight tiny gap between the bottom of my teeth and the bottom of my aligners, just on the front-most 4 teeth (these are the ones I am most eager to see movement in, as I have an overbite of 8mm)

Other than that, I'm doing great! There has never been any pain at all, just some pressure and tightness, and I am keeping my "teeth" in for over 22 hours each day so far.

Here's a pic of my spiffy new teeth! They really are almost invisible even with quite a few attachments (I think there are about 15 or so)

http://i752.photobucket.com/albums/xx16 ... 210233.jpg

They are not even noticeable... Lucky for you! Good luck in your new "teeth"

Thank you!

My poor partner's getting sick of me announcing before each meal that I have to take my teeth out. HEHEHEH.

Congrats on finishing up your first week! I totally appreciate the antsy feeling to switch to a new aligner. That has never gone away for me (and I'm on 21 out of 44)... as soon as my teeth stop aching from a new tray I'm counting down the days until the next one!

Don't worry too much about the minor changes you see in the trays. One thing I've realized is that it's sometimes hard to tell from the trays how much movement is actually happening. I could've sworn that there were hardly any changes in my first 10 trays, but then I compared photos of my teeth side by side and noticed that they really had come a long way. So pictures! Take lots of pictures!!!

And yes, saliva... just call me Drools McGee. I think your mouth is always trying to do something about the foreign invader, but it does get used to having the trays a bit more over time and stops going into saliva overdrive quite as often.

As for getting the trays out, my first two trays were without attachments, so they were easy to remove and I was used to prying them off from the outside (cheek side). When I got the (18) attachments with tray 3 I couldn't get them off to save my life! Then the ortho assistant was like, pull from the inside surface, not the outside, and voila! they popped right off. Sometimes it's a bit tight if I've just changed trays, but I've never had a problem getting them off since I started pulling them out that way. Hopefully that helps!

Brushing in public... I've always just used the sink. Luckily my work bathroom is a private one, so I don't have an issue there. If I'm out in public I either cheat (swish my mouth with water and/or use one of the "Wisp" brushes, wipe down my trays with the Cleanse Freshen Go wipes, and pop the trays in until I can get someplace where I can do a proper brushing) or I just risk embarrassment and brush in the bathroom sink... I get some weird looks, but whatever.

And as for the part of the tray that doesn't fit tightly on your front teeth, I think that's actually purposeful. I've always had a tiny bit of clearance no matter how much I chew on the chewies and my teeth have tracked right along. I was reading somewhere on their website that they build in a bit of clearance to ensure that the tray is only putting pressure on the surfaces of the tooth.

Glad your treatment is off to a good start! Look forward to reading more about your journey!

Oh, thank you!! Very good to know I'm not alone in the Drools McGee thing! lol

Also good to know that those slight gaps underneath my teeth are normal.

I MUST try and get my fingernails a bit longer so I can try to pry out the aligners from the inside. Hopefully that'll be more successful!

Ah, yes... fingernails DO help a lot. I just got a shellac manicure... that alone is a godsend when it comes to Invisalign! Ha!