The beginning of my journey

I decided to keep track of my invisalign journey for many reasons. 1) I would really like to remember all I'm going through to make my journey worth it 2) I really found other's experiences helpful, so I'd love to help others 3) Seeing progress will be a great motivator. Ok so I started by getting a free consultation with a provider in my area. Much to my surprise he said invisalign would work for me! Being 21, I felt too old for normal braces, but I was self conscious of my smile. Most pictures I take are me with a close lipped smile. I figured my mouth was too crooked, however I was excited they weren't. So I got some molds done, which were far worse than normal braces molds. They were gooey and made me gag several times. Along with several pictures, the office sent them away to invisalign. They sent back a video of how my teeth would progress. it was SO cool. I was instantly ready to commit. However, money was a concern. After a few months of saving for the down payment, I ordered my retainers!!

When I went to pick them up (July 19, 2011), I had to have several attachments put on. Basically they are little white bumps they put on your hard to move teeth to put some pressure on them to move into the correct position. My top teeth needed quite a few so I thought they were noticeable, but most people tell me it's just me being aware of them because they're in my mouth. It didn't much hurt, but it was a weird process.The first day was absolutely awful. At first it was fine, but when the pain set in, I was not prepared. The bottom was digging into my gums so bad. I had to use orajel, ibuprofen, and also took a heavy duty nail file to trim the edges a little. After that, things were going good. The first few days your teeth are sore from moving, but that makes sense. It takes a while to learn how to get the retainers in and out, but I learned a paper towel really helps with gripping. It was estimated it would take 10 months for my treatment, which is much faster than braces would be.

It's important to brush your teeth and retainers a lot or they will get gross. There is a great crest clear mouthwash that you can soak you retainers in to freshen them up and since it's clear it won't stain. Honestly it was hard getting used to not eating/drinking whenever you want. I started just eating a few bigger meals a day in the beginning because the pain taking them in and out sucked. But after a couple days, it was easy to take them out to eat. After a while I literally didn't like leaving them out for very long. The support they give your teeth feels nice.

After about 5 days, a piece of the plastic in the back came out and rubbed on the back of my tongue. I ignored it for a few days, but my tongue was getting cut really bad and it was super painful. I finally couldn't take it. My dad borrowed me a metal file to round the area, but when he saw the part he suggested some sand paper. It worked great!!! And was easy and non-invasive. Just make sure not to use too heavy duty of a grain.

Here are some old pictures that show the "before"

This is 5 years old, but it is when I first discovered what I call my "hidden tooth" The arrow is poining to a big, oddly places tooth that hides the one next to it. Makes me so self-conscious.

Here's the best starting picture I have. You can see the top crowding very well. This was day one of my retainers!