1 of 24 aligners

My first set of aligners!

I got my first set of aligners on January 6th, 2009. When I put them in at the dentist's office, I was surprised to find that they didn't hurt at all. Fast forward a few hours and I was singing a different tune! The pressure being put on my teeth by the aligners started becoming uncomfortable, but at least that meant the aligners were doing something. That night I also noticed that my teeth were not able to bite together as closely as normal. However, the next day the aligners had settled further down onto my teeth, which improved that aspect of my bite. On this second day my cheek started to get cut by the edge of an aligner at the back of my mouth. After contacting my dentist, I was told that it should go away in a few days as the aligner settles even more into place. Sure enough, that problem has gone away on its own :)

I am now on day 8 of my treatment, and I must say that I am already quite used to wearing the aligner. In fact, this evening I had a moment where I thought that I was not wearing the aligner when I was! I also feel pretty used to my new tooth care regime that involves timing how long I have the aligners off (I'm supposed to wear them for at least 22 hours a day), as well as brushing and flossing after every meal. During the first few days I thought that my speech (lisp) would tip people off, but so far nobody has noticed my aligners (or at least nobody has said anything to me about them). I still feel as though my speech is a bit different than normal, but it's improving every day. With regards to the visibility of the aligners, I don't think they're that visible. I have not informed my boyfriend of my Invisalign treatment, and he has not yet realized that I am wearing the aligners. He did notice something about my teeth on Sunday (day 5 of my treatment), but he dismissed it as a problem with his vision. I am waiting to how long it takes him to truly notice the aligners, since I know he will tell me when he notices them (as opposed to co-workers who may choose not to say anything). Perhaps he and others will discover my secret after I get my attachments on February 4th.

I have 24 aligners for my upper teeth and 24 aligners for my lower teeth. That means that I should be done my treatment and into the refinement stage by December (2009).



First day with aligners (January 6, 2009)
Believe it or not, I am trying to bite my teeth together in this picture.

Second day with aligners (January 7th, 2009)
My teeth come closer together than the previous day.



View of bottom teeth with aligners (January 10, 2009)