Follow along for a real review of Invisalign

Introduction

Hi everyone, it’s Allyson, Dr. Cook’s wife! I started my Invisalign process several weeks ago with my initial scan visit, and I thought it might be helpful to share my experience with others in case it’s a treatment you have been considering! I’ll continue to update and share every 4 weeks or so. If you’re interested in changing your smile with Invisalign, check out the link below to get started.

Disclaimer: I am not a dental professional, and my posts are about my real experience as an Invisalign patient. I hope you find this content helpful.

Initial Visit: 3D Scan

My first appointment to get started with Invisalign was pretty simple. Dr. Cook had already reviewed my charts and confirmed that I would be a good candidate for Invisalign. I had braces on my bottom teeth in the past, but there was additional spaces and straightening that I wanted to improve.

During your first visit, Dr. Cook will take a 3D Scan of your teeth with an Itero Scanner. This scanner takes 6000 images of your smile per second and provides Dr. Cook with a precise and high-resolution 3D view of your current smile. He uses this image to determine the expected progress Invisalign will provide, and he also sends this scan to Invisalign to create your aligners. It’s a painless and quick process, and it’s pretty cool to see this all take place right before your eyes during your visit! Learn more about the ITero 3D Scanner that we use in our office below.

Second Visit: Delivery of Aligners and Placement of Buttons

I came back into the office for my second visit once my Invisalign aligners had been delivered to the office. During this visit, Dr. Cook also placed my attachments. Attachments are small, tooth colored dots made of dental bonding. They are placed in certain locations on the teeth to provide extra grip for the aligners. The attachment creates the anchor point that is needed to help apply the force of the aligner. Once these were placed in all of the areas needed, Dr. Cook tested out my first aligner to make sure it fit properly. Everyone’s attachments or buttons are placed specific to their treatment needs, and some may require more than others.

We talked about what I should expect during my Invisalign process (my process will be 30 weeks long), how to insert and remove my aligners, basic care, and that I should keep my aligners in 20-22 hours of each day. The aligners should be removed any time that one eats or drinks anything other than water. Be sure to brush and floss your teeth after eating and drinking before re-inserting the aligners.

I received 8 of my 30 aligners at my first visit - I will switch to a new aligner weekly. Dr. Cook suggested that I keep my previous week’s aligner, just in case I lose or break the current weeks. This is important so that I have some sort of aligner to wear and don’t lose progress while Invisalign is creating that missing or broken aligner for me.

I also received a kit from Invisalign. It included a bag for my future weekly aligners, a case for my current week’s aligners, aligner cleaning crystals and a booklet with some common questions and tips. I will return back to the office for a status check and my next 8 aligners in 8 weeks!

You can also download the My Invisalign App. It’s a pretty neat app that helps you track your weekly progress, reminds you to move to the next aligner, monitor your “non-wear” time each day, and also store all your progress photos throughout your journey. Check out the link below to download the app and start your journey!

Weeks 1 - 8

My first 3 days of wearing the aligners, I did have a few “what was I thinking?!” moments. It takes several days for your mouth to adjust to the new oral appliances. I did have some discomfort those first few days, but everything improved and I started to adjust by day 3. During Week 1, I could feel some pressure on my teeth, but that all started to normalize by Week 2. For the areas in my mouth where it felt like the aligners were rubbing up against my jaw and causing some pain, I used an orthodontic wax that you can buy at any drug store or on amazon. I only needed this the first 3 days.

It took a few days to also adjust to inserting and removing the aligners. I found it easiest to first snap on the aligners on my front teeth and the work my way back with snapping on the backs of the aligners. For removing, it’s easier for me to start at the back of aligner and on the inside of my teeth and work my way to the front. It got easier as the days progressed, but you can purchase a Clear Aligner Removal Tool to help with removing if needed.

Moving into Week 2, I settled into the new routine and feeling of the aligners. I do find that I am eating and snacking less since it requires the removal of the aligners, brushing and flossing each time. As far as cleaning my aligners, I have not yet tried the cleaning crystals that were provided. I find it easier to brush my aligners with my electric toothbrush right after I brush my teeth. I also rinse them with lukewarm water throughout the day. Avoid cleaning them with hot water or drinking hot beverage with the aligners in your mouth because the heat can distort your aligners shape and impede your progress.

I did have a few weeks where the first day of my new weekly aligner I found that I had trouble getting the aligner to properly “fit” over my teeth. Sometimes, a tiny part of the aligner would get bent during my application of it and then it felt like they just wouldn’t fit. I learned that what worked for me was to find the bent area and push it back into place with my fingers and then try to snap on again, also starting at the back of my teeth with snapping on the aligners and working my way to the front teeth seemed to help too. After the 4thh week or so, I didn’t experience this issue with fit anymore.

This set of aligners seemed to fly by! I can’t believe I am 8 weeks into my process. I have been taking weekly progress photos with the Invisalign app, which is really motivating and cool to start seeing the small changes.

Weeks 9-16

I am now on Week 11 of my Invisalign Experience and the time is going by so quickly. I must admit that Invisalign during the holidays was probably the most difficult time of my experience so far - being home and spending time with family and having to remove my aligners to eat or drink was a bit of a pain, but I stuck with it, and maybe it helped me to not snack as much as I typically would this time of year. I can really feel the “pressure” with each new week’s aligners. It isn’t painful, but more of a new feeling each week that I switch to a new aligner. I look forward to each new week now, as it’s been exciting to see the progress and move through the aligners!

When it was time to move to this next set of 8 aligners, Dr. Cook already had my new aligners for me at the office so it was easy to just grab them and get started. I do highly recommend taking progress photos - its motivating and fun to see the results happen right before your eyes. I can see a difference now, and I can also tell that my bite is adjusting.

Regarding cleaning my aligners, I do really like the clean feeling I get with the Invisalign Crystals, so I have continued to use those. I also brush my aligners at night with my electric toothbrush when I am brushing my teeth as well.

At this point, Invisalign feels like a normal part of my day and I don’t think about it as much as I did the first 8 weeks. I no longer have any discomfort or soreness when wearing them or from the aligners rubbing against the inside of mouth at all. I am looking forward to the 50% complete milestone on Week 15!

I did notice between Weeks 13-15 during the first few days of wearing my new aligners that my jaws would “pop” after I wore them for long periods of time and then removed them to eat. It only happened a few times when I first started to eat but it was noticeable and loud. Dr. Cook suggested when this happened that I give myself a 12-24 hour break and then resume wearing the aligners - that works for me and started to improve into Week 15.

Weeks 16 - 23

It’s Week 16, and I can’t believe I am starting another set of 8 aligners. I can really tell a difference in my smile and the weekly progress photos are a great reminder of how much has changed. I’ll continue to come back to update with new tips or my experiences as I continue on this journey!

Hi again, I am on Week 20 and things are going great. I am still practicing the same habits and routines I have shared, and I noticed that my jaws don’t make that “popping” noise on the first two days of a new aligner anymore. So far, the results are great, and I still have 10 more weeks to go. The time really does fly by and at some point the entire process really just becomes a part of your normal day. I did lose one set of aligners right towards the end of the week of wearing (we are moving, that’s my excuse), and Dr. Cook suggested I wear the previous week’s aligners for the final two days then move up to the next - worked out great!

Weeks 23 - 30 and Beyond!

And just like that I am finishing up with Invisalign! The time really flew by and I am so impressed with my results. I have been counting down to Week 30 for so long, but Dr. Cook did give me a heads up that based on my final scan, I might need to wear aligners a few more weeks. When I hit week 30, I went into the office for my final scan and to have my buttons and attachments removed from my teeth - best feeling ever! That final visit was pain-free and an exciting final step. I timed my attachment removal appointment to be on the same day as my 6-month cleaning. It was so nice to have smooth, clean, straight teeth! During that visit, the team also took x-rays and took the final 3D scan of my new smile. Dr. Cook confirmed that I would not need two more weeks of Invisalign and that it was time to move onto the retainer stage - yay!

Dr. Cook has recommended that I now do 6 months of the Vivera Retainers. They are made my Invisalign and will look a lot like your aligners from the past 30 weeks or so. The good with these is no attachments or buttons though! I wear these 24 hours a day, except when eating or drinking, as I did for my Invisalign aligners. I also clean them with my electric toothbrush the same way too. Not a lot to really learn about these once you have made it to this stage - you’re already a pro at this right? While the thought of wearing a retainer all day after completing Invisalign treatment, isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, I do want to protect and maintain my new smile and investment - so I am going to finish the year out in these retainers for sure!

Following the Vivera retainer time period, Dr. Cook has noted that I will only need to wear a retainer at night going forward to prevent my teeth from shifting and to protect my new smile! Wherever you are in your Invisalign journey, or if you’re just thinking about starting, hang in there and go for it! I am so pleased with my new smile - the time flew by and the commitment was so worth the results!