When several of my friends heard I was getting Invisalign, they thought I was a little crazy because, well… my teeth look straight when I smile. I had braces for more than three years of my early teens. Three years! And when I got them off, I wore my retainer for a while. Until I didn’t.
And while my top teeth have remained straight (hence the reason for my friends wondering why in the heck I needed Invisalign), my bottom teeth have really crowded over time. Most people probably haven’t really noticed, but I definitely do. The crookedness of my bottom teeth bother me. Especially when I watch back my Instagram Stories. (Yes, I realize we’re all our own worst critic).
But after years of thinking about it, I finally made an appointment with an orthodontist to talk about getting Invisalign to straighten out my bottom teeth.
I gotta be honest… I didn’t really do much research about Invisalign and how it worked. I just figured, clear trays. Teeth move. Straight teeth. But, there are a few things I didn’t really know or consider before I got started.
To be fair, I don’t think any of these things would have changed my mind about getting Invisalign, but I would have just been more mentally prepared for the experience. Hopefully these four things will help you if you’re considering taking the plunge.
1. It May Take Longer Than You Think
When I met with my orthodontist, she explained that there were basically two different Invisalign services – one that offered unlimited treatment trays and one for less involved cases that she called “Invisalign Lite.” With the lite program, you get 14 treatment trays and then after that, if more tweaks are needed, you have the option to add on up to 14 more trays. She felt that I could definitely get by with the Lite program and then we would likely add on some additional trays after the first 14 to get my teeth perfectly aligned. She planned for me to change trays once a week, so my plan was for at least 14 weeks, but she thought it may be closer to 20.
I don’t know what I was expecting, to be quite honest. But because I didn’t think my teeth were all that bad, 20 weeks seems like a lot of time. I mean, that’s close to half a year! But, I do appreciate that my orthodontist is a perfectionist and wants to tweak things until they’re perfect. Honestly, during our initial consultation and follow up appointment for my scans, she was pointing out things that I had never even noticed that she wanted to make sure we adjusted.
P.S. If you’re looking for someone in the Dallas area, Dr. Casey Lepley is wonderful!
2. You May Have a Lisp
Yeah… no one warned me about this one. But I have a legit lisp when my aligners are in. I hear that it’s not noticeable by people on the other end of the phone, but I think they are just being nice because I definitely hear it when I talk. I posted something about this on Instagram the first couple of weeks that I started, and got a DM back from whoever runs the Invisalign Instagram account saying that it goes away within a few days. I’m calling serious bullshit on this because I’m on week nine and still sound like I need to be pulled out of class for speech therapy.
3. You’re Going to Brush Your Teeth More Than You Ever Have
Again, not sure why I didn’t think about this one. But you have to take out your aligners to eat, and then are supposed to brush your teeth before putting them back in. Ummm… that’s a lot of brushing if you eat three meals and an occasional snack each day like I do!
I’ve gotten in a pretty decent rhythm with keeping my aligners in all morning, then I drop them in this cleaning solution my orthodontist recommended while I eat breakfast and drink coffee. After breakfast, I brush my teeth like I normally would, and put the freshly cleaned aligner back in.
That’s no big deal, but brushing my teeth after lunch and after snacks was something I never really did. It’s a lot. My co-worker Stephanie, who also is on the Invisalign train, turned me onto these disposable travel toothbrushes to use when in a pinch.
4. Your Teeth Are Going to Be Sore
It’s not like I didn’t know this, but I think I kind of forgot what it feels like to have your teeth move for orthodontic treatment. Don’t get me wrong, this is nothing like the metal braces rubbing on the inside of your mouth and rubber band situation from my teens. But your teeth are moving. So there are times, especially on day one or two of a new aligner, that your teeth are sore. Biting into an apple or even crunching on a chip isn’t the most comfortable thing, but by day 5 or 6 of the aligner, the soreness really goes away. And then it’s time for a new aligner, so there’s that.
I can definitely tell that my teeth are shifting into place. Not only do they look like they’ve moved, but flossing is so much easier than it used to be.
Even with these minor inconveniences, I’m really glad that I decided to move forward with Invisalign. Honestly, I wish I had done it earlier… like last year when we were all home 24/7 or wearing masks constantly!
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