And so it begins!

Hello all,

Welcome to my blog. Here I’ll be keeping a kind of diary of my experience with invisible braces (Invisalign) for the next year or so. When I was deciding whether to take the plunge and go for the braces, I was desperately trawling the web for information and reviews (particularly from the UK), so I figured I’d make it one blog easier for the next person.

Where am I up to?

My teeth pre-Invisalign. Nice, huh? Click for full-size horror.

I had my impressions done about 7 weeks ago at a central London dental clinic and got my first set of trays a week ago today. Both my upper and lower teeth are wonky so I’ll be wearing braces on both. My last appointment went by in a bit of a rush, but I’m pretty sure the orthodontist said I had 30 trays to get through in total (15 top, 15 bottom), so I should be all done and dusted by this Christmas which’ll be nice!

The orthodontist put the first set of trays in for me, and showed me how to get them out (which involves using your fingernails – I’m a nail biter so it proved a little trickier). Luckily it hasn’t interferred with my speech at all – I was a bit worried about a lisp but I guess my mouth must just be big enough to take it 🙂 I’ve also not been dribbling, which I think I read some people have problems with at the start.

My first set of trays

I had a bit of trouble getting my bottom set out that evening, but I think that was because I hadn’t quite worked out what I was doing yet. The also felt incredibly tight and hurt a bit for the first few minutes after I’d popped them in, but after a couple of days my teeth had shifted enough that it felt fine.

The trays have rubbed my mouth a little, and I took a nail file to some of the sharper bits around the edges which helped a lot. I think my mouth is still getting used to it a bit – to begin I was drinking a lot of cold water to soothe and using quite a bit of Bonjela, but I’ve managed to cut down on it now. My tongue is still a bit swollen down one side, it hasn’t quite worked out where to sit with all this alien plastic in my mouth….

What does it look like?

Wearing my first set of braces. The lumpy bits are where the buttons will be attached.

The braces are pretty much invisible. Sort of. In one of my next appointments I’ll have 4 attachments or ‘buttons’ stuck to my teeth, which I think are there to help the braces grip and move the teeth. Unfortunately I’m going to have quite a large one on my upper front left tooth, so there’s a bump in the braces to accomodate it which makes it rather more visible.

On my first day at work the day after getting my braces, I was desperately self conscious. In my first face-to-face meeting that day I couldn’t make eye contact and kept talking behind my hand. After that, I got over it. I told one of the girls sitting nearby about it, and she regaled me with horror stories about the dental work she had to have as a teenager. Put things into perspective a bit and I’ve been trying not to hide so much. So far one person has squealed ‘Oh my God have you got invisable braces??!’ – and I wasn’t sure how to answer given that she could clearly see them!

Practicalities

So brushing my teeth after lunch every day at work is a bit of a pain, only because we don’t have a separate disabled loo on my floor so I have to brush them over the bank of sinks. Which gets some odd looks. I take the braces out in one of the cubicles, because frankly it can be a bit dribbly and no one wants to see that.

I’ve been out for food a couple of times, and once ended up brushing my teeth over a toilet because the sink set up was totally impractical (I luckily had a bottle of water in my bag), but it’s all been fine so far. I was told it’s ok to drink clear liquids, so when I was at the pub I drank gin and tonic through a straw and had a glass of water nearby.

The braces themselves can get a little…pungent, despite brushing them with toothpaste. The instruction booklet I was given said not to soak them in mouthwash, so I’ve been dissolving a little toothpaste in a small pot of water and leaving the braces in there for half an hour so while I eat dinner in the evenings. It makes them feel a little fresher.

So that’s where I’m up to so far. I’ll try and update with pictures and blog posts so you can see how it’s going. If you have any questions (or tips!) just drop me a line via the comments box.

Til next time

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