I finally received the phone call I was waiting for, my Invisalign had arrived and they were ready for fitting. I was due to fly to South Africa for work the following day so I had to postpone until I got back to Oz. I figured it was probably better not to start treatment and then leave the country and not have access to the Orthodontist in case anything went wrong.
So I booked my appointment and went in early July. I had no idea what to expect, so was quite nervous. The nerves were un-warranted though. I walked in sat down, they gave me my first two aligners, put in the first ones then I was done. Appointment over.
Well not quite that fast but that's pretty much all it entailed.
Getting the aligners in the first time was a bit of a struggle. Not knowing whether to push them down on the back first or the front, and then they make you take them out again just so you can get used to it.
My Ortho stressed to me that no matter how much pressure I felt I was applying I wasn't going to break the aligner or my teeth (thankfully) so that helped.
They were quite tight to start with, but not painful at all. It was definitely apparent to me that there was something foreign in my mouth, the feeling you have when you wear a mouth guard. Where you feel like your lips are puffed out from your teeth a little and look a bit like a blowfish. But after checking the mirror a few times it didn't look like that at all. With my mouth closed there was no noticeable difference to my face.
With my mouth open and my head up close and personal with the mirror, you could see the aligners, but they weren't offensive. They were more shiny, and if I stood back at a normal distance, it was hard to notice a difference at all.
My orthodontist also gave me some Aligner Chewies, which I am meant to chew on when I can, these help get the aligners on firmly so they work their best.
I went straight back to work, where I had only told two people about my treatment. When I walked back in both said 'I thought you were getting them in today'. Much to my excitement they couldn't tell unless I bared my teeth and tapped on them. No one else in the office was any the wiser (or at least they didn't say anything anyway).
By the afternoon, I had quite a headache and put it down to the aligners being tight, although they didn't hurt, so I took some panadol but that didn't help much. I figured out a few days later that I was actually dehydrated, you never seem to have enough saliva with the aligners in.
I was catching up with some friends after work, and although I'd told them about my treatment, it had been a few weeks since I mentioned it so most of them had forgotten. It took half an hour of sitting at a dinner table talking with 4 close friends before one of them noticed. I was stoked with the inconspicuous appearance so far. When our food arrived I had to attempt to take them out for the first time and I managed to do so quite easily at the table without grossing anyone out. After the meal I quickly brushed and popped them back in without too much trouble.
We went to a movie afterwards and I couldn't be bothered with the out, eat, brush, in process so I skipped the popcorn and choc top and settled for water instead. The Invisalign may have other advantages!
When I got home my fiancee' didn't notice for a good hour. Then our conversation went
'Weren't you meant to get your braces today?'
'Yep I did'
'Why aren't you wearing them?
'I am'
'Bull s#!t'
Just the reaction I was looking for!
The next afternoon at work all of my good experiences so far with Invisalign were forgotten, I was ready to pull the Invisalign out of my head along with all of my teeth if that would help.
It wasn't that they were hurting or painful in anyway, they were just uncomfortable. I felt like there was constantly something in my mouth (well there was) that shouldn't be there and I couldn't forget they were there.
I struggled through at work then went home, skipped dinner and went straight to bed with some sleeping tablets.
The next morning things were much better. The aligners had relaxed a little and were fitting perfectly on my teeth, or my teeth were fitting perfectly in my aligner. I managed to get them in and out easily, eat and clean them without to much trouble, and talk without trying to accomodate for them and therefore slobbering everywhere.
So it is true what they say, the first two days are the worst, then you forget they are even there!
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