Aligners have arrived! Experience at CCD and first day using Invisalign

After about 4 weeks of anxious waiting, my aligners are complete and have arrived at the Center for Cosmetic Dentistry. I arrive at the office at 2:10, and am immediately called and taken to one of the rooms by Wanda, a dental assistant. She explained to me that today there were two major things to accomplish: first, attach the buttons on the outside of some of my teeth and second, shave some of the teeth to shrink them. The buttons are important for the aligners to remain in the correct place in your mouth, and help with moving the teeth. As far as shaving the teeth, it depends on your individual case; you may or may not need to have it done. Sometimes there is just too much crowding and there isn’t enough room for all of your teeth.

The procedure began similar to last time. I got hooked up with the dental bib and given comfortable sunglasses. Wanda first cleaned off my teeth with the powder pressure sprayer and then rinsed my mouth out with water. Then she dried off my teeth and put a gel on top of the teeth and rinsed again. Next, she attached the glue and the buttons, and then used the sealant gun (sounds scary, but it's just like the one they use for cavities, it makes the glue harden). Then she put on my top aligner and used the sealant gun again. It was quick and painless; I just sat relaxing on their comfy lounging dental chair. She then repeated the same process for the bottom teeth.

The second task was to shrink the teeth which required Dr. Kammer. He used a miniature circular metal device and a little measuring tool to make sure he shrunk them 2/10 of a millimeter for each of the 4 spots. It was not much fun, but this will allow me to have the smile I ultimately want, and it was quick.

And then bam, I’m finished. Originally I was told that treatment would take a maximum of 9 months, so when they told me I only need 10 aligners I was ecstatic. You use each set of aligners for only 2 weeks, so I will be finished in 5 months!! Theoretically the teeth should be in the ideal spot after this amount of time, but sometimes it takes a few more aligners to actually get the job done.

Before you leave they will show you the animation of your teeth moving, which is amazing. It is a 3-D model of your teeth from all different views, and you can see where and when they will be moving. They also answer any questions you have and give you an Invisalign starter kit which has guidelines for use, and carry cases for when you take your aligners out.

I cannot believe I’m finally starting!

They look great, only if you tell someone will they actually know that you are wearing Invisalign. When I tell my friends and people I work with they are very interested and amazed at how clear and hidden they are.

You may be wondering about how they feel. They fit my teeth perfectly; I actually don’t mind them at all. I’m not having any pain, and they are easy to take off when you want to eat. I just hook my nail underneath the back of the aligner on one side and pop it off. When I’m finished eating, I do a quick brush of my teeth and the aligner and then pop them back on. I also don’t have a lisp or slur or anything like that, my friends told me objectively that they can’t hear a difference.