INVISALIGN PROCESS // What it's REALLY like + my sneaky tips!

Hey guys, so day one of trying to get Invisalign. I have thought about getting it for my top teeth, because if you look to the side, they're kind of uneven. So I came to an orthodontist that my dentist recommended, the orthodontist is Corman and Bunch. And so basically they took some pictures of my teeth, it was all a free consultation, which I think a decent amount of orthodontists offer, if not all of them. So definitely if you're thinking about getting Invisalign, make sure they're giving you a free consultation. The photos were free, all of that kind of stuff. So then they basically showed me all of them. Dr. Gorman looked at my teeth, kind of walked me through the problems he sees that he thinks Invisalign can fix, et cetera. So they said it should only take 12 months for my case, but that I do actually grind my teeth. I didn't realize that. So a lot of my teeth, especially like my canine here has actually flattened out. So there's just getting some alignments correct so that it's not as bad. I had tons of questions. So one thing I would recommend is for this initial consult, you're not paying anything, come loaded with questions, watch a few videos beforehand. I watched a little bit, but they, you know, they were able to answer them all, like little things like, okay, so let's say a year from now, I'm all done. What do I have to do for the rest of my life? Like, do I get a retain or do I get? So all of those kinds of questions, they'll have to put little like tooth colored little nodules on some of my teeth to help basically use it almost like a handle to pull the teeth. But here's what was cool. I agreed to do it. And so they did like this 3D scan with this wand. I was telling the girl, I'm like, that was amazing technology. Whoever invented that is a genius. So instead of doing molds of the teeth, at least at this orthodontist, they've used this wand to get a 3D image of it. They can send it off. And then in about three weeks, I'm going to come back in and they'll have all my trays for me and they'll put on whatever nodule, I don't know what to call them. But anyway, they'll put those on my teeth and insert the first tray. And then I'm kind of on my own. Price wise, just because I know you're going to be curious. I don't have dental insurance. So for my case and every case is going to be different. It was $3,800, but it was going to be a little over 5,000 if I do like standard Invisalign. But the 3,800 was cheaper and it's what they call the fast track. So that basically means that instead of coming in every 12 weeks for an appointment for them to check in, they basically give me all my trays for six months. You change them every week and I'll come back at the six month point and they will check on my teeth, decide if we need to do things differently, if we need to add any other, you know, whatever, I don't know. So I was like, yeah, it's cheaper and I don't have to spend as much time coming in, no offense, but I would rather not be at the orthodontist office. You know what I mean? So that's the route I went. And so I'm excited to see, I'm nervous. And I was telling her, I'm like, I've got a lot of travel and I'm thinking, oh, you got to take them out. It kind of will prevent me from snacking a lot because you have to take them out to eat and drink coffee and stuff like that. And I'm like, oh man, like that's really going to like cramp my style. But I'm like, I'll probably lose a couple pounds just from not snacking. But even thinking towards travel, I'm like, okay, if I'm traveling and we're like grabbing a coffee to walk around with, like I have to be really thoughtful about, I can only have these out for a couple hours in 24 hours. You know what I mean? So I think the standard rule is keep them in for 22 of 24 hours. I guess what I'm saying is I am nervous. So the next step is in a few weeks, we're going on a Disney trip. And when I get back a few days later, I'm coming back in and we're going to get this ball rolling. Okay, it's the day of the show, y'all. Fast forward a few weeks and in about an hour, I'm going to go and they're going to put my Invisalign in. So I don't know how many of the little attachments that they'll put on my teeth I will need. I've heard, I've read a lot of blogs online, you know, kind of preparing mentally for it. And I've read some people only needed like two, three, four. And then like one person was like, I thought I'd only need a few and I needed 20. So it basically looked like clear braces. So I'm like mentally like, Jessica, you'll be fine. It's not forever, it's just for a part of your life. And eventually you'll just need the things at night when you sleep, anyway. So mentally preparing for like the possible number of attachments I need. And then those are the things that are like the same color as your teeth. And they are like permanently attached for the time that you're wearing your Invisalign. So I was drinking coffee this morning getting ready and I was like, Jessica, soak this in because this is not going to be able to happen. You know, it'll be more of a sit down, drink your coffee and move on with your day kind of a thing. So I'll be sad, I'll miss that for the time being. But again, not forever. Can you tell I'm nervous? I'm nervous, my hair is half wet. I don't really know why I'm nervous because you know, I'm not nervous about them putting things on. I think it's, I'm anxious about like my life changing for the next year starting today. That's what I'm nervous about. And I'm like, I'm not ready. But again, these are small things and I need to just let it go. Because obviously there are way bigger problems in the world. So I'm just trying to be honest with y'all. So if you feel that way, you'll, I think it's normal to just feel a little anxious, a little nervous. I don't know that it's going to hurt. I know that it'll hurt when I change trays and stuff. And I'm sure that these first few days it's definitely going to not feel good. I have a lot of question marks, you know we'll just see how it goes. Here we go. All right, I did it. They're in. I have a little bit of a list. They said it goes away in a few weeks. So I'm like, all right, I can deal with that. So let me tell you the dirty deets. Okay, so you can see up close, they put 20 attachments in. Exactly my fear. I said, how many attachments? She said, let's see. And she counts, she goes 20. I'm like, but I didn't have to have any on the front four teeth. And that I'm happy about because I thought that's going to bother me in a lot of ways. So I was glad again, this lisp is going to make me crazy. But like I said, all of them said it goes away. So I'm not too worried about it. I think it just takes time, but yeah all of the attachments are on the sides. And what was weird is when they were doing it, you know she kind of polished the teeth that they were going to be on and then she literally took a fourth of an Invisalign tray that must've had them in it. And I think she was putting adhesive or something on the teeth and then she would put it in and then use this like kind of, again I don't know what it was and I couldn't really ask cause my mouth but it felt like a little, like, I don't know if it was like a heat gun or something maybe like some kind of infrared, I don't know but it would, she would hold it on each attachment and then she would take out the Invisalign tray and the attachments were on. So it was not painful. You didn't need it. I didn't need any like, nothing weird. It didn't hurt at all. And then that was that. So I was in there for no way, is that right? 43 minutes. So that took no time. It was painless. I rinsed my mouth out. Then she put in my very first Invisalign tray and then she showed me how to take it out kind of from the back and pop it out and how to put them in and then kind of upkeep. So I got a baggie. I felt like when I got braces as a kid this is what it felt like. It was kind of cute. So Invisalign, I guess it comes with like this bag and it has a nice tray and they have these like cleansing crystals but she said, honestly, once you run out of those just get Efferdent and it'll cleanse them. She said like when she'll shower, she'll stick these in some water with the cleaning crystals or some Efferdent just to have them cleaning for that 10, 15 minutes and then she'll put them back in just to make sure they don't get stained and they stay clean, et cetera. That's a part of it. And then I got like a little toothbrush, a little travel toothbrush and toothpaste. So when I want to eat or drink or whatever whether I'm at home or at a restaurant you'll take them out, of course. And then she said, before you put them back in you'll want to brush your teeth really fast. And she said, even take the toothbrush and toothpaste and actually brush these, the actual trays just to make sure they're clean when you're putting them back in as well. So I was like, perfect, good advice. It was funny though, because I did the fast track I'm like one of the few that ever does it I guess at this location where they don't see me for six months. And the sweet ladies at the front desk were saying they said, are you sure they said to get an appointment in six months? Why not 12 weeks? I'm like, I swear that's what they said. So they double checked, but yeah I've got like literally 28 trays. So I am golden. So I'll be back in March. I'm filming this right now in September. So I'm excited. The nerves are gone obviously cause that was what I was kind of nervous about and I'll just get used to them. Yeah, we're just going to see where this train rolls but this was my big problem too. So I'm curious. I'm just so curious how my smile will look. But yeah, so I've got literally all my trays. They're all labeled for like what, you know number they are, what week. So I'll switch out on Mondays. So this is that Invisalign box with the little case and then they're cleansing crystals. And I'm going to do, I'm going to take her advice and by effort at when I run out of that. So yeah, I, the journey begins. So I'm grabbing a couple of things at the store, a little, I guess a denture bath but to be able to clean my aligners and then these, cause I've noticed the breath is hard to bite and it needs to clean them as well. It is officially day. It's Thursday, technically day three, Monday morning Monday to Tuesday to Wednesday to Thursday. Yeah. It's been three full days since I've been wearing them. I guess that's how I should word it. And I would like to think that the way I'm talking it has improved a little bit. Like no one really notices unless I say something no one's noticing. So I've stopped saying anything. You know what I mean? Like, oh, I'm wearing Invisalign by the way. Like no one cares. So I've just stopped mentioning it. And so I think people stopped noticing. You can see it up close but literally from like a foot or maybe even two feet away, it's just not obvious. My husband brought up a good point. Like when I'm smiling with my mouth closed, he told me, he's like, you can tell you're smiling weird. And I'm not trying to, it's just like, that's me smiling. But he said, when you smile with your mouth open it looks totally normal. So I'm trying to smile with my mouth open more. So just as a PSA, I don't know. I don't know that any of you all care about that. I definitely have gotten a few cuts like on my tongue from where the plastic meets back there. That was unexpected. The first day it didn't bother me at all. But like, I woke up this morning and I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing at night with my tongue. I'm getting used to it. I've discovered a whole world online. Like Reddit has so many forums dedicated to this where people are, you know, asking me advice and stuff. And there's a wealth of knowledge. So even if you've never been on Reddit just Google Reddit Invisalign and you will find so many forums with so many very specific answers and questions. And it's awesome. Like I mentioned, I did get yesterday a little denture cleaner thing and I just used it this morning and I used the Effernet which is what my dentist said to use and it worked great. There's no funky smell or any, you know, anything like that. I haven't really noticed that yet but I have a feeling by the end of each week, I will. But I've also bought just regular mouthwash. I've heard some people will use clear mouthwash just to make sure like if you were doing it with them in which I don't even think you're supposed to do but if you were that it wouldn't stain it. But then again, I read on so many forums so many people would just use regular like green, blue, Listerine, you know and they haven't had any problems. But I do it with it out but I figure I'm not big on mouthwash but I know that it's gonna kill those germs that I probably should be killing if I'm gonna be holding those germs against my teeth with the Invisalign in. So I've been using that not every single time before but like definitely before bed and then sometimes throughout the day at least once just if I feel like, I just ate some sugar I should probably, after I brush my teeth use the Listerine. I've been flossing at night before bed as well. Throughout the day I'll just kind of pick through if I feel like I see something between them. You'll notice that food will catch a little bit more if you have attachments because of the rough, I don't really know what it is but it's like it's so rough on each tooth because of that that seemingly food is just getting caught in them easier. Not to the point where like I eat a bite and then suddenly it's in everything but just that you might see it up close. So, and they sell little packs with them in a little like to-go container that's really small if you have a purse or your pocket, whatever. So that way you could have those on the go too so you could just quickly pick out something and then be able to put them back in. That has been helpful. I have a small thing of Listerine and I figure I can just refill that small one so I can keep that in my purse only if I need it. Again, I probably won't need it that much on the go. So far so good. I've had a few small headaches. I'd been mistaken, I might've said earlier that they said to take ibuprofen but I've been reading online that you're actually supposed to take Tylenol because ibuprofen can mess with the movement of your teeth. So I feel like Tylenol doesn't work on me well but when I was pregnant with my daughter, that's all I could take like if I had any pain and so we're just gonna see how it works for this if I need it. But nothing crazy though, nothing that's been like debilitating pain, nothing like that. So, so far so good. So it's day seven. I just put in a brand new tray. The very first time I'm switching trays and right off the bat, it feels like tight. It just feels weird. And it's funny because the first time you put in like the very first week's tray, it feels weird but you've never had that in your mouth before so you don't know any different. But having put, I mean, you can tell like it fits right. You can see where there's areas like I can see where some of the teeth are gonna be forced to move this week because it fits pretty well but it's just ever so slightly like it just needs to move into that spot. So, but one thing my orthodontist mentioned was to make sure that like the little attachments on each tooth are in the attachment part and they all are. So yeah, it just feels tight especially on this bottom portion and it makes you wanna like clench your jaw together which I know is not good for you but it's kinda like, I was tweeting about it actually and a lot of people came back and they were like, think about it like a baby when they're teething wants to bite stuff. It just helps like that counter pressure, you know. And I think that's kinda how I'm feeling. So I'm trying not to but I catch myself doing it. Did take a Tylenol so I'm headed to bed. I've heard that changing them at night is the best thing just to take a Tylenol, we'll see. Week three, I'm in my like filming setup so I look way more like professional than I have in like literally every other clip. I just last night put in my week three trays and ooh, these were tight. It's amazing how much your teeth really do move in the week because the second you put in the next one I was like, ooh, those are tight. I took a Tylenol last night. I woke up in the middle of the night and they really, I just didn't have a headache. So I think next week, week four, I'm not gonna take a Tylenol and just see because I've heard that some people get awful headaches and it's just terrible and then others don't. For me, I'm realizing I'm getting headaches more towards the end of the week. Like for me, I had an awful headache, I wanna say Thursday, I change on Sunday nights. I wanna say like Thursday or Friday, awful headache and that happened week one too. I was kinda putting two and two together so I'm curious this week to see if that happens for me. So maybe it just depends on your own body when it comes to if you're gonna feel pain or get headaches. Because I work from home, things are a little bit tricky because I feel like I'm used to snacking all day and so the good news is it's forcing me to not consistently grab peanut M&Ms that are out because I can't, you know? And then you think, well, it's not really worth doing the whole rigmarole of, but I will say this. One thing I'm guilty of that I don't recommend but I'm just gonna share my experience in case it helps you. We always watch TV in the evening in the basement and sometimes we'll like eat down there, like we'll have our dinner if our daughter's already asleep. One thing that was frustrating me was we would eat and then I'd be like, all right, we'll pause what we're watching. Let me go upstairs, brush my teeth, put these back in because I'm done. Then we'd go back. So what I've started doing, I know it's wrong, but I'm just gonna share with you guys, is I would just eat and then swish my mouth with literally just water that I was drinking, stick these back in, watch the rest of the episode because usually it's like a 30 minute episode and we're 20 minutes in and I need to go put them back in. So I'll just stick them back in for the last 10 minutes. That way it's, you know, I'm thinking of the clock in my head of like, okay, keep them in for 22 hours. That way they're in, they're still helping keep my teeth in place and move my teeth. And then when the show is over, I can go up, brush my teeth, clean, brush these off and put it back in. So just something to keep in mind. It's not black and white. There's a gray area. I know there's, I'm sure there's some orthodontists watching freaking out like, you're gonna get cavities. It's a risk I'm willing to take. I think 10 minutes of having them in and then cleaning them and my teeth right after is fine. Another thing, I was at a wedding this weekend and it was really tricky. It was an outdoor wedding and the bathrooms, the line was always crazy long and it wasn't like a normal bathroom because again, we're outside. And so it was really tricky. I was like, okay, so we're sitting down at the wedding. I was drinking white wine through a straw, it was fine. And I was like, well, I need, we're about to eat. So I literally just, I could have just taken them out there but I still feel weird because you kind of dig in there to get them out and it's just kind of weird. And I'm around people I don't know and it's a wedding. I'm like, that would be uncouth to just pop these out at the table. So I walked out, I'm like, the bathroom line is long. What am I gonna do? So I literally just kind of walked around the corner and faced away from, like no one was super close and just brought my thing, popped them out, put them in there, went back to eat and then I was able to go to the bathroom after I brushed my teeth and stuff. So you kind of just figure out how to finagle the system to a certain extent, always keeping in mind that you really, obviously you need to be brushing your teeth as much as possible, flossing. What I've started doing is flossing every night before I put them in for the night just to make sure that for that, you know, eight hours that I'm sleeping, I wanna make sure my mouth is as clean as possible. I've been using mouthwash as well. I'm not using whitening mouthwash because I've heard that that can mess with, you know, I don't know that you can necessarily whiten underneath the attachments. I've heard both sides online. So I'm like, eh. So I'm just using Listerine to really kill those germs before I pop these in for the night. But during the day, I kind of floss intermittently if I feel like I need it. So I'll look in my teeth and be like, okay, no, I ate a Butterfinger. I should probably floss, you know. But I'm not feeling like I absolutely have to floss every single time before I put them in because I will drive myself crazy. And if I have to deal with this for a year, I need to be able to kind of work it so that I can still live my life. You know what I mean? I'm using the Effordant little tablets to clean these. I think it cleans them fine. I don't think it necessarily de-stains them. I haven't had terrible stains. Sometimes, like my first tray, they were stained towards the back because of iced coffee. Again, a risk I'm willing to take because when I'm done drinking it, I'll take them out, clean them, and clean my mouth, and put them back in. But I'm willing to have a little bit of staining where literally no one can see, including myself, to be able to drink iced coffee from time to time. But I'm gonna end this video here. Hopefully, this bit of information has been helpful for you. If you'd be interested in me doing an update maybe further down the line with this, I'd certainly be willing to. I don't think I'm gonna do weekly updates anymore. But for example, in, well, a little over five months now, I'll go back in and they'll do refinements. Maybe I'll do a video around that time kind of to update how my teeth are looking, but also what that process was like, et cetera, because I really don't know what to expect, so I'm curious. So let me know. That'll probably be the next video I do on this. But if it was helpful, please give it a thumbs up so that I know. I hope you subscribe. I do beauty and lifestyle videos like this on my channel all of the time, three to four days a week. So please stick around. If you wanna binge watch some of my videos, I will put some of my favorites up in the I and down below. And I will see you guys in my next one. Thanks for watching, bye.