THE TRUTH ABOUT INVISALIGN / Before + After 6 months + FAQ Answered

Well, hey everyone, welcome to my channel. My name is Jessica. If you have never seen any of my videos, I film three videos a week, beauty, lifestyle, home, all of it. I would love if you subscribe if you enjoy today's video. So today we're gonna be talking about the Invisalign that I have had now for six and a half months. I filmed a video about six months ago when I first got these about that entire experience, what the consultation was like. I even take you through the first week or two of having them and what it's like to switch the trays for the first time and if there's pain, all of those kinds of very specific like nitty gritty questions, I answer in that video slash vlog. So I will link that up in the eye and down below because this one I'm gonna be updating you on everything I've learned so far. I have found a way to weasel through a lot of the things that you're not supposed to do with Invisalign. Okay, I'm not an orthodontist nor am I a dentist. I'm none of those things. I'm just gonna give you what I've been doing. You take it for what you will. I'm not saying to do it yourself. I'm just saying it's working for me, okay? I asked you guys on my Instagram, which is at itsjessicabron, shameless plug, what questions you had. I typed up some notes so hopefully we'll go in an order that will make sense for you all. So I wanted to fill you in on a couple of very specific things about my case. So I'm gonna show you a before picture here. This is what my smile looked like before. I was self-conscious about it because I had, you know, my canines were kind of farther out than like other teeth and it was just uneven. What's interesting though was when I first went in for the consultation, I originally thought I would just get Invisalign on the top. And he was like, no, we're gonna correct your bite too. And I'm like, I didn't even know there's anything wrong with my bite, but he showed me areas that my teeth were already starting to wear because of the way that my bite was. And it was just one of those things that as you get older, your teeth get more brittle, they're not as strong. So your bite can actually affect a lot more than you would ever guess. This is what I'm learning, right? So I ended up, of course, getting the whole set of Invisalign. Now my specific case, I switch my trays every week and a lot of people do Invisalign and do it every two weeks. So actually my father-in-law is just about done with his and his, he switched every two weeks. And that's gonna play a part here in a minute when we talk about drinking coffee. Okay. So I was also on what they called a fast track. It was $3,800 to do this fast track where basically I would get fitted for the trays. I'd be given six months worth of trays and then I would see him in six months. So no orthodontic check-ins. I think part of it was because my case wasn't extreme. Part of it was that I wasn't younger. You know what? I'm an adult. My understanding is the office I went to, they don't offer it to everyone. In fact, I think it was a little bit more rare. I know I got some flack from people that said, you need to be checking in with an orthodontist every 12 weeks. And that's what most people do. It worked out great for me. But like I said, it's not offered everywhere and it's not offered for everyone. So it was more expensive actually to do. It was $5,000 to do the regular Invisalign where I would go in every 12 weeks for check-ins. So I was like, so you're telling me I can save $1,200 and I don't have to come to the orthodontist as much? Yeah, I'm gonna go for that one, obviously. So I showed you the before. I wanna show you that again, but I wanna show you what my smile looks like now. So you can see that really my teeth have evened out when it comes to how far out and in they were. They've completely evened out that way. And on top of that, my bite is totally different. Actually to the point where I used to bite my nails. It was such a bad habit of mine all my life. And I physically, even when my Invisalign trays are out, I can't bite my nails because my bite is totally different. And so it's one of those things that it kind of forced me to break that bad habit in a way that I had no idea it would do this. On the flip side of that, I will have to get used to this new bite because even if I'm trying to open something and I know it's bad, but you use your teeth sometimes to open something. Such a crime. I can't do that either. So I guess again, another bad habit that I guess I have fixed with Invisalign. So I got a lot of questions about, do people notice it? I will say if it's someone I haven't seen since I got Invisalign and they know me really well, like they see me a lot, they notice it right away. And usually they don't say anything. They'll just be like looking at it while I'm talking as if they're trying to figure out what's different about my teeth, but they can't quite pinpoint it. So typically once I say, oh, by the way, I just, I got Invisalign, they're like, oh. And then they wanna know more about it, but then they never, I never like catch them awkwardly looking at my teeth again. So I think it's one of those things that if you're familiar with someone's smile and the way they talk, it at first is different, but once you find out what it is, it's almost as though you don't notice anymore. That's been my experience this entire time. Now, close friends, once they know it, I've never caught any of my friends like looking at them or like not able to like look me in the eye when I'm talking because they're looking, you know what I'm talking about? No one does that. And I feel like people I don't know at all don't notice it. Like if I'm at the store talking to someone or the post office, no one is looking at it or thinking it's weird or anything like that. So that was something that was probably my biggest fear, as shallow as that sounds. And it is like the, it's not a problem at all. It just really isn't. Lisp wise, definitely when I watched like that first Invisalign video that I was mentioning earlier, I could hear that lisp as I'm just trying to get my mouth used to having something different in it. I think if there is any lisp in there, it is slight and it's not forever. And it's not anything I noticed. Sometimes when I first put them in, like if I've had them out to eat, let's say breakfast or something and I put them in, sometimes it might take a few minutes for almost my mouth to get used to it. So the first, if I'm talking right after putting them in, it's almost as though I've got to get back used to it. So I would say, again, the lisp is not super noticeable. Now that I'm talking about it, you're probably gonna be like, yeah, I hear it. But it gets better probably within the first week. And then after that, it's just barely there. Because again, that was another thing I was terrified about. Another question I get a lot is about lipstick. How do you wear lipstick? So I will say, I do a lot of makeup videos on this channel. And so I wear lipstick. I put it on, I try it on. But if I'm in my day-to-day life, if I'm not filming a video, I really don't wear regular lipstick because it just does get on your teeth. Now, I have a few tips and tricks of ways I figured it out like this today. So first off, the biggest tip I got from a lot of you guys was to do the fingertip trick where you literally put the lipstick on and then go. And then any of the lipstick that was kind of on the inner part of your lip is removed onto your finger. And so then it's not gonna get on your trays. Well, that doesn't really work for me. It's not foolproof. I don't know if it's the way I talk or the fact that my lips are a little bit bigger, but I still end up with lipstick on my teeth. Regular lipsticks, colored, glossy type lips, most of those would still get on the Invisalign and it would be a little bit difficult to get off, honestly. My best tip is to take lip liner, fill in your lips all the way as though it's lipstick. Lip liner doesn't typically budge. So the one I used today was this Milani Easy Liner. It's in the shade Most Natural. I just colored in my lips all the way. It doesn't go anywhere. And so it doesn't get on it. And then if you wanted to put more of like a clear gloss on top, if you didn't want it to be like a dry lip liner, you can do that. So this one's almost clear, but it works. This is the Buxom Lip Gloss in Celeste. It's really pretty and glittery, but just a clear gloss because then it looks like you have a lipstick on, but it's really not going anywhere. Of course, other things you can do are just clear like glowy balms. This is the Laneige Lip Glowy Balm, one of my favorites. I use this all the time with this because I can just put it all over. It's completely clear, but it looks a little bit glossy. So it looks like you got something going on, but really it's just a lip balm. You know what I mean? And then another recommendation would be to use matte liquid lipsticks. Honestly, I don't love them. And so I really just don't use them much with or without Invisalign. However, they have been nice to have for days that I really do want more of a punchy lip, but I don't want it to go everywhere. I will say you have to let them dry all the way. So I almost recommend take your Invisalign out, put the lipstick on, let it really, really dry for five or 10 minutes, and then put the Invisalign back in. So my favorite is the Maybelline Superstay Matte Ink. Not everyone likes these because there is like this tacky feeling left behind, but I kind of like it and it still doesn't transfer. But one that really, really dries down is this L'Oreal one. So I can link these two below, but those are definitely my favorites. And one last lip recommendation. I wore this when we were traveling a lot, the Nivea Blackberry. If you've watched my channel a lot, you know I love this. Emily Noel recommended it. First of all, it smells like blue Kool-Aid. You're welcome ahead of time. But it's just this really pretty wash of color and it makes your lips look healthy and like slightly pinkened, but it doesn't transfer onto it. So highly recommend this, like two or $3. Can you hear the crackle of this fricking candle back there? It's living its best life. It's actually like a Christmas one and it's March when I'm filming this. So I also get questions a lot about the pain. Honestly, there really hasn't been much. Now I will say this. If you are one of the ones doing Invisalign and you change every two weeks, I have a feeling the pain is a little bit bigger because that is a change. That tray is a change that's gonna happen over two weeks. Whereas mine are, I think, slightly smaller changes every week. Does that make sense? And so because of that, I feel like when I was putting them in, especially the first week or two, I was like, ooh, it just feels tight. Like it's not totally comfortable. And sometimes the first day I would have a headache, I just pop a Tylenol. It's really not that big of a deal. But I do wonder if you had them every two weeks, if it would be a little bit higher pain because it's a bigger change that's happening over two weeks. So I don't know if you can speak to that if you had them every two weeks, but it was never so much pain that it was like debilitating me or anything like that. Again, the biggest tip that anyone will tell you is to change them in the evening. So right before bed, whatever night it is, for me it was Sunday nights, which was perfect. I loved that. I would brush, floss, et cetera, put the fresh ones in overnight and I was just fine. So typically by morning, it was no big deal. So pain was not as big of a problem as I think I thought it would be. Let's talk about the most, I think, important part. How do I drink coffee all day the way I used to with Invisalign? Well, have I got a solution for you? That honestly, as dumb as this sounds, might have actually been my biggest fear because I was like, I drink two to three cups of coffee a day. I love coffee. It's like a part of my world, my life. Like it is a joy in my day. And if I couldn't have it, I was like, this is going to be terrible. Maybe I shouldn't do Invisalign. This is where I really need to say, I know that you probably shouldn't do this, but I'm just sharing my experience. You take my story as you will, okay? I bought a pack of like six reusable straws on Amazon or maybe even at the grocery store, like some durable, reusable ones. I literally cut them in half with strong scissors. That's it. I get so many questions like, oh, where'd you get your cute coffee straws? I'm like, I literally cut them in half. So you do that. Then you've got like 12 straws you can use throughout the week. And I will brew my coffee. I will stick an ice cube or two in it to cool it down because if it's piping hot and you drink it through a straw, it's hot. It's going to burn your tongue. Put an ice cube or two in there. And then I just make sure as I'm sipping it that I get the straw past the Invisalign. So that way when I'm drinking the coffee, the only thing it would stain would maybe be the back of the Invisalign. It's not staining this area that you can see. This has been 100% foolproof for me, you guys. And it's funny, because I remember reading some Reddit threads about it when I was first getting it. Like, how are people doing this? You know, like, how are they getting through? And this is what so many people recommended. And again, you know, yeah, you might look down upon it, especially if you're first starting it and your dentist, of course, is going to tell you, no, you shouldn't drink any hot liquids. But I don't believe for a second that if they had Invisalign, they wouldn't be finding a way around it too. So editing Jessie popping in to say, I didn't touch on the fact that like, if it really is a piping hot liquid, the heat can warp the Invisalign. So it's just something to keep in mind. Again, most of the time the coffee I was drinking was like slightly warmer than lukewarm and I didn't have any issues, but it is something to keep in mind. I don't want to give you like that bad of advice and then you like warp your thing. So just keep that in the back of your mind when you're thinking about drinking coffee and breaking all the rules. Obviously, if you're drinking it, you should be taking the Invisalign out, brushing it, brushing your teeth and stuff. We're going to talk about that in a sec too. I am just a cheater Magoo. I'm just going to tell you right now. I've been doing the same thing for, you know, if it's an evening and we're hanging out with friends and we're having wine or beer or whatever cocktails, same thing. I just, if we're at a restaurant, I just ask for a straw. I do have a retractable one I bought on Amazon that works pretty well. It's not like the strongest suction, but it is really nice to have in a pinch. So I always just keep it in my purse. So that's something I can link to specific ones I have that I think are pretty good. Now with eating, originally I was literally, you know, you take them out every time you eat, you absolutely have to, you cannot eat with these in. And I would, you know, floss and brush every single time after I ate. Well, laziness sets in. So I would say, you know, if I'm eating something that's obviously going to be stuck in my teeth, like, you know, there are just certain foods that aren't going to just rinse out of your mouth really quickly, then I'm probably going to take a second to brush them. But honestly, a lot of times I'll just, I'll rinse some water in there and then I'll stick them back in. And then when I really have the time to actually brush them, I'll take them out and brush them. Again, I know that's not best practice. I'm just sharing. The nice thing is I've had my cleaning like halfway through the Invisalign, like every six months. And so it's been perfect because they recently checked to make sure I had no cavities or anything. And that was great. Because I'm like, I feel like that's something that is important to do while you have this, because you are, you know, putting on the Invisalign. And if you do have like, let's say chocolate sitting on your teeth, and then you put these back on, well, that's just like literally a breeding ground for a cavity. Being cognizant of that, be smart about it, but don't feel like it has to be so black and white because those first few weeks were so hard. I'm like adjusting to this new thing in my mouth and I'm having to brush and floss every fricking few hours. It was a nightmare. Everyone jokes about the Invisalign diet. Like, oh, if you have Invisalign, you're going to eat less because you're not going to have to take them out, brush your teeth, et cetera. Well, you just find ways around it because I would say now I'm snacking and eating whatever I want. Now, the other thing is the time. So they say, you know, you should only have them out like a max of two hours in a given 24 hour period. So, you know, if you eat three meals a day at 30 minutes each, that's an hour and a half, and then snacking and stuff throughout. Well, the worst part was for me when I was taking them out to drink coffee and stuff, I was like, how am I going to keep this under two hours? Like, it's not going to happen. I'm not chugging coffee. But now that I'm drinking coffee kind of whenever I want with them in, the two hour time window is not difficult at all. So the first few weeks, I was like timing it and seeing like, okay, I'm going to have them out for 20 minutes, eat this meal, and then I've got this much time. No, I have not done that in months. I just trust that honestly, if I'm just taking them out when I'm eating and then I put them back in, it's never getting close to the two hours, maybe right under. So that has solved a lot of problems for me. Now, flossing, you do have to do, I do at minimum every night. Sometimes throughout the day, if I notice like, ooh, like I need to floss, I will, but typically it's not that big of a deal. I just do it at night before I have them in for the night. And that has been working just fine. With mouthwash, I think if you have the trays in, I wouldn't necessarily go for using like a green or blue mouthwash for fear that it might tint them blue or green. I don't know if it would or not, but the fact that it is such a vivid color, I don't know. They sell clear mouthwashes. So you could just get a clear one for the time being. And then once you're done with the Viz line, switch to like, if you're used to using like green and blue Listerine. So I do have some recommendations of specific products. So first of all, my favorite toothpaste, I actually discovered a few months ago, this Crest 3D White Stain Eraser. So I was noticing that because I wasn't necessarily brushing my teeth after every single time I took these out, I was getting like a little bit of yellowing on these teeth over here. And I couldn't really figure out what it was. Once I switched to this, gone. Like I swear to you in three days, like any stains I might've had on my teeth from coffee or things sitting against it, gone. I love it. This is the second tube I've had of it. Highly recommend. I will still be using after I'm done with the Viz line too. I also recommend buying like a little denture cleaning tub. They have a million online drug stores. You can get them anywhere. I just got this one. It was the cheapest one I saw. And then some kind of denture cleaning tablets are perfect for cleaning your aligners. Your orthodontist will tell you the same thing. I just happened to buy Effordant because I think it was on sale. It works great. It kills bacteria, which can cause odor, which is great too. I do this in the evening typically, but it's nice to have, especially if you have two week trays, you definitely need that. Another thing I would recommend getting is if you carry around a purse or a bag, get some kind of little bag to hold your small toothpaste, mints, maybe Listerine little strips if you worry about your breath with these. I don't think I've noticed exorbitantly bad breath with these, but it is nice to have just in case because sometimes you can't tell if your own breath stinks. You know what I mean? So Listerine tabs or like little mints, keep your little toothbrush and toothpaste, a little thing of floss, your retainer holder. You know what I mean? You can buy retainer cases for your Invisalign trays. There are so many cute ones online for really cheap. So get all of that and get a little bag to hold it in because it's just kind of nice if you're running to the bathroom, let's say at a restaurant, you can just grab that and you know you have everything you need. When I originally got this, I was told it'd be a 12 month process. Again, I had the kind of specific case of this six month fast track, but now that my six months are over, I went in today for a refinement and basically they scanned my teeth in again and they looked at it, the orthodontist looked at it and basically said, okay, there are a couple small minor changes they still want to fix to fine tune it. So like my canines are kind of facing out still a little bit and even though they're straight this way, he wants them to face a little bit more forward. So that's one thing. I think the same for a bottom canine and just a couple of other minor things. So basically they scanned my teeth with those notes. They're sending it off to Invisalign to get new trays made. So in a few weeks I'll go back in and they're gonna remove all of my little attachments and I'll be done with the 28 trays I've already had and they'll remove all those, put in whatever new attachments this new set will need. And again, putting on the attachments is like nothing. It's just like beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. It is so fast, pain-free, like it's nothing. So that will be no big deal. That will take literally like 20 minutes there and then I'll be off with my new set of trays. I don't know how many it will be. It certainly won't be 28. I'm sure it'll be under like, I don't know, 12. I'm just completely guessing, but I know it's not gonna be another six months. So he said we're getting really close. And then once we're done with those trays, he said we'll do some contouring of the teeth where I think they'll kind of shave parts of it off so it's a little bit more even. And then my understanding is I'll kind of wear like a retainer, which is an Invisalign tray, but it's made of a little bit different of material so it's longer lasting. And I'll wear that for like eight or nine weeks as I'm wearing Invisalign now, you know, for 22 hours a day. And then at the end of that, I'll switch to just wearing it at night. And then that's that. We really are getting close. I'm now, like I said, at the six and a half month mark. So it could go all the way to 12 months is what he was saying. And it sounds like if I've got, you know, maybe three more months of this and then, you know, two months-ish, a little over two months of that, that pretty much puts us at the year mark. So I feel like this first six months has just flown by. I didn't realize confidence level wise how much my teeth bothered me. You know what I mean? Like I knew I always wanted to eventually fix them, but I always thought of it as, you know, it's just kind of minor and I don't see it in every photo, but I hadn't realized that for so many years I would see photos of myself and not like them. And I don't think I had realized that typically what I didn't like about them was my smile, my teeth. And I think subconsciously I knew it, but I didn't really realize it until, you know, having them fixed. And even right now, like if we stopped today, I would be happy with my smile. It is so, in my mind, different. And I just, that confidence is back. And I feel like when I'm smiling for photos, I'm not second guessing, like, wait, is this my good side or does this make my smile look weird from that? Wait, hold on, let me switch sides. Like all of that mumbo jumbo. So yes, it's a lot of money. It is the best money I have spent on myself honestly ever, at least at this point in my life. Like it is just, it's been so fast. And when you're starting it or you're thinking about starting it, you know, you've got all those nerves. That's normal. Of course you're nervous. Of course you're worried about all the things I told you. But the reality sets in a few weeks in, you don't even realize you're wearing them. Like I literally, sometimes I'm like, wait, am I wearing them? I'm like, oh yeah, I am. You don't, it just is a part of your life. I've traveled to Europe with them. I've been on a cruise with them. I have gone to Disney World with them and you just get used to popping them out, popping them back. I mean, it's not as big of a deal as you're probably making it in your head. It just takes a few weeks of getting used to, that's all. So if you haven't done it for fear of all of those different things you can be nervous about, but you can afford it, do it, do it, do it, do it. It will change your life. I'm telling you, I know it sounds dramatic, but your teeth and your smile is such a big part of you. You know what I mean? And if you can fix it in under a year, why wouldn't you? So I don't know if everyone under the sun can qualify for Invisalign, but I know that Invisalign can do more than you think. As I've watched other videos about Invisalign, especially before I got them, that's kind of what I was realizing. I'm like, gosh, some cases that are way, way, way more extreme than mine was were able to be fixed with Invisalign. It's pretty shocking. So don't assume that your case isn't. Most places give free consultations. That's what I went into. You go in, no strings attached, completely free. And they basically tell you yes or no, can you get Invisalign? And then they will tell you exactly how much it would cost. So then you can walk away and say, thanks, let me think about it, and then never call them back and never pay a dime. Or you can go to another consultation and get different pricing, or you can say, yep, let's do this and do it. So there really are no strings attached, at least not at the place I went. Find a place where it's free. Why not, right? Why not go in and just see? And then if you decide no, or you can't afford it or whatever, then there you go. And I know obviously you can do payment plans and different stuff, whatever you're comfortable with. I don't have dental insurance. I know a lot of people don't. And so most places, you know, I don't know if Invisalign would be covered with most dental insurance or not. But I know like for me, it was 3,800, no insurance, just that's what it was. I did get a question about, do I wish I had started it sooner? And I would say yes, because again, I didn't, for years, I knew I would probably be a good candidate for it. I mean, like for like 10 years. I thought about it, hemmed and hawed about it, and I wish I would have done it years ago. I wish I would have done it before my wedding. I wish, you know what I mean? Because those are photos that, I mean, obviously my smile was not that bad, but man, I would have felt way more confident in my wedding photos and all of that, if I did have my teeth the way they are now. And so it's just something that if you've been thinking about it, you might just finally do it, guys. I'm just saying, I wish I would have done it years ago. Oh, another quick question I got was, when did I start finally seeing a change? Obviously that's gonna be completely different based on your teeth situation. For me, I would say after about five weeks, I was noticing a change. My dad and mom, because they've known me forever, and they were saying like, oh my gosh, I'm already seeing like a big difference. Five weeks, you guys. Five weeks is a blink of an eye. I mean, really, it is. And so, you know, here we are six months in, and it's already nearly perfect in my opinion. So it really is fast. Again, everyone's case is different, but either way, you're gonna start to see noticeable differences quicker than I think you would think. So I do, I also was asked if I have ever lost my trays. I always heard, you know, I remember the dental hygienist was telling me, make sure that every time you take them out, put them in your case. Do not put them in a napkin. Don't do this, don't do that. You will lose them or you will throw them away. Just trust us. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So sure enough, we're on a transatlantic flight to I think Spain with my one-year-old daughter. I'm dealing with her. I had like white wine with a straw, of course, and she kicked it. It spills all over me, but I'd had my teeth out as well because I think we were eating. And it was one of those things that was such a nightmare. The Invisalign fell. I could not find it. We had like seven more hours in this flight. And of course I did have the wherewithal to bring the week before's trays just in case. And of course I had the next week or two of trays. They were under the plane. You know what I mean? They were in my checked bag. Never again. They have since been in my purse with me, both previous weeks and next week with me just in case I learned my lesson. But because I hadn't put my freaking Invisalign in the little case, it fell. It's on the disgusting airplane floor. I know, barf. And I cannot find it. And so I've got people around me trying to help me. Finally, six hours later, just not wearing Invisalign, just not wearing it, I were getting off and I wait till everyone's off. And I'm like, I asked the flight attendant, she was so sweet. I said, listen, I have Invisalign. I lost the tray. Can you help me find it? Sure enough, we find it like two seats back. It's disgusting. I had to thoroughly sanitize that bad boy. What's crazy, once I got it all cleaned up and I'm in the airport and I'm in the bathroom and I'm finally putting it back in, it was so tight. Just after like six hours of not wearing it, my teeth had already started to shift back. How scary is that? That's how important it is to wear it that often. I had no idea. And I'm like, oh my gosh, like it was worse and tighter to put in than when I switched trays for the next week. Like that's how much they had shifted in that six hours. So it really is important. That was proof. But it also is important to put your freaking tray in an actual case every time. Even if you think, oh, I'll be fine. No, put it in the tray. You'll always know where it is. So I hope this video is helpful for you. If you want to hear more about my Invisalign journey, like I said, I will link the original video where I take you to the orthodontist. I take you through what the consultation was like, what my day one of getting them in was like in that first week or two. Funny though, I was rewatching parts of it today and I was like, oh, six months ago, Jessie. Like you've learned so much since then. But anyway, I would love if you would subscribe, if you enjoy my videos. Definitely check some other ones out. I will have some of my favorite videos that I'm the most proud of up in the eye and down below if you're interested in checking them out. I have a lot of drugstore makeup that I think is absolutely incredible that I would recommend to you in some of the videos if you've been looking for different makeup to refresh your makeup bag. But anyway, other than that, I will catch you guys in my next one. Thanks for watching, bye.