I went to the dentist 2 days ago and they gave me the remaining #15-24 trays! I'll continue changing every 2 wks and have to visit every 8 wks just to make sure they're fine, but at least now I can see the gradual movement by viewing the trays in the bags. Eventually my incisors on the top & bottom that are pushed out on top and pushed in on the bottom (they match up) will all be straight!

The last couple trays show me what I'm working for and I'm extremely pleased. Let's hope the results do it justice. Now I think I'll take a couple pics of the first and last trays to show the difference.

I popped in invisalign tray #13 last night as I find it best to get over the first few hours overnight. Once again there was no pain and it's only slightly painful when I have the trays taken out for awhile after reinserting them.

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Went to get my next 4 trays Aug 10th, but I had been wearing it 3 wks since I typically like to wear the trays 11-12 days instead of the full 2 wks. They had essentially done all the work they could do and had not been "tight" at all and were sagging over the "buttons" glued on the 3-4 teeth so they can "lock on" to my teeth.

The dentist saw a 1mm sag on the bottom of my front teeth and you could clearly see that you could push it up with my finger if you pushed hard, but I said that showed that it had done all it could do. They made me wait a week until I could get my trays and told me to bite down on a popsicle stick or Qtip but after biting for an hour every time I put them back in after eating they would said the second I took the Qtip out.

I went back in a week and they gave me my next 4. Needless to say when I inserted the next tray it felt right and was a match for my teeth. I pretty much felt I wasted a week.

I just now put in #12 and there was no pain at all this time. That's a first. I had even had #11 out for a few hours late at night too for the past few days. 2 wks of this one and I'll be half done with my 24 trays scheduled to end now on 3/1/10.

Hadn't posted in awhile, but tried tray 9 and it was as usual for 2 wks. Been using tray #10 for awhile and still a slight pain when inserting the tray for the first couple days. Won't have next 4 trays until August 10th.

Well I'm a day early as usual and I decided to put trays #8 in before the Transformers movie and expected some pain, but these don't hurt at all.

Tray #6 on my uppers were worn for almost two and a half weeks and can definitely start getting smelly if you don't brush them. I highly recommend brushing them with a manual toothbrush every 2-3 days on the outside and inside. I soaked them in a glass of listerine as well for a few minutes to make sure they were sanitized too which seemed to keep them fresh.

I was given trays #7-#8 for uppers and got the "buttons" cemented to my bottoms to start the first tray. I was in and out in 30 minutes and as usual it was about 2 days of annoying pain, but nothing you can't tough out. It's actually NOT painful as long as you leave them in, but after taking them out for even 10 minutes at first in order to eat and putting them back makes your teeth hurt, so it's best in the initial time of a new tray to keep it in 23/24 hrs.

I've had 'em in for 6.5 days and can easily take 'em out for a couple hrs with only a handful of minutes in which it's slightly painful after re-inserting them. Can't wait to go to the next trays too since both upper & lowers are now in.

The dentist said I should really see them moving more now & I have noticed that my teeth don't exactly match up well when biting down, so softer foods are best, but I haven't found anything yet I couldn't eat.

Well I put #5 in after only 12 days and there was the typical pressure you feel, but no pain this time. I usually put 'em in at night before bed so I can get through the first 8 hrs or so while I'm not awake. Took 'em out for lunch right now and I'll feel pressure upon brushing, rinsing, and re-inserting.

I put in tray #4 a day early after 13 days with #3 and it is much tighter. No pain unless I have had the tray out for 30 min to eat. Once I put it back in it feels better. There's a slight discomfort, but only after taking the tray out and the teeth try to move back to their original position. Eating is a 1 out of 10 for pain now.

Well it's been a month & I just got back from the dentist to get my 3rd aligner. They viewed #2 in my mouth and it looked fine and asked if there were any problems. I slipped in #3 and I'm already used to it in the 30 min drive home.

They gave me trays 3-6 because on #7 I'll have top & bottom trays, so they'll have to add "buttons" on some bottom teeth as well so the trays have something to grab onto. Next appt in 2 mo.

I'll be posting pics as well of the before and after and trays as well soon. No pain at all. They said that each tray basically moves your teeth a quarter of a millimeter which is why I have 24 upper trays.

It's 4/3/09 and I have to say I only wore the first upper tray for 8 days before going to tray 2. I felt it wasn't doing much and tray 2 put a little more pressure on my teeth to move 'em around.

I even called the dentist asking and they want to do one tray for 2 weeks & that even though you feel very little pressure it really is still moving your teeth, but I honestly feel I could do all 24 trays in 7 days each instead of 2 wks.

Still don't feel any pain or anything remotely annoying other than I brush 'em after brushing my teeth. They aren't smelly or stained and are still clear.

I hear of so many other ppl online that take several pain meds while wearing these, but no matter what product out there someone will complain, so you have to take negative comments with a grain of salt. Hopefully I won't have any pain. Stay tuned!

My Invisalign

I got invisalign 3.19.09 & they put 5 buttons on my uppers. They're just little notches that the trays use to move your teeth around. Most people don't even notice I'm wearing the tray.

I was in and out of the office in 45 minutes after them attaching the buttons and I'm not sure what people are complaining about since the buttons are covered up by the trays & I'm supposed to wear them 23 hours a day for 30 days.

My lowers will go in during upper tray #7, but I only notice a slight discomfort all day the first couple days. On a scale of 1-10 I'd say it was a 1. Didn't hurt at all. It's not because I don't have perfect teeth either since I need 24 upper trays & 17 lowers.

You definitely can't eat with them in though or even chew gum. Keep them clean in simple too as I just brush them and rinse. For people who claim they're getting bad breath then that's their own fault. I just brush after every meal and brush my tray & rinse.

Cost was $4500 & my employment has decent dental insurance & I directed enough to my medical savings account as well via pre-tax income. I'm in the 25% tax bracket therefore it's reducing my income by the amount I must pay for the invisalign, so it's like getting a 25% off coupon!

My insurance said the $4500 was too much as well so they adjusted it to $3460 of which I was responsible for $1830 and insurance paid the rest. The $1830 I'm getting 25% off on, so it really only cost me $1372.50 taken out of my next 26 paychecks.

I was getting a slight discomfort if I took the tray out to eat after putting it back in, but if I leave it out for 2 hours it's more uncomfortable for longer. Frankly, I feel I'm ready for tray #2 which they already gave me.