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Just wanted to spend a moment being excited about... braces! For me!


Monica_in_Switzerland
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We have it worked into the budget, and I am getting BRACES!  Invisalign, no less.  I am so excited.  I was one of those terrible children that didn't wear my retainer after massive orthodontic work as a kid, and the result is a total disaster, leading to only some of my teeth actually working, jaw pain, etc, etc.  And soon we will fix this!  Yaaaaayyyyyy!!!!!!

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I will take a moment to be excited along with you. 😁  Hope your teeth will be gorgeous are you jaw pain gone!!

I will definitely be there to listen to you out when the pain starts. I hated putting my baby through this (12 year old boy). He was a tough cookie and took it well, and thank goodness for friends with braces to provide some great tips. Apparently puffing the cheeks out feels good when the skin is still tender.

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It is exciting! 
I did regular braces for about 24 months. I got them off about 16 months ago  & now have bonded lingual retainers and overnight retainers. I'm glad I did it though I still technically have some cosmetic work left to do. When they straightened my teeth one of the front ones ended being shorter than its neighbour (due to previous positioning and grinding) and I was originally planning to have it built up to match but now I can't decide whether to do it or just let it be wonky.

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I got Invisalign a few years ago when I was almost 50. I did wear my retainer after teen braces, but back then we weren’t told to wear them forever, so I didn’t.
 

Just a heads up. The first little bit is rough as your teeth ache badly, and you have to figure out how to get the trays in and out through the pain. It gets much, much better quickly though, and I had only a little soreness from time to time after that initial period. Much less painful than traditional braces, imo. If you are having trouble getting them out at first (attachments make it harder), try using a spoon on the back of your teeth to pry them. Good luck! I ended up having them for three years, about a year longer than I thought I would, but so glad I did.

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11 hours ago, livetoread said:

I got Invisalign a few years ago when I was almost 50. I did wear my retainer after teen braces, but back then we weren’t told to wear them forever, so I didn’t.
 

Just a heads up. The first little bit is rough as your teeth ache badly, and you have to figure out how to get the trays in and out through the pain. It gets much, much better quickly though, and I had only a little soreness from time to time after that initial period. Much less painful than traditional braces, imo. If you are having trouble getting them out at first (attachments make it harder), try using a spoon on the back of your teeth to pry them. Good luck! I ended up having them for three years, about a year longer than I thought I would, but so glad I did.

I've been watching youtube videos and that seems to be the common opinion!  I am also very scared of the filing, which I'll need on my lower teeth.  DS just had his filing done yesterday and he said it was horrible.  Thanks, ds...  

 

14 hours ago, hornblower said:

It is exciting! 
I did regular braces for about 24 months. I got them off about 16 months ago  & now have bonded lingual retainers and overnight retainers. I'm glad I did it though I still technically have some cosmetic work left to do. When they straightened my teeth one of the front ones ended being shorter than its neighbour (due to previous positioning and grinding) and I was originally planning to have it built up to match but now I can't decide whether to do it or just let it be wonky.

That's fantastic!  I'll be curious to know what you end up deciding!  

17 hours ago, wintermom said:

I will take a moment to be excited along with you. 😁  Hope your teeth will be gorgeous are you jaw pain gone!!

I will definitely be there to listen to you out when the pain starts. I hated putting my baby through this (12 year old boy). He was a tough cookie and took it well, and thank goodness for friends with braces to provide some great tips. Apparently puffing the cheeks out feels good when the skin is still tender.

I currently have ds13 in invisalign, dd10 with metal braces on top, and dd8 with a palate expander (and ds5 with a mouthguard to try to condition him to nose breathe).  So I figured... why not me as well?  We're already at the ortho ALL THE TIME anyway.  LOL.  But I am definitely not looking forward to a lot of the discomfort!!!  

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1 hour ago, Monica_in_Switzerland said:

I currently have ds13 in invisalign, dd10 with metal braces on top, and dd8 with a palate expander (and ds5 with a mouthguard to try to condition him to nose breathe).  So I figured... why not me as well?  We're already at the ortho ALL THE TIME anyway.  LOL.  But I am definitely not looking forward to a lot of the discomfort!!!  

That's one way to use up all your money! 😂  Maybe you have some awesome dental insurance (hopefully!)

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22 minutes ago, wintermom said:

That's one way to use up all your money! 😂  Maybe you have some awesome dental insurance (hopefully!)

 

😂 I wish!!!  Actually the way it works here is the kids are covered at 75%.  Poor me, though, out of pocket.  I do think the dentist is giving me a bit of a deal, though.  We are treating FOUR KIDS with him, so I sure hope so!  

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I am 7 weeks into my Invisalign and am very happy with them. I was anticipating a ton of pain and was surprised that I had hardly any. I was also concerned about the filing as I am protective of the shape of my teeth. It was just a  few seconds and done. My case is not extreme, though, so that might be why it wasn't much. An unexpected side effect is how much weight I have lost. About 10 lbs so far! I never realized how many times a day I shoved food in my mouth. I eat three times a day or less. The food has to be "tray-worthy" to take them out so sometimes I don't even bother.😂

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33 minutes ago, AbcdeDooDah said:

I am 7 weeks into my Invisalign and am very happy with them. I was anticipating a ton of pain and was surprised that I had hardly any. I was also concerned about the filing as I am protective of the shape of my teeth. It was just a  few seconds and done. My case is not extreme, though, so that might be why it wasn't much. An unexpected side effect is how much weight I have lost. About 10 lbs so far! I never realized how many times a day I shoved food in my mouth. I eat three times a day or less. The food has to be "tray-worthy" to take them out so sometimes I don't even bother.😂

 

Oh, fantastic!  How long does your ortho think your treatment will take?  Mine estimated 18 months for me, which I thought sounded quite fast, I was planning on 2-3 years.  I'll also have rubber bands somehow involved in the whole mess...  😂  

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48 minutes ago, Monica_in_Switzerland said:

 

Oh, fantastic!  How long does your ortho think your treatment will take?  Mine estimated 18 months for me, which I thought sounded quite fast, I was planning on 2-3 years.  I'll also have rubber bands somehow involved in the whole mess...  😂  

The main treatment was estimated at 6 months with a total time of 18 months for adjustments. I don't know about rubber bands but I do have attachments on 11 of my teeth.

 

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48 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

Later in life orthodontic fixes were probably my mom’s biggest joy for a few years.  It’s amazing how much having a corrected smile can help with confidence, pain, etc.  I am excited for you as well!

Yes! My top teeth are not too bad but my bottom ones are pretty crowded, which caused a lot of damage from my bite. In less than 2 months they look so much better all ready and I feel more confident.

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Howdy!  Congratulations on your decision!  I'm glad others have mentioned the discomfort - I didn't want to be a party pooper, LOL.  I was honestly surprised at how unpleasant it was getting used to the attachments.  After that, the new weekly inserts hurt me upon putting in & out (and sometimes where they rub) for a few days.  Not unbearable.  The filings are hardly uncomfortable at all for me.

Couple things I still don't like:  the way the inserts cause me to want to chew on them constantly, causing jaw and neck pain.  And the fact that I can't snack or sip coffee all day like I normally do.  I take hours to drink my coffee, so I am not as compliant with my inserts as I should be.  So far I have only been demoted once (had to wear one insert for 2 weeks).

My Invisalign program will be roughly a year, and I'm about halfway through.  I am doing it because I worry about food getting stuck between my teeth and having difficulty cleaning them properly as I get older.

One of my kids will probably need some work on her teeth.  Not sure whether it will be Invisalign or not.  She has a friend who is doing Invisalign.

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20 hours ago, Arctic Mama said:

Later in life orthodontic fixes were probably my mom’s biggest joy for a few years.  It’s amazing how much having a corrected smile can help with confidence, pain, etc.  I am excited for you as well!

 

That's a very sweet anecdote and make me feel like this will be "worth it".  

17 hours ago, SKL said:

Howdy!  Congratulations on your decision!  I'm glad others have mentioned the discomfort - I didn't want to be a party pooper, LOL.  I was honestly surprised at how unpleasant it was getting used to the attachments.  After that, the new weekly inserts hurt me upon putting in & out (and sometimes where they rub) for a few days.  Not unbearable.  The filings are hardly uncomfortable at all for me.

Couple things I still don't like:  the way the inserts cause me to want to chew on them constantly, causing jaw and neck pain.  And the fact that I can't snack or sip coffee all day like I normally do.  I take hours to drink my coffee, so I am not as compliant with my inserts as I should be.  So far I have only been demoted once (had to wear one insert for 2 weeks).

My Invisalign program will be roughly a year, and I'm about halfway through.  I am doing it because I worry about food getting stuck between my teeth and having difficulty cleaning them properly as I get older.

One of my kids will probably need some work on her teeth.  Not sure whether it will be Invisalign or not.  She has a friend who is doing Invisalign.

 

Good to know.  I've already got jaw issues, so I'll try to consciously remember not to gnaw on them all day!  We're hoping they will fix some of the jaw problems, actually.  I'm hoping I suffer from some of the invisalign related weight loss I hear about sometimes...  😂  On the other hand, I'm trying to fatten ds up, because he's skinny to begin with and no longer wants to pry them out of his mouth to eat snacks and things.  Sigh.  

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I'm excited for you! I had braces as a child and didn't stay consistent with my retainer. My teeth have really started shifting in the last few years (boo!) My oldest DD is currently in braces, and youngest needs them...so it'll probably be another few years before I can do anything for my issues. 

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