My Invisalign Journey – Blog 1

Hi Everyone!

It’s been just shy of a month since I started my Invisalign journey here at the practice. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time — and after seeing so many amazing results, I finally thought it was my turn to be the patient!

At the time of writing, I’m currently in my fourth aligner and so far, so good.

For those who aren’t familiar, Invisalign is a clear aligner system that straightens your teeth. The aligners are removable, and you change them either weekly or every two weeks. Small tooth-coloured ‘attachments’ are placed on the teeth — these are what guide the teeth into the desired position.

Although I’ve seen many happy patients go through the Invisalign process, I was a little nervous about what the aligners would feel like and how they might affect my daily life: talking, sleeping, eating, etc. But Invisalign had already thought of this — the first set of aligners you’re given are essentially just clear retainers to help you get used to the feeling. There’s no tooth movement yet — it’s simply getting you comfortable with wearing aligners.

At the start of November, I visited Dr Abdullah’s surgery, where he placed the attachments on my teeth. The number and location of attachments vary depending on your case. These attachments are essentially small pieces of tooth-coloured filling material that are placed into the aligner, which is then fitted onto the teeth. Once set, they remain on the teeth to help guide movement throughout the process.

Once my attachments were placed and my aligners fitted, my Invisalign journey officially began! In just over 20 weeks (if all goes to plan), my treatment will be complete.

During the first week, my teeth felt a bit delicate — especially when I wasn’t wearing my aligners — which motivated me to be very compliant with wearing them for 22 hours a day! Since then, my teeth have only felt tender on the days I switch to a new aligner, but this is expected and settles quickly.

I’ll be documenting my Invisalign journey here in the Christchurch newsletter and on our social media pages, so keep an eye out for updates over the next few weeks!

– Tabitha