Braces? At my age? I wasn’t sure I could do it.
Aside from everything else that would normally make someone pause about getting braces, I have some anxiety issues that include dentistry and having anything permanently cemented into my mouth.
After investigating what was out there, I was interested in treating my crooked teeth and cross bite with the Invisalign system specifically because I knew I could take the aligners out to brush, floss and clean my teeth. I could take them out for photos and whenever, if ever I felt the need to.
That’s huge for me, and I’m willing to bet others feel the same.
But before I get my Invisalign, I needed to have molds made of my mouth. This involved trays and goo that had to set up in my motionless mouth for a few minutes. Cue anxiety.
On the day of my mold making I worried. Would I gag? Would I panic? Would I survive!?
Turns out it was nothing to worry about after all. My experience was nothing at all like I feared.
- I did not gag at all
- It did not taste disgusting (really didn’t have a flavor)
- It didn’t get stuck on my teeth
- It didn’t take all that long. I barely had time to read two emails.
If I had to describe what it was like, I’d say it was a little like biting down on a really huge wad of gum. Here are some photos of the process for me:
The trays – before being lined with goop. They had to choose just the right size to fit my mouth.
Next some putty to line the trays was molded, like playdough, and pressed into the trays.
The trays were fitted to my mouth with this first layer of yellow putty. A second layer of putty was then piped in, ensuring a good impression. I always like to make a good impression!
It looks kind of goopy/gross. But it’s not all that awful to bite down on. See… not so bad at all! There wasn’t much oozing or discomfort of any kind.
Before I knew it, the impressions were done, boxed up and on their way to Invisalign for the fabrication of my custom aligners. I’ll be getting the aligners in the next week or two.
I’m starting to get excited about what the final result will be. Now that it’s getting real I wonder what I will look like with straight teeth. Will I miss my crooked smile? Somehow I doubt it…
Disclosure: I am a member of the Invisalign Teen Mom Advisory Board. I have been compensated for my time and treatment. All opinions are my own.
That’s great to hear your first step was a positive experience. It would be cool if they could show you how the aligners are made from the models, too. The Invisalign process is really cool start to finish for the cases where it’s just the right approach.
Nice pictures, I had mold for InvisAlign taken too a few days ago, cool to see what the dentists saw. The method my dentists used was a bit different, but those blue plastic things used to hold the goo were the same and they were extemely painful. They pressed against the back where the lower and upper jaws meet and the side of my cheeks in that area and after they where done there were spots with indescribable pain and areas that where almost numb. Today the left side feels normal but there’s still numbness in the right side, even on the outside of my cheek, if it doesn’t go away in a day or two I’ll have to go see my doctor about this, I hope it’s just swollen and hasn’t caused any permenant damage to nerves or tissue.
Did you have an allergic reaction to the molding material perhaps? There just was nothing even slightly painful or uncomfortable like this when mine were done. I’m shocked to hear that. I hope you feel better soon and get some answers.