Invisalign's Dirty Secrets

I asked tons of questions before considering a treatment plan. I knew there were things I didn't know. But...I wished someone had told me about these aspects before I dove in.

1. Attachments
• Permanent things attached to your teeth.
• Tooth colored, but not invisible.
• Not everyone needs them, but it seems like many patients do.
• Big deal for me since I wanted the option to not have anything on my teeth if I needed/wanted to.
• You can look at my attachments with trays on and off by clicking here.
2. Interproximal Reduction and Tooth Removal
• Got crowding? Taking your wisdom teeth out isn't always enough.
• You might need teeth shaving to make room for your teeth to line up. This is if you're lucky.
• If you have major crowing your dentist might even want to pull some of your teeth to make room.
• Wanna know how this works? Click here.
3. "Drooling" and Spit
• It's hard to close your mouth all the way and there's saliva in there.
• You aren't supposed to bite down on your trays.
• When you take your trays in and out, they're gonna be covered in saliva.
• Water and stuff gets stuck under the trays. You can see it here.
4. Jaw Tension
• Whatever crazy way you're holding you mouth because you can't settle comfortably into your normal bite can cause your jaw muscle to tighten up.
• If it does tense up, you could have some lock jaw type symptoms and major popping.
• Be prepared to massage the jaw muscle
5. Chapped Lips/ Dry Mouth
• Your saliva gets stuck in the trays constantly which means it's not there to lubricate your mouth and lips.
6. No snacking
• Ok, so not no snacking, but lots less snacking. You're gonna get excited about a cheese wedge or little nibble of something and then realize, no eating with your trays in. :(
• You wear the trays all the time when you're not eating. They aren't like retainers, you don't just wear them at night.
7. Your bite will be weird and Hard foods might not be good for your progress:
• Your teeth aren't gonna necessarily match up into a perfect bite when they start to shift.
• Chewing with a non-matching bite can be weird and you want to be careful. You'll need your teeth to stay in that weird bite so the trays go back on.
• The tendency for your teeth will be to slide back into your normal bite, especially if you're eating something hard to chew or if you leave your trays out for a long time.
• You'll want to be careful not to eat things like jerky and super crunchy things.