Invisalign- tell me to woman up!

[SharyBobbins]

I had a consultation for Invisalign today and I'm in turmoil! I'm hoping some of you may have already had it or be in the middle of having it and are willing to help talk me off the ceiling!
I have an irrational fear of dentist so just sitting in the waiting room today had me in tears. I've been that distracted all day I've only just realised I've not had lunch (not like me at all!).
The thing is that I hate my smile. I try not to smile, not let people sit a certain side of me (my crooked top teeth are more noticeable on one side that the other). In every photo my lips are firmly sealed. I cry at the thought of living the rest of my adult life being so self-conscious. I want to be confident for me and for my little girl. That Jess Glynne song (Thursday?) makes me cry in the car. Despite all of that, having never even had a filling, I am terrified of interfering with my teeth when I don't "need" to. The dentist said I'd need them on the top and the bottom (which also made me upset as I thought the bottoms were alright). I'll need to wear them for 9-12 months in total. I think I can be disciplined enough to maximise their potential during and after with the retainer. But I'm getting put off as from what I have read they aren't really "invisible". The adhesive dots which they attach to your teeth seem to ruin that and given my front two teeth are the issue I imagine I'd need some on there. I keep swinging between thinking I just accept my imperfections and leave it to thinking that sorting my smile will genuinely improve my confidence and if I can then why shouldn't it. I'm also scared of being even more self conscious due to having plastic and random dots in my mouth 22 hours a day but on the other hand I'm so self conscious of my teeth anyway so I might as well be a tad more self conscious for the next year or so and possibly come out with some good results.
Can anyone offer any advice or experience?
Sorry for ramble. My DH isn't home yet and when I talked this through with my toddler she didn't care enough to offer any good advice

It will definitely work @Catmar! And as for "too late" my ortho had a customer who was 72. And you can pay in instalments at most places.

I did it 2 years ago at 31 and don’t regret it at all. It’s not that bad and it goes fast.

I’m 57 and nearly 4 months into 12-18 months of Invisalign, although I think it’ll end up bring 18-24 months to the very end. Spent decades wanting straighter teeth. It’s never too late.

@SharyBobbins Invisalign. I don't cope with pain well.

Catmar my dentist said some of his patients are pensioners!
Moving the first few days my teeth did hurt but it was relieved with paracetamol once I'd stopped being a martyr and took it! I'd say overall it's more discomfort than pain. For me it's when removing the aligners in the first few days of switching them & when biting. Today I haven't even noticed wearing them though!

I don’t find them painful at all, moving, so even if you don’t do well with pain, you might still be ok.

Good news that you’re stopping noticing them, shary.

I’m still pretty conscious of them at the moment. I’ve had to do a lot of presenting at work this week and the lisping is quite noticeable- I’ve always had a lisp that I’ve worked hard to overcome, so thith ith matthively fruthstrating 😂 hopefully it will thettle down thoon.

I have stopped feeling martyred about the No Snacking and embraced three square meals and no snacks as a lifestyle, even though someone brought a delicious looking cake to work today.

Finding it quite easy to get them in and out, but I drool a bit when I’m doing it, so don’t do it in front of anyone!

I've just added the snacks on to the end of each meal instead

Attachments now on & I'm thinking what have I done!! So indiscreet now

I had attachments put on last week. For the first few days it was really uncomfortable (they rubbed on my lips when the aligners were out) but I’m used to them now. It does make things less invisible but apparently it’s not too obvious unless I point it out.

Is it really a lot worse for you shary? Sorry to hear that. I’m glad I had mine from the outset, all the changes happened at once so I could get used to everything. I didn’t find they rubbed at all, chessie. Sounds like I’ve been lucky.

Got my first change of aligners coming up on Friday, so we’ll see what set 2 are like. I’m noticing them a lot less, and am used to the faff now, quite settled into my routine of soaking, brushing, flossing, rinse and repeat!

Oh, and my lisp has gone, thankfully!

Mine are rubbing a bit too!
I've chilled out a little now I think it was the shock of seeing them attachments after 3 weeks without! However no one seems to notice them unless I point them out. I should probably stop doing that.....

SharyBobbins how are you now? I'm just home from the orthodontist. She said if they keep going the way they are it will be 12 months and not 18. I'm delighted.

@NowYouListenToMeFella sorry I've only just seen your message!
That's amazing news! You must be so pleased!
I still don't like the way they look but I'm coming to accept it! They don't hurt at all this week though which I've found odd!

@FabalaTheGreenGirl your teeth look absolutely amazing now! Has anyone got any recommendations for orthodontists in the West Midlands (Birmingham area) - need to sort out my terrible teeth!

Resurrecting this thread. Has anyone had a power chain put on? I got it on today and was warned about staining. Currently drinking a tea through a straw.

How are you now @SharyBobbins

@NowYouListenToMeFella what braces have you got? I have power chains on my ceramic braces at the moment to close some gaps before finishing treatment. They are a bit sore the first few days.

@newhousestress I have the Damon clear braces. Only got the power chains on yesterday. Sore eating a bloody banana just there 😂 How do you manage to keep the staining at bay? Or did you find your stain a lot?

At first I avoided all the foods they mentioned like curry, red wine, tomato based sauces and crisps like Wotsits or Doritos except for a few days before an adjustment when I knew they'd be getting changed. I actually can't be bothered avoiding things now, and I rinse my mouth straight after eating and they don't look too bad.

If you're on Facebook there is a really good group called Adult Braces Support Group which I have found very helpful.

@nihaoma if I'm not too late (just catching up on this thread), I recommend Orthodontic Excellence in Solihull.

Thanks @newhousestress will take s look at that group. I find I'm whistling and lisping a bit when I talk today. I have a job interview tomo, will make it interesting 😂😂

Ooh sorry didn't realise this had been resurrected!
How did the job interview go @NowYouListenToMeFella?
The past two weeks have been really quite painful! Some of my teeth have gone ridiculously sensitive but I'm over half way through now so I think the movements are picking up the pace a bit! Eating at the moment is no fun at all! On the whole it's all going okay though.

I'm at the very start (day 2) with tru smile aligners, which I think are a similar thing to invisalign. Finding them hard to take out and eating is sore already, but I suppose that's a sign it's working!

I finished me last set in September and my dentist told me to wear my last Invisalign until it starts to get wear and tear I rung them as my Invisalign broke and couldn't get me in for an appointment for 10 days , my teeth moved and now got another 6 Invisaligns !