Anxiety and Invisalign

I'm surprised that it has taken me this long to finally sit and write this post. I've just been waiting for the right time and I feel like now is a pretty good time. A pretty good time to just write out how I'm feeling. Now being the time when I'm struggling a little with the two. Anxiety is tough, add in Invisalign and you've got yourself a battle.


My main physical symptom with anxiety is nausea, I just feel sick, the urge to throw up but yet I never do. It's so weird, frustrating and frightening too. One of the things that eases my anxiety is eating, little and often but that is seriously hard when you have Invisalign.

Imagine having to brush your teeth after every time you eat or drink anything that isn't water, it's a pain and I'm not going to lie I'm getting lazy when it comes to this, I'm only human after all. I have to keep reminding myself this because otherwise I'll just end up beating myself up more about it. Sometimes I'll go for long periods of time without food because just the thought of having to take my aligners out doesn't seem appealing. I'm trying to keep my aligners in my mouth for as long as humanly possible because I want nice teeth. How will achieve these nice teeth? Invisalign, that is how.

Tomorrow, I have my dentist appointment to remove my attachments and technically end my treatment but I've got a few teeny gaps that I want a little closer. But at the same time I'm dreading having hands in my mouth when I feel anxious. Right now it's an ongoing battle. I knew braces of any kind would take time and I've come this far I'm not going to give up now (well so I keep telling myself anyway).



A little message to anyone who lives with anxiety and is considering Invisalign...
You can do it. Once you believe in yourself then you can put your mind to anything. Since being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder I've achieved so much, Invisalign being one of them (well almost fully). You know deep down inside what you can achieve. If you feel you are capable of having Invisalign treatment then go for it. Don't let anxiety hold you back. If you don't feel comfortable with the first dentist then go to another, keep trying different dentists until you are comfortable. You will get there in the end and it will be so worth it.

My Invisalign Journey - 'The good, the bad and the downright ugly...'

Soooo my Invisalign journey is still going on and I thought since I'm coming towards the end I would share with you 'the good, the bad and the downright ugly...' in my own opinion.

Just throwing this out there now, everything written in this post is from my own experience and every single persons experience will be completely different. Don't let me scare you.

Carrying all your cleaning stuff you NEED a funky bag!


Let's start off on the happy side of this journey...


THE GOOD

Improved smile, pretty obvious and no explanation needed.

They are hardly noticeable, unless you point them out to people chances are they won't be able to tell.

Less time spent in the dentist's chair, this for me is probably my favourite (maybe second favourite) thing about Invisalign. Not because I don't like my dentist, he is fantastic but who likes spending time in the dentist's chair?

You're in control. Maybe this is more to do with the anxiety in me, who knows? But being in control is always a good feeling, right? You're in control over your braces, you care for them, you maintain them. It's all up to you.

Eating and drinking whatever you want. You are on to a winner with Invisalign if you don't want to be worrying if you can eat this or drink that. You can eat and drink anything and everything because you just whip your aligners out wherever you are. Be it at work, in a restaurant, in the car, in a shopping centre or even at a football match (yes, I've taken them out in all these locations). At first I was worried about people seeing me and thinking "what on earth is she doing?". But then as it became easier to remove the aligners I felt more comfortable and can remove them anywhere. Admittedly I have got to a point recently where I'm lacking effort to take them out to eat often because it is just such a faff sometimes.

Easy to remove, yes I did just say they are a faff (I mean the whole taking them out, brushing your teeth and putting them back in). I'm still sticking with that but they are pretty easy to remove once you've worked out a technique, it's just the rest of the process that's a pain in the bum!



Now time for the middle ground...

THE BAD

The price. I was in two minds about which category to put this one under, so yes it's in the bad but very low on the bad list but also squeezes its way into the good list too. Each persons treatment will cost different, it all depends on which treatment you require but when you look in the grand scheme of things and what Invisalign involves it's worth every penny! Admittedly yes, it leaves you feeling skint but it's certainly an accessory that won't be going out of style.

The taste of the aligners...plastic, YUCK! It tastes horrid at first but you do eventually get used it.



Ok, let's hit the final part of this list...

THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY

The horrid morning breathe. It's so unpleasant, some mornings it isn't as bad as others though so that's a silver lining in itself.

The amount of saliva that you seem to produce. When you take the aligners out there is only one word that springs to mind...EWWWW! It really isn't pretty but over time I've noticed I'm producing less saliva, whether it's because my mouth is more used to them. Who knows?



I think I've shared everything I have to share about 'the good, the bad and the downright ugly'. If you've had Invisalign or are going through with it now let me know what you'd add to your list.