A Few Thoughts

There's not too much on the Invisalign front to report except that I am now wearing tray 5 and I'm finally beginning to see a difference (and a few friends have commented too)!!! Yay!!! I should also mention that my last upper tray cracked pretty severely so I took it upon myself to switch trays 3 days early. They weren't hard to put in so I'm assuming everything had moved to where it was supposed too, I will be wearing them an extra 3 days to make it up. As the weeks have flown by, I've had many thoughts about things I wanted to write in this blog. So, here are some random thoughts:

1) When I first started wearing them, they felt HUGE in my mouth, now I barely notice them.
2) I think my teeth look alot better while wearing the aligners (another benefit of Invisalign!)
3) I've only had 1 person notice them thus far. Well, they actually notice one of the attachments, not the aligners themsleves.
4) Most people say they've lost weight with their treatment. Not me, I think I've gained weight! I find myself binge eating when I have my aligners off.
5) Blistex is my new best friend. My lips get so dry all the time.
6) Some things are harder to brush out of your teeth than others. After eating rice cakes, I have to really scrub my teeth and brush them over 3 times. I now try to avoid eating them.
7) Brushing your teeth right after a meal is not the most enjoyable of things.

I guess that's it for now. I'm sure after I post this, I will think of many more things that I wanted to write, it always happens.

6 Week Update

Ok so it's been awhile. I had an appointment today to get my next 3 sets of aligners. My ortho did some more filing in between my teeth (eww what a nasty feeling!) but this time he used the tool that kind of looks like a nail file instead of the electric filing tool. He said that everything is coming along just fine - happy he said that because I don't see a difference at all, but I suppose I am constantly looking at my teeth, hoping that by miracle they have drastically changed somehow. Immediately after I got home, I ripped open set 6 so that I could compare it to set 1. Definitely see alot more changes happening, now I am super excited for my next appointment so I can compare set 1 and set 9 (set 9 is my half way point!)

I am finding that the first week of a new aligner is exciting- the tray is new and tight and you know changes are happening-but the second week seems to drag on and on. By the second week my aligners are very loose (I can take most of my bottom aligners off with my tongue, and if I didn't have the attachments, I would be able to pop them out no problem ...but I of course try not to do that) and they just get annoying. But other than that, I find the whole process to be exciting, you can compare aligners and see what's going to be happening.

Cracked Aligner :(

Saturday, while I was at work, I discovered a good sized crack in my top aligner. I was very disappointed because they cost so much, you'd think they'd be indestructible. I questioned myself as to whether or not I should just switch to my next aligner (would be 4 days early) and just wear them the extra amount of time. I finally decided to just keep wearing my current aligners and be very careful when taking them out as to not make the crack worst or possible break them in two. I would call my orthodontist but their office is on holidays until next week. On my next visit, I will ask him what I should do if it happens again (which I hope it won't) My aligner cracked right beside my snaggle tooth (which also has an attachment on it) and from what I can gather, there's alot of pressure at that one spot when removing the aligner. So from now on, I will be more caution when removing the aligners.

Bad Behaviour

Rules were meant to be broken, right??? A few days into my treatment and I'm already showcasing some bad habits with my aligners. Ok, really, it's not that bad, I could've been a lot worst with them. I went out last night for a few beverages (my first challenge with them in) and I had previously decided that I wasn't going to take them out on a night out because it would be too long without them and that I would just drink through a straw and swish with water every so often. Well, I did use a straw all night, and that worked really well at avoiding getting anything in the aligners but I never ordered water to clean my mouth out. The good part is is that I drink vodka with sprite, so at least it won't cause any staining. I have to say though that drinking with them in felt really gross, my breathe felt like it was nasty.

On the other hand, I did a few things right...I was offered a bite of food (I was really hungry) so I did take my aligners out, had a bite, swished with some water and immediately but them back in yes I know, I didnt brush my teeth so I wasn't really in the right) I also didn't get home until 6am and even though I was super tired, I brushed and flossed before bed like I should. Now, I'm lying in bed, wishing I would've went to sleep alot earlier, hunger occupying my mind but I really just don't have the energy to brush and floss after eating so I think I'll just let myself starve and possibly go back to sleep.

On a side note, the aligners made me feel a bitt nauseas on occasion yesterday. That plastic-y taste gets strong if I don't drink water for awhile and makes me feel yucky!

Surprise!

So I got a phone call yesterday from my orthodontist, letting me know that my aligners were in early and that they would fit me in their schedule today!!! They were 3 weeks early (wasn't due to get them until March 30th). So, in total, from my impressions to receiving my aligners: exactly 3 weeks! What a nice surprise. My orthodontist's office is going to be closed from tomorrow until the 28th of March, so they really didn't have to squeeze me in their schedule (they already have my money, right?) so this re-affirms that I made the right choice in choosing orthos.

The details everyone wants to know...I need 17 Upper trays and 19 Lower, however after reading many blogs and reviews, I have a feeling that I will need more trays to finish my treatment. I have 9 attachment total: 5 on my top teeth, 4 on my lower teeth. They really aren't very noticeable. Eating with them in does feel quite weird as my inner mouth is not used to them, they feel very rough when my aligners aren't in. The aligners aren't painful at all, and I don't feel any pressure. My gum line is quite irritated though but the aligners aren't causing it, my ortho was quite rough with them this morning so they are still healing. Every time I brushed and flossed today, my mouth bled quite a bit (but I have to admit my teeth aren't used to flossing). He did file in between some of my teeth today and I must say that I did not like that feeling at all. It didn't hurt or anything, just a gross feeling (imagine running sandpaper on your teeth-yuck)

They made me practice putting them in and out before I left the office. It was really hard taking them out at first (feels like some of my teeth are getting ripped out) but as the day progressed, I got the hang of it. They gave me my next 2 sets of aligners (so 3 in total) and I get the next 3 at my next appointment. The aligners do feels quite bulky in my mouth even though they are really thin. I've had to use alot of chapstick today as my aligners dry out my lips since they are not used to them. I did find myself binge eating at lunch, knowing that I couldn't really eat anything until dinner. And I of course have been playing with my aligners all day with my tongue, hopefully I get over that and just learn to leave them alone.

I will try to post pictures every 2 weeks as I change my aligners. Here are some without my aligners and with them.

The dreaded before picture - without aligners.

Bottom view - No aligners

Top view - No Aligners















First Aligners In











*Note that the Attachement aren't very visible
*I also want to note that the Aligners aren't as visible as the camera seems to make them

Introduction

Ever since I've had my adult teeth, my teeth have been less than perfect. I learned to live with them and have always tried to convince myself that they are part of the charm that makes me who I am. For years, I've been toying with the idea of getting braces (getting them as a child was not an option as my parents couldn't afford them) but it was always put on the back burner due to financial reasons. On January 18th, I finally decided to make the phone call for a consultation to an orthodontist a few blocks away (l don't drive so location was very important, especially since appointments are every 4-6 weeks), and they said they were booked until mid April. I was very disappointed as I am a VERY impatient person and when I make a decision, I like things to happen immediately. Luckily for me, there was a message on my machine when I got home that night saying they had a last minute opening on January 21st. I of course took that appointment without any hesitation.

Nothing really special happened during my initial consultation. The orthodontist looked at my teeth and then we went over my options. As soon as they mentioned that I was a candidate for Invisalign, I was ecstatic. I had heard of Invisalign a few years ago (commercials on tv) but never thought it was an option for me. I had always thought that it was for milder cases, which in my opinion, my teeth, though not severe, were way too crowded for that kind of treatment. The cost was $790 more than traditional metal braces (my cost for the Invisalign in case you were wondering is $5850). And they informed me that I would have to wear the metal braces for over a year and a half while with the Invisalign, the treatment should only be a year long. I didn't have to deliberate much, I made up my mind in an instant, like I always do, and opted for the Invisalign. To me, the extra cost is worth it, if I'm going to spend that much money anyways, then what's another $790 right? So I booked my next appointment for my molds before I left.

On February 17th, I went in for my molds and pictures. I was a little nervous as I read some people gagged and/or vomited a bit while getting the molds done but i worried for nothing, the molds were super easy to get done. The appointent was a breeze. The hardest part of that whole appointment is knowing I would have to wait about 5 weeks for my aligners to come in. They did tell me that if they do happen to come in before my appointment on March 30th, that they would call me, I thought that was really nice of them.

So, a little about me and why I chose to go with Invisalign:

1) I'm a 25 year old girl - who wants to look like a teenager with a mouth full of metal at this age.
2) I'm a Sous Chef (I work in a kitchen) - getting food stuck in metal braces all day long is not appealing to me, it's bad enough I always get food stuck in my crooked teeth now
3) I do enjoy going out on weekends and such - again, who wants a mouth full of metal at this age, I already look young for my age, I don't want people to think they let an under ager in by mistake.

I'm sure I will have my fair share of challenges (like I said, I work in a kitchen, so I have to taste things all day, and I really just enjoy eating) and the fact that I enjoy going out (I already have a game plan- drink through a straw as fast as I can as i dont want to take the aligners out for that long of a period of time) I think i will do well though, as I am paying with my own money and I have wanted straight teeth for as long as I can remember. I cannot wait to see a picture of myself and not notice my teeth right away. I will post pictures of my teeth on my next blog, which will be when I receive my aligners.