Tray Two!

Yesterday, I posted about not switching to my second trays because they felt a little loose.  I ended up emailing the orthodontist last night and heard back today with the go-ahead to wear my second set of aligners.  As soon as I got home from work, I put them on!  They seem a little less loose than yesterday now.  They are also much more comfortable than my first aligners; I'm not putting in any wax yet, nor do my teeth ache!  (yet...?)

Here are some pictures:

My smile:

My bite (you can see the power ridges a little better in one picture):

Tray Two...?

Today marks two weeks since I got my aligners and is therefore the day to change my trays.

Earlier this evening, I took some ibuprofen in preparation, brushed my trays #1 for the last time, and popped in trays #2...

And guess what?

They were loose.  They were easier to put in and remove than my current aligners.

After hours of trying not to freak out and lots of Googling, I've come to the conclusion that this means I should leave my aligners in for one more week.  After all, the orthodontist did say I may have to do that.  I feel like most of the air gaps are filled in with these aligners, though, so I'm pretty bummed about it.  I don't want to advance trays too early, though, and end up with mid-treatment refinements (if I can help it).

I may call the orthodontist tomorrow, depending how I feel about it.  I'm not sure if this will change my 6-week appointment?  So much confusion.  Ugh.

Well... I'm still excited about all of this but have too many questions to think about before bed!

Here's to one more week with trays #1...

Visiting the Dentist with Invisalign

I haven't been to the dentist in at least four years, so I thought I should probably do that after getting Invisalign, just to make sure everything is okay.  After all, it's not like I have been to the orthodontist and oral surgeon multiple times in the past few months. ;)

I made an appointment for this morning during my lunch hour.  I took new patient forms with me and checked in after rushing there from school.  After figuring out some insurance craziness (normality?), I was finally able to get in for my cleaning.

My hygienist was really awesome.  She had Invisalign a few years ago and had lots of good advice, especially since she is a dental professional.  That was really awesome!  The dentist office that I picked also does Invisalign, which is a reason why I chose to go there--I figured they would understand all my circumstances and figure out ways to work around them if needed.  (I was worried beforehand that they would be upset that I didn't choose them for my Invisalign treatment; that wasn't the case at all!  They praised my orthodontist and said they sometimes refer patients to him!)

Speaking of which, I have a few small cavities on the biting surfaces of some of my back teeth.  I haven't had fillings before this, so I'm not really sure what the process is like.  The dentist said she could fill them without affecting the fit of my aligners, so that was a relief!  (I've read online that fillings cannot be done with Invisalign.)  My appointment for the fillings is on October 9.  I'm really interested to see what that will be like.  I've never really minded dental work; I find it pretty fascinating for some reason.

Anyway, I'm very pleased with my new dentist's office and am looking forward to going back.  Who knew I could find SO MANY awesome doctors in one city!

A week and a half into this...

I meant to write a post a week into Invisalign treatment, but I have been too busy with work to get around to it!  Here's a quick update:

• My teeth hurt WAY LESS than they did the first ~5 days wearing these aligners (tray 1).
  
• My aligners are getting easier to take in and out--no pain with that anymore!  (I read this is a good sign since I change them this coming Wednesday.)
  
• I'm learning to talk much better than the beginning, though I still get a lot of spit buildup when I'm teaching that sometimes makes me slur my words.
  
• The recommended time to leave aligners in is 22 hours a day, which I have found to be pretty easy with my daily schedule.  I hardly have time for breakfast and lunch, anyway; I eat very quickly!
  
• Now that my aligners are fitting better, I feel like there are fewer visible spit bubbles in them... but I predict that this will change come Wednesday!
  
• Most people are surprised when I tell them I have Invisalign because they don't notice it!
  
• I've had to use much less wax in the past week or so... I can't tell if the rough edges have worn off or my teeth have shifted such that my lips/mouth don't rub them anymore.
  
• I go through toothpaste really quickly.  I bought three varieties (with coupons, of course) yesterday to try out some exciting new flavors.
  
• I highly prefer my smile with my aligners in to my smile without wearing them; my teeth seem larger and more visible when I'm wearing my aligners right now.
  
• I'm still excited about all of this!

48 Hours Into This

It's been approximately 48 hours since I had my Invisalign put on.  Here are some thoughts.

I took ibuprofen before getting them on because I heard I would experience some pain/discomfort.  That became apparent when the ibuprofen wore off.  These are TIGHT!  I woke up in the middle of the night (due to some loud neighbors, unfortunately), but falling back asleep was difficult because of the discomfort.  Now that two days have passed, the discomfort isn't quite what it was before.  Still, I notice my aligners most of the time.  A few times while teaching, I've bumped my top teeth on my bottom, which seems to be the most painful area.

When I got my trays, the assistant at the orthodontist's office filed down a rough edge of my bottom tray.  I wish I had known that ALL of the edges on these are rough.  After teaching (and talking) all day yesterday, my mouth felt raw.  My tongue definitely was, and I had canker sores forming all over my mouth.  Yesterday was also the day of Open House, meaning my day stopped around 9 p.m.  I finally went to Walgreens at that time to pick up dental wax (used with traditional braces), oral soothing gel, and nail files... just in case I was desperate for filing.

Thankfully, the wax has been helping a ton.  The downside of it is 1.) taking it out when I eat and trying to salvage some of it 2.) having so much in my mouth that my lisp is getting worse 3.) worrying about swallowing it at night.  I hope the rest of my trays are not as rough as these.  I don't know if I have what it takes to build mouth callouses!  (Is there such a thing?)  The positive side of the wax is that it's mint-flavored.  And not nasty spearmint. ;)

Nobody has mentioned noticing my Invisalign.  I've talked about it with coworkers, but that's about it.  I try not to focus too much on what I sound like when I teach.

I have been doing well with keeping my trays in for the suggested time during the day.  I've brushed my teeth after each meal just fine, though doing that at school can be a bit of a challenge.  Brushing the aligners is kind of hard right now, but I'm guessing that is due to my crowding.  I've avoided eating/drinking (non-water) outside of meal times to avoid brushing so many times... but I've definitely gotten hungry in between!  (like now!) I've also noticed that chewing some things is sort of painful.  My fiber gummies (a little more dense than fruit snacks) are definitely a challenge.

I think that's all I've got for now.  These two days have been long.  I'm still really excited, though.

Tray 1

Today is September 3, the day I've been waiting for... I FINALLY GOT TO GET MY ALIGNERS TODAY!

My appointment was right after school, so I had to rush out of my last class to get there in time.  Thankfully, I did!

I met with an assistant to learn all about my new aligners.  I got the first three sets of trays to take home with me.  I am to change them every two weeks (as long as my teeth fill in the gaps in the aligners).  Any empty space left is supposed to be where the teeth will end up after that aligner.  At my six-week appointment, I will get 5 attachments on my top teeth.  That will be for tray 4.  I have 43 trays in my treatment.  (I read the average is between 18-30... and the maximum I've read about is 48.  Haha.)

The assistant at the office showed me how to put my aligners in and how to take them out.  We went over basic expectations for them.  I should only drink water with them in, but I can drink unsweetened tea at the risk of staining the aligners.  I need to wear them around 22 hours each day, only taking them out to eat and brush my teeth.

I spoke with the orthodontist briefly, and then I was on my way!  I went to the gym immediately afterwards and tried to speak as little as possible... I have a little bit of a lisp right now.  I'm hoping that goes away by Open House tomorrow night!  (Info packet says it takes about 2 days.)

I haven't really experienced much discomfort.  Yes, the aligners are tight, but I really like that feeling.  I love knowing that they are working.  I've waited half my life for this feeling!

I went home and took some initial pictures for this blog.  Here they are!

 A picture of my smile up close wearing tray 1.  You may notice a great number of spit bubbles that seem to accumulate inside  the aligners.  You may also notice some ridges on the two front teeth.  Both of these things are more noticeable in other pictures.

From what I've read, the ridges on the two front teeth are "power ridges" which are "designed to help deliver lingual root movements" and are "automatically built into case set-ups when 3 degrees or more lingual root torque is detected."  Basically, I think they're there to stop my teeth from pointing inward.

This is my bite currently, which is WAY different than without the aligners.  I have a pretty deep overbite without the aligners in.  I'm not sure if this is happening because of the bulkiness of the aligners or because they are shaped in a way to correct it.  Nevertheless, I kind of really like this part.

(Power ridges are more visible here.)

This is one view of my bite now.  As stated previously, my overbite is not nearly as deep.  You can also see where I had a tooth removed here.  The spot on the aligners likes to fill with spit bubbles.











This is the other view of my bite.  You can see the healing gums from the other tooth removal here.  The orthodontist told me that because those two teeth are gone, my top teeth will move pretty quickly.  I was really excited to hear that!

Here is my smile (not as close-up) while wearing the aligners.  Since my overbite isn't as severe, (I think) you can see more of my teeth.  Which is already awesome.  I'm pretty sure my smile looks different now.

(Also... if you are a baseball fanatic, the Cardinals shirt is just workout gear.  I think I'm cheering for the Rangers this year.)

 Here are my top and bottom tray #1.  I have nothing else to say here.  I figured some would like to see them!

Close-up of bottom tray.

Close-up of top tray.














These are Chewies.  They allow me to put on the aligners as tightly as possible.  Amazing.

Chewie in action.














Overall, I'm incredibly excited to start this process.  I know the ridges make my aligners much more noticeable than I thought they would be, but I'm excited about what they're going to do to my teeth!

Let the games begin!