Fifth Trays

Life has been so crazy-busy lately that the two weeks with my fourth trays seemed like forever.  I even had to check my calendar last week to make sure it hadn't been two full weeks since getting them.  I still feel like it's been a really long time since I've changed trays.

Needless to say, I am pretty excited about changing to my fifth trays on top and bottom.  My fourth trays were getting pretty gnarly.

These trays feel different than some of the others did at first.  Yes, they are tight, but I also feel like I can push the top and bottom down more in front when I bite my top and bottom teeth together.  I also feel like I have far less empty space to fill up in these.

My teeth are definitely moving.  Some of my back teeth are being moved forward, causing strangely large gaps.  I used to have to put a lot of pressure on my flosser to get my back teeth, but now, I have absolutely zero resistance when flossing between some teeth.  There are gaps that trap large bits of food!

This time around, I'm including my normal pictures, as well as inside views of my top and bottom teeth.  Enjoy!




 -My current bite.  Some attachments are visible.

-Side view of current bite.

-Other side view of current bite.

-Current smile.  Not much has changed.  I find it hard to imagine this smile with actually straight teeth!

 -Open wide!  These are my bottom teeth right now.  See that tooth behind all of the other teeth?  Yeah, I guess it's been pulled to the front at some point.  I'm excited to see that in action!

My aligners have text on them to indicate that they are Invisalign and to show which number tray they are... which is really awesome because I have twice mixed up trays after the excitement of receiving them at the orthodontist's office.




-Here are my top teeth.  This view was actually kind of eye-opening for me.  I knew the teeth adjacent to my two front teeth were hiding a little bit, but this gives me a better idea of how much they are hiding.  I feel a little more secure in their seemingly small size now. ;)

The two teeth just ahead of the teeth with text on them are those that are moving forward quickly, hopefully to the close the gap that oral surgery left.  You can sort of see the gaps here!

Fourth Trays and Attachments

Today was my six-week appointment to get three new sets of trays (4, 5, and 6) and attachments on my top teeth.

My orthodontist said everything was looking good so far.  I had to get 5 (I think!?) attachments on my upper teeth that help the aligners grasp the teeth a little bit better.  The process of getting them was extremely quick and painless.  The little attachments are tooth-colored (so they are somewhat difficult to see).  I will get some more (6, maybe?) attachments on my lower teeth in another 6 weeks.

For this appointment, I was really excited about getting my future trays to see the shape of my teeth at that point.  Before I pulled out of the parking lot, I had to take the sixth trays out of the bag and compare them to the third.  I can definitely spot the differences!  I can't wait for the end of November when I will be wearing those trays!

This afternoon, I looked at my calendar to see when my process would be finished according to the projected "80 weeks" by my orthodontist today.  I should be finished (ish?--refinements?!) by March 2016.  Alright!

And here are the pictures of everything:

 **Pictures of my current bite, as usual.  Try to spot the attachments!

**The difficult-to-photograph attachments.  There are three in the top picture and two in the middle picture.

I'm attempting to point to one in the bottom picture.

**My current smile without (top) and with (bottom) Invisalign.  The attachments are a little more visible here.

Fillings with Invisalign

For those of you who are searching the internet for information about getting fillings with Invisalign, read this:  yesterday, I got three fillings with Invisalign.

I have read a number of posts online that say one cannot get fillings with Invisalign because they will affect the fit of the aligners.  This was not true in my case!

With that being said, I would like to point out that I strongly recommend going to a dentist who also specializes in Invisalign even if not affiliated with your orthodontist.  Read on for more information.

I found out at my dentist appointment in September that I had some small cavities on the chewing surfaces of my teeth that needed filled.  This was not surprising to me at all since I had not been to the dentist in probably 7 years.  My dentist told me that day that she would be able to fill them without affecting the fit of my aligners.  She said they could call my orthodontist just to be sure, but this was their protocol.

(I called my orthodontist just to be sure.) :)

My appointment was yesterday, and I didn't really know what to expect.  I also wondered how long everything would take since I would have my aligners out of my mouth the whole time.  I started with 4 novocaine shots to numb my mouth.  I had what seemed like quite a bit of topical anesthetic, so I couldn't really feel the shots--especially in comparison to those in the roof of my mouth during oral surgery in August!

After I was nice and numb, we went through with the fillings.  The dentist "cleaned out" the cavities first, which required the use of some drill-like tool that seemed to vibrate my skull.  The vibrations didn't bother me as much as the volume of everything.  It was so loud!  I wish I had some ear plugs or music or something!  That was pretty much past my noise tolerance--and I'm a teacher! :)

After all of that was finished, I waited a bit and then had them filled.  Lucky for me, the fillings are tooth-colored, so you can't even tell they're there!  How cool!

After a little over an hour, my teeth were good as new.  The dentist put my aligners in and then had me bite down to check that they were okay.  She even took a mirror to my mouth to be sure they were fitting in the back.  And they were!  I wasn't sure at first (and was concerned because of other blog posts I've read about this going horribly wrong), but everything was fine later.  My aligners fit like they did beforehand!

My mouth was considerably numb after everything.  I had a little under two hours before my next class afterwards, but the numbness didn't really subside until later in the afternoon.  (Thus, I taught the first day of flowchart proofs with a numb chin/lip/tongue, trying not to slur my words too much!)  I'd say I pulled it off well.

So... curious minds of Invisalign patients out there, worry no more!  Fillings can be done with Invisalign!  Of course, all cases are different, but it worked JUST fine for me!

I have 5 days left of tray 3.  Next Wednesday, I get some fancy attachments and more aligners!  Hip-hip-hooray!

Why I'm Loving Invisalign

I got my school pictures today.  On the day they were taken, I had my aligners for about a week--so not a whole lot of movement had happened.  They were affecting my bite, though, in a way that I hope my teeth will turn out in the end.  Just compare last year's and this year's smile!

Last year:                                                                            This year:

Such a difference!  I love my new picture!

Third Trays

Today is October 1--two weeks before my 6-week appointment to get attachments and all kinds of good stuff!  This evening, I switched from tray #2 to tray #3 on top and bottom.

The third trays definitely seem tighter than the second.  I took some ibuprofen after dinner just to be sure!  Before I post pictures, here are some observations that I've had lately:

-My dental hygienist told me about a reaction I was having to a chemical (SLS) found in toothpaste.  Basically, the top layer of the inside of my mouth peels off when I use that toothpaste.  I noticed that happening in the past, but it didn't really bother me.  Now the excess "stuff" being sloughed off is building up inside my aligners.  Eww.

-I learned today why brushing teeth at a sink is favorable, even when the only option is the school restroom.  Long story short:  I spit toothpaste all down my purple cardigan and grey pants.  At least I had a hint of minty freshness the rest of the day!

-I read a lot about Colgate Wisps before getting Invisalign.  They are like tiny toothbrushes you can use when you don't have a toothbrush (without water), though it should not replace regular brushing.  I bought a travel pack of them a few weeks ago and have used them a couple times.  I think they're alright for times when I can't brush (at the car, at a sporting event, etc.), but I don't really want to use them very much outside of those times.  Maybe my recent purchase of "icy bubble" flavor will change that opinion. :)

-A student offered me a chip today, but I declined because I didn't want to perform the process of removing, brushing, and replacing in the minute before class started.  The good part of this was she and her friends were unaware that I even had Invisalign!

Alright, here are the pictures:

I wanted to try to compare top tray #1 to top tray #3, but the differences are pretty negligible in a picture.  They are more noticeable in person after wearing them for 4 weeks.

The only difference that you can probably spot is tray #1 is discolored; this is because I still had some gum bleeding after my oral surgery while starting Invisalign treatment.

Here's a current selfie.  This could just be wishful thinking, but I feel like my smile looks different than my tray #1 post.

 And, of course, here are the bite pictures.  I was unable to take these with natural sunlight like I did the others, which is why the coloring looks so different.