14th Trays and Other Stuff

A week ago, I visited my orthodontist to get my next set of trays.  He said that everything looked great, and since I have been following the rules so well, he gave me the next four sets of trays (14, 15, 16, 17).  I don't have to go back until mid-May!

These trays were tight when I put them in and remained that way for a few days.  These also have some sharp edges around the bottom tray that have been rubbing against and irritating my inner lip.  I had to wear wax over the bottom tray for a few days.

I was really excited to compare tray 17 to my last tray (just by looking at it), but at this point, the changes seem minor.  The gaps on both sides of my mouth don't appear to be getting much smaller in the next 8 weeks (bummer).

This morning, I visited my awesome dentist's office for my 6-month check-up.  I guess there is some darkening between the back teeth that act as a food trap (and that I have complained about on here and probably in person).  My hygienist could tell that I had been trying to keep it clean (by the irritated gums... thanks, flossing), but she still said it's kind of a risky zone right now.  She told me that she'd prefer to have irritated tissue than a cavity between my back teeth, especially since they'll be moving closer together in time.  My dentist recommended a Waterpik, as it would be a "less traumatic experience" for those teeth.  I looked up oral irrigation systems on Amazon and ordered one for $40.  They are expensive!  I'll report on that when I get it.  I'm really excited about it, though.  I don't like having sore gums all the time!

When I left the dentist, I got the most awesome goody bag (that's what it's called, right?) ever.  It contained:  coupons for dental products (which I buy constantly these days), a new/awesome toothbrush--the kind that I already use--in PURPLE, a Listerine flosser, two sensitive travel toothpastes, and a travel mouthwash that is alcohol-free.  (When I went to San Francisco, I bought Listerine--all that I could find--and suffered some serious burn after not using an alcohol mouthwash in months.)

On Amazon, I also searched for a product called Retainer Brite, which I have read about on many Invisalign blogs and unofficial Invisalign websites.  Retainer Brite is a soak for retainers, clear braces, etc. for cleaning purposes.  My aligners tend to get pretty gnarly by the end of the two week cycle, especially if I lose time for brushing during lunch at school.  I googled other solutions last week and came across a suggestion for hydrogen peroxide and water.  I used that, and the strange smell of my aligners went away, but the trays themselves turned a yellowish color.  I was happy with the smell result, but not the color.

Last week, I was tagged in a photo on Facebook that was from last summer, prior to starting Invisalign.  I was instantly encouraged by the progress that I have made with my trays.  In the picture, not all of my front teeth are visible, and my two front teeth are definitely pointing inward and downward.  I opted to take a comparison shot of that picture and a similar view (from above-ish) of my current smile:



This is the highest quality that I can provide, but there it is... the tooth immediately right of my two from teeth looks like it's not even there!

And here is the progress that I have made.  Wow!  I still have a LONG way to go, but this is so different!








Here are the rest of my update pictures for tray 14:




Will the gaps ever close?!

Nobody knows.











 This gap is getting smaller, but it is still evident in photos.












Smile!  Can you see my teeth?

13th Trays

I put my 13th trays in on Monday night.  They are noticeably less tight than my last trays.  I haven't really been sore the past couple of days.  That's a pretty nice feeling!

I've been trying to eat less beef (though I hardly eat much as it is) because of the February flossing pain.  (I had beef a few times that got stuck in the HUGE gaps between my back teeth and caused lots of irritation because of all of the attempts to get it out.)

Here are my current picture updates.  I don't have a lot of new things to report.  My next orthodontist appointment is in two weeks!

12th Trays

I don't have much to update at this point except that I changed from trays 11 to 12 tonight.  The gaps between my back teeth are getting wider by the day.  I'm now getting food caught between all of my back teeth.  My mouth was pretty sore over the weekend from all of the flossing attempts to get everything out!

My new trays are tight, as they should be.  Here are my picture updates:


A comparison of top tray 11 (above) and top tray 12 (below).  The differences are difficult to spot in a picture, but I can tell that one of the fangs is moving further back with this tray.  The gap looks just a tiiiiny bit smaller in this picture.

A comparison of top tray 11 (above) and top tray 12 (below).  The fang on this side should also be moving back.  This gap is closing much more quickly.

(This "fang" has also moved so much that I can hardly stick just that tooth outside of my lips when my mouth is closed.)

Current bite.  I can see so many teeth!!













Current bite from the side view.  Check out that gap closing!  Also check out the angle of my two front teeth--they don't seem to be pointing inward nearly as much as they used to!

Current smile.  I guess it's alright. :)  (Still over a year to go, though!)














Here are ALL of my teeth right now.  This face is actually really hard to make now.

Eleventh Trays

I put my 11th trays in tonight.  I had to wait an extra week to take out my 10th trays because I still had space in my aligners below my two front teeth.  That was kind of a bummer.  And my 10th trays started to get pretty smelly by today.

I compared my 10th and 11th trays next to each other and saw some major differences!  For one, the space for my bottom tooth to come through is greatly increasing!  Something else that seems to be increasing is the space between my fangs and the teeth behind those that were pulled (pictures below).  I'm not sure why it looks like there is more space?!  Hmm....



Above is my 10th bottom tray, and below is my 11th bottom tray.  That gap seems so much wider!

These are my top trays--10 on top and 11 on bottom.  The "gaps" in the 11th trays seem bigger than the 10th.  Hmm... this seems weird to me.

And here are my normal pictures:

Current smile:

Side view of bite:

Current bite:

Other side view of bite:

Another Comparison

Left:  4 months into Invisalign treatment (still a long way to go!) January 2014

Right:  April 2013

(I'm not sure why both of these look like they were airbrushed or had some "soft touch" feature added... I didn't do that!  Could be the low-quality upload.  Not sure.)

General Update

This will be short and quick...

I can't wait for my orthodontist appointment tomorrow.  I should be getting my 11th - 14th trays and making a new appointment for sometime in March--I'm guessing sometime during spring break.  Cool!

I've been using all things bubblegum these days.  I just finished my Aquafresh kids toothpaste (found for maybe $0.30/tube at Meijer on clearance) and thus bought a Crest kids bubblegum flavor with Sesame Street characters on the front.  The Sesame Street tube tastes better than the Hello Kitty, which was also Crest kids bubblegum.... hmmm....

My mouthwash is currently Listerine for kids (ha!) bubblegum flavor with Barbie on the front.  I can say that it doesn't taste much like bubblegum, but it's not nearly as harsh as the mint flavors that I've had before.  And the bottle has this really cool function where you can squeeze the bottle, allowing liquid to fill the fop cylinder, and then release, allowing some liquid to be let back into the bottle until the exact amount that should be taken is left.

During busy days at work, I've been chewing some Trident really quickly after lunch, then maybe brushing with Colgate wisp, then swishing my mouth with water from my water bottle, then putting my trays back in and swishing with more water before tightening them.  This sounds like quite a hassle, but 1.) I can continue working while doing this, and I pretty much need to work through my lunch these days 2.)  I don't have to go to the bathroom (student or staff) and risk dropping my trays or anything on the floor 3.)  I don't have to deal with splashing water all over myself and the bathroom like I do on those press-to-release-water-sinks that are in the bathrooms.  My trays don't seem any more gnarly than usual at the end of a two-week cycle, so I think I'm doing alright.

I've been having some clenching/grinding headaches lately, but I'm attributing that to my stress level (see that part about working through lunch).  I've been trying to be more conscious of it... we'll see how this week at school goes!

I've also been looking up other Invisalign blogs, seeking to find anyone whose teeth sort of resembled mine at the beginning... I want to see how they turn out!  I have so many ideas about what my smile could be, but I'm just not sure what it will be!

Tenth Trays

On Monday night, I put my tenth trays in.  I'm already two weeks away from my next orthodontist appointment, and they are spaced at 8 weeks apart!  Time is flying by.

The biggest difference with my tenth trays is that there are no longer fake teeth in the tray where my teeth were removed.  I've been a little nervous about this--mostly because I worry that spaces like that will make me look like a teenager.  (You see it more often than you think in a high school.)  I've been worried that the gaps will be visible when I laugh (which is often). I was also not sure why the fake teeth bubbles are no longer there since it doesn't seem like the teeth around the spaces have moved THAT much.  Here's a picture of my new top tray:

I feel like I have seen some huge changes in my smile.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how it turns out in the end!  Here are pictures of my smile from the front and from the sides so you can see what the gaps look like when smiling.

And here are my normal pictures of my bite from the front and sides.

I'm looking forward to my appointment in a few weeks when I will hopefully get trays 11, 12, 13, and 14!