21st Trays

Between finishing the school year and moving, I forgot to take pictures of my 20th trays.  Oops!  I don't have a lot to say about them, either.  I could really feel them in my two front teeth.

I put my 21st trays in on Tuesday.  They were surprisingly more fitted than most of my trays up to this point.  One thing that I observed quickly was that there isn't really space below my two front teeth to move like there has been with previous trays.  Usually, that is the most space left for movement!  I had to leave one set of trays in for an extra week for my two front teeth to move into that space.  This time around, however, the space seems to be below the teeth immediately next to my two front teeth.  Maybe that means they will move downward and more in line with my two fron teeth?!

Here are pictures:

I feel like my overbite is improving, but I really can't tell.  I do know that my jaw pops a LOT these days!

You can see the space below the smallest tooth in front.

I have had a change in my gum structure a little bit.  For a few months, when I took my top trays out, I somehow kept scratching the gums above my little tooth in the middle on top.  Over time, that made the gums wear away a little bit, and now, some more tooth is exposed than it was before.  I'll post a comparison shot of this at some point.  Scratching that gum was not very pleasant (and I didn't do it on purpose!), but I'm not really upset about the result. :)

Current smile.  This has really changed in pictures.

Here's my whole mouth.  As you can see, there are still a number of teeth that need some serious shifting.  My bottom teeth are getting close to being aligned, though!

My next appointment is on July 7.  I'm looking forward to that so I can see where I'll be in 10 weeks or so!

Trays 18 & 19 and Comparisons

I've been so busy lately, I don't have much to say about trays 18 and 19.  They weren't as bad as 17!  I move to trays #20 this Tuesday.  After that, I'll have two weeks of #21, and then I have my next ortho appointment!

Here are pictures from 18:

And here is a comparison shot of top tray 5 to top tray 18:

The two front teeth have changed a lot.  They clearly don't point as far inward and down anymore!

Here are pictures from #19:

And here is a comparison of #2 top to #19 top:

See how much bigger the teeth appear to be!?

Trays 16 and 17

Work has been so crazy-busy the past month that I haven't had time to update on my last two sets of trays.  I'm currently finishing up #17 and will head to the orthodontist on Tuesday for my next appointment.  Everything seems to be going fine from my perspective.

My 16th trays were not bad at all.  They didn't seem too tight, and I didn't have the first few days of soreness that I usually have.

I certainly paid for that enjoyment when I put in trays #17.  They were TIGHT.  They may have been the tightest that I've had in months.  My teeth hurt for DAYS after putting in the new trays, and ibuprofen was no relief.  One of my two front teeth really hurt, and it still has its days.  One of my "fangs" also hurt pretty badly for awhile.  I still seem to be making slow progress.

One of the coolest things that you can see from my pictures of top tray #17 is how much my two front teeth have changed.  They used to point so far inward!  They also appeared very tiny because of that!  Check out the comparison shots below of tray #3 and tray #17.

Such an amazing improvement!  I can't wait for my next appointment to see what my trays look like 8 weeks from now. ;)

The only general update that I have is I love the water flosser and think it was an excellent investment.  I do, however, still continue to use ribbon floss with every brushing, and that has caused some irritation with some of my back teeth/gums.

Trays 15, Oral Irrigation, and Retainer Brite

I just changed into my 15th trays.  I don't have much to say except that they are tight.

The biggest and most obvious change at this point is my bottom tooth that was initially going to be pulled.  It used to be behind my other bottom teeth with hardly a gap, but it is coming forward with the gap opening quickly!

Here are my other typical updates.  Nothing particularly exciting to report.

As I stated in my previous post, I bought an oral irrigation system to help relieve some of my flossing efforts.  I'm still flossing after each meal, but it is much easier after buying this product.  I get a constant (if I want) stream of water with really good pressure to clear out the gaps between my back teeth.  I'd say it was a wise purchase.  I had a little trouble learning to use it, though; I sprayed water all over the bathroom the first time I turned it on without realizing that would happen.

I also ordered Retainer Brite, a tablet-type product used to clean clear braces or retainers by dropping it into water and letting it dissolve.  I got 96 tablets, which was a great amount for the price (can't remember how much), as I plan to use one per week for my trays.  Retainer Brite has been good for a mid-week refresh on my trays.  They look kind of cloudy when I first remove them from the solution, but they are usually sparkly-clean later on.  I'm glad I bought this product.

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.