Tray 11 Update

 HOW'S IT GOING?

Well, I haven’t posted in a bit, because to be frank, there wasn’t much to say. Once I figured out how to manage the occasional discomfort or poking edge, the aligners just became incorporated into my lifestyle and weren’t much thought about. So, that’s really a testimony to how amazing these little devices are.

A couple of tips to share for this post that I think will help you manage your care.

KEEP YOUR INVISILIGN BAGGIES:

Okay, so I HATE those stupid bulky tray containers they give you when you get your set. They are inconvenient to carry in my little purse and to ensure that I always have somewhere to deposit my trays when I need to. For men I can imagine it is even worse. Those dang things are way too big to stick in your back pocket. UGH! Personally, I don’t like wrapping my trays in a napkin or heaven forbid just put them on my desk or a table when at work! YUCK!

 Anyway, what I started doing was keeping those little bags with me. They are small and easy to carry with no mess or hassle. They fit well into a wallet or small pocket. I keep one in my purse, one in my desk at work, and one in my car. Now, no matter where I am, I have a place to put my trays. What I like about these bags is the size. I suppose you can use a snack size zipper bag, but these are way smaller and more heavy duty – plus they are included in your system.

The one I keep in my purse is the most recent bag. At the end of the set, rather than putting the aligners into the “red” container, I just put them back into the bag. Then when it’s time to rotate, I toss the aligners in the bags (unless I need a new bag). Anyway, I hope that helps.

RETAINER BRIGHT:
I’m a diet Coke and tea drinker. And as I’m sure you can imagine, these two little devils stain the trays. I use denture cleaner to take the stink out of the trays that comes from normal wear and use. But those wonderful little fizzy tablets do little to take away the brown that filters into the clear trays.

Jen at my dentist office turned me onto “Retainer Bright”. They are tablets similar to denture tablets you get at the store but they are designed to take out stains from the plastic on dental appliances. They work wonders. You can purchase a three month supply on Amazon for about $12, which I will be doing today! It’s well worth the investment to keep my trays and teeth looking sparkling.

MY PROGRESS:
My progress continues to be slow, but there is progress. At the moment I am on tray 11 of about 40. So, I’m about 25% done.

Here’s the latest images. 

Now, if you didn’t know what to look for you may not see much. But I do see a big improvement. My smile is changing as is my bite. First, I notice that the upper arch is widening, my bite is opening up and not as deep and some of my lower teeth are coming into the arch. The last time I was at the dentist he looked at the digital model to check my progress. He commented that the straightening won’t happen for me until later in the process because we are focusing on widening the arches.

 On interesting side effect that I noticed of all this movement is that none of my teeth align well enough to eat chewy foods. Even tortillas and tough breads present a problem. Thankfully it’s not bad enough to put me off anything - just something that I noticed and thought I would mention. As I stated in my last post my mantra is that ortho work is not intended to be a quick fix. It's a process and even baby steps are still steps in the right direction.

I’ll post again as things update and change.

Cori

Week 7 – Things Are Moving Along (Tray 4)

HOW'S IT GOING?

So, the experience thus far has been easy enough. I went in for my first cleaning since having the aligners and the mouth full of attachments. My hygienist was amazing (but so is everyone in my dentist’s office). She had no issues working around the attachments and even polished my teeth without any damage to the attachment. Everything feels nice and clean now.

WEEK 7

 She also explained that the bonder they use is really strong and very unlikely to break. That the dentist will use a special diamond bit to remove the attachment when the time comes and there will be no damage to the tooth enamel. I found reassuring because I find I often worry that I will break them when I remove my aligners because I have to apply a fair amount of force. So all in all, it’s moving right along on schedule.

DISCOMFORT UPDATE:
I feel well acclimated to the aligners at the moment. I suspect that the week I had the attachments put on may prove to be the worst of my journey. Beyond an occasional poking or hot spot that I have to fix with my special kit, it’s really not bad. And compared to the discomfort my teenage son is experiencing with his traditional braces, I am not complaining. My worst issue with my last set was that my lower aligner dug into my gum at the back of my mouth. It took a few attempts of filing at the spot to get it to a comfortable level. I found that my regular nail file wasn’t precise enough to get it where I needed it to be. I ended up pulling out my electric nail file (which is really battery powered) and that did the trick in a jiffy. I think it cost me about $25 and I got it from Sally Beauty Supply when I got it last year. Now I’m thinking it has well paid for itself to rescue me with my aligners.

MY PROGRESS:

So far the progress is slow. I don’t see a huge difference yet. And no, my teeth have not yellowed. It’s just bad lighting when I took the picture. I think the most significant change that I observed is that my upper/lower midlines are starting to center. When I started my lower midline was off to the left. It seems to be closer to center. It’s not “there” yet, but I do notice it on the move.

Again, as I stated last time (and this will probably be my mantra) ortho work is not intended to be a quick fix. It's a process and even baby steps are still steps in the right direction.

MINI INVESTIGATION FOLLOW UP:
As you may recall from last time, I noticed a considerable difference between tray 2 and tray 3 upper arch aligners. The set 3 trays seem to be several millimeters wider than the previous aligners. I took some measurement to see what I could determine (see below for tray 2-3 comparison).

I ended up taking some measurements and noticed that the difference was about 4 millimeters. My husband thought that maybe the difference as because the trays mold themselves to the shape of my mouth over the course, which I thought to be fair question. The only way to know for sure was to take measurements and compare.

Here’s what I found. It does not appear that the trays change significantly. This is especially noticeable when looking at the comparison between my tray 3 and tray 4. There does not appear to be any significantly measurable difference between the arches on the new aligners. So, that lets me think the aligners held position, especially considering that the new one doesn’t grab my cheek the way tray 3 did when I first put it on.

INVISILINE REGISTRY:

As you will recall I noticed that Invisalign has a registry for your aligners. I wanted to check that out. I ended up going through the process and checking things out. What I discovered is that the registry is in BETA right now. It doesn’t seem to have any significant features that make me want to go back. The most it offers is a calendar where you can set reminders to be texted to your phone. So, if you wanted to set a reminder to change your tray you could do that – or whatever for that matter. You could probably use it for anything you wanted to.

Other than that there doesn’t appear to be anything of value. Sure you can upload your profile pic and change it as your progress, but it’s just as easy to do that on FB or Instagram (easier). I’m not sure I need another place to slap up my image simply for the sake of putting it out there. So, that’s my 2 cents on the registry tool.

COMING UP:
This go-round I got three sets of trays (#’s 4-6) so I won’t be due to go back to the dentist for 6 weeks. At that point I will be twelve weeks into this and I am hoping to see some more dramatic changes. But initially looking at the differences between trays 2 and 6 it’s hard to say that HUGE movement is taking place. And considering that I will only be on tray 6 out of 37, I suppose I shouldn’t expect miracles. Mantra: Ortho work is not a quick fix…. Ortho work is not a quick fix….. Everything in its own time.

Week 5 - Tray Set 3 & Progress Update

HOW'S IT GOING?
Week four was a piece of cake. As soon as my teeth settled down and stopped aching, with the exception of a few hot spots that required the use of my kit, I didn't have any problems. This gives me hope that the whole process won't be too horrible. Every other week might be tough, but at least it won't be every day. Here's the latest image of my smile.

DISCOMFORT UPDATE:
I noted last post that my 19 attachments seemed to multiply my pain level and made my aligners nearly impossible to remove. However, I noticed that by the second week of the tray set, the aligners were significantly more manageable to remove. Don't get me wrong. They are still stubborn, but they are manageable. Top tray is the worst, but I suppose that is because the majority of my attachments are on the upper arch.

It seems like it has been a long time coming to get to this point. I'm changing to my third set of trays tonight. As I noted last time, I was hurting pretty badly after wearing my trays for a few hours. The second day I wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out. I am delaying using the new trays until after dinner so see if I can minimize some of that pain by sleeping through it. Hopefully that will do the trick. And I will let you know how that worked out.

MY PROGRESS:
Now for what you really want to know - how much progress am I seeing in my smile and bite. Well, you be the judge. Here's the progress thus far.

Admittedly, these images look identical and probably appear discouraging, but I have noticed some changes. My lower teeth that are rotating out of the arch appear to have made some movement. And my bite is definitely different. Obviously this is something that the camera will not show.

Yes, it's a small movement, but essentially it's been only a month. So, keep in mind that ortho work is not intended to be a quick fix. It's a process and even baby steps are still steps in the right direction. With my son's braces I didn't notice a change in his look until about the third month. So, I will postpone judgement until then.


NEW THIS WEEK - MINI INVESTIGATION:
I noticed with my new set 3 trays, there is an noticeable difference between the upper arch aligners. The set 3 trays seem to be several millimeters wider than the previous aligners. I tried on the trays this morning to ensure that they went in and noticed that the difference was significant enough to pinch my cheek when the aligners were installed. But they went in.

I am pointing this out because if you've read my back story, you will recall that I have an unusually small upper arch and have concerns about how Invisalign will work with the palatal expansion I need. Of course I do not expect miracles, I am just observant of anything that might suggest arch correction.

My husband brought up a point. He suggested that the trays may conform to my teeth over the next two weeks rather than the other way around. So, this observations may be nothing more than that - an observation. He got me wondering, so I think it's worth investigating.

At the end of the 2 week cycle, I will again compare the two trays and see if the difference is still noticed or if the trays seem to have changed. As soon as I locate my ruler, I will take measurements and post them for a better way to quantify the difference in the aligners and the width of the week 3 set.

Since my set 1 trays were tossed last week in the dental office, I will be using my set 2 trays for points of comparison between trays as I progress. This will also help gauge how effective and fast the aligners are in movement and provide a visual for points of reference.

COMING UP:
Next week I go in for my first cleaning since having the aligners and attachments. I am curious how the attachments will work out for the hygienist. According to the Invisalign site, the product that makes the speed bumps on my teeth will be removed using a polishing tool that is used during cleaning. So I imagine that I won't be having my teeth polished, but we'll see.

Also, I noticed on the bags the aligners come in that there is an Invisalign registry. I will be registering my aligners on their site and let you know if it unlocks any features that might prove useful.

Week 3 - Get Your Pain Killers Ready

Okay, so when I wrote the post on attachments I only had my trays in for a few hours - not enough time to really know how I was going to feel. I have decided (purely in my own mind nothing scientific) that 19 attachments means multiplying the new tray pain by 19. My whole head and face hurt and I could hardly bare to chew anything harder than applesauce. By dinner time my new trays had triggered a migraine and I ended up taking some serious pain killers in hopes of sleeping it off.

The good news is that by morning, I felt 10 times better and was able to cope through the rest of the pain without anything stronger than OTC meds. Now, 4 days later, my teeth still ache and a couple actually hurt. Plus, I have taken again to using my home repair kit to fix some hot spots and doctor some mouth injuries. Wax and I know each other on a first name basis now.

I also find that they trays remain difficult to remove. I actually dread taking them out. And a couple of times I actually ate with my aligners in just because I couldn't bare to put myself through taking them out. I also find that I am very deliberate about what and when I eat right now (that could end up being a good thing, who knows?). Thankfully, putting the trays in isn't an issue. This whole experience has given me new empathy for my son with his contacts.

This leads me to a singular conclusion - on new tray days I will wait to put my new trays in until after dinner and take precautionary OTC pain medicine to help buffer the discomfort. It is my hope that I will sleep through most of the discomfort and wake up in the morning able to cope with the pressure. Hopefully that will work....