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.
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.
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
