May 24, 2012

Invisalign - First Time Switching to New Tray!

So just as these trays were sliding in and out of my mouth with ease, it was time to change them.  I was advised to change them at night, as you will have the whole night when you sleep to get a little used to it.  When I first "tried" it on, I was like YOWWWW that's tiiiiight!  Had a  hard time getting it off too.  When I snapped the bottoms there was even a burst of pain.  Well, I popped them in and went to bed and by morning, they were easier to pop on and off.  Oh, first thing I also noticed about the new trays, is they were cloudy. I put them through 3 minute antibacterial denture cleaner and that did the trick.  Now they advise against using denture cleaner, but I read a lot of blogs and people have used it without a problem.  So I got the 3 minute kind...maybe the people soaking for an hour or more were weakening the plastic.  Not on mine!  No cracks and they come out shiny and clean.  I soak them in the morning while I'm having my coffee, brush and pop back in.

I also read of an increase in cavities (because of lack of natural flow of saliva) which does concern me, but I've been keeping up with the brushing and flossing.  I've never brushed and flossed so much in my life!  I'm making up for lost time I guess.

I was really happy that the new tighter trays did not cause my extra salivation problem I was having at first.  Those first 5 days are hell, but once you get through them, you will realize in time you won't even think about them being in your mouth, and you will appreciate not having metal scratching your mouth!

So, I'm on tray 2 of 23.  I was studying tray 6 and although I can see a slight difference, but not big enough.  I'm impatient man!

Oh, I am definitely keeping all my trays so I can look back at the transformation.  I was looking online to see what people did with their old ones, and found something someone said that literally made me laugh out loud:

"...if I ever want to go back to how I had my teeth originally, I can wear them in reverse order."

I was actually thinking of painting them white so they look like teeth, lol. Maybe the first and the last set. Hmm...we'll see!

May 17, 2012

Invisalign - 1st Week DONE

It's pretty safe to say that by the first week, things are a WHOLE lot better.  I'm on my 9th day, and have 6 more days before I switch to tray #2 of #23.  So exciting!!  I'll probably blog after my first switch.

So just as a recap, days 1-5 are hell.  And now it's pretty much a breeze and part of my life!  I'm getting more and more used to the feeling of it in my mouth, it's less tight so of course there is less pressure and less tension at the end of the day.  When I sit down to dinner, taking them off is a welcome break.  Invisalign is great because I have no restrictions on what I can eat.  I'm brushing and flossing after EVERY meal so my gum health will be impeccable by my next cleaning visit, my hygienist will be pleased!  And I'm no longer biting my cheeks!  Woot woot!

I had to go in the Orthodontist's office the other day to get an attachment re-done on one of my bottom teeth. I read online that they can fall off from time to time.  I was in and out in a matter of 20 mins.  Was happy to have the attachment back on so that my trays will continue to work properly.

Now I am very annoyed with the location of the attachments.  I understand the tooth must rotate but since this is Invisalign, I would expect them to come up with an invisible option.  Like having the attachments on the INSIDE of the teeth.  But, as my husband states on a regular basis, what I go through is NOTHING compared to what he had with regular braces.  I just think mine would be completely unnoticeable.  I have to fight the feeling I have to share with every friend and acquaintance that I'm wearing them.  Maybe they won't notice??? But I do!

About the speech impediment...I think it's still there but greatly reduced.  And I think I notice it more on myself than anyone would.

That being said...even though I'm not finished with this process, if you are considering them, I feel comfortable enough to recommend them.  But research other's final results.  I kind of wish I could change trays each week! I feel like that would expedite the process....but they know what they are doing...so let's see how this year goes!  Someone said that this seems like forever, but once you are done it will be like a tiny speck in time.  :-)  I sure hope so!

May 12, 2012

Invisalign - Day 4

I downloaded an app that will let me publish blogs from my phone. So I'm testing this now.

Getting more used to the braces...every morning feels much better.  Still biting my cheek when they are off and don't think that will go away until my teeth have reached their final destination. My husband thinks its funny. He went through metal braces for two years and went through much worse.

May 11, 2012

Invisalign - Day 3

Woke up feeling MUCH better! And when I snapped my trays back in after brushing in the morning, I found they were a bit easier to snap on!  I'm still salivating more, but it's less than before, so I'm happy about that.  I also find myself not focusing on thinking of it being inside.

I'm still having trouble speaking....and it's making me self conscious.  I heard you have to keep practicing speaking to learn how to speak w/o lisping.  And I'm also not smiling as big because of the stupid bubbles in the Invisalign that accommodate for the attachment bumps they never tell you about!!!  Except for my teeth looking shiny, you would never know if it weren't for those darn bumps.  That's a big annoyance.  One lady at the Orthodontist office told me if I were going out for an evening, to just leave them home and don't even worry about putting them in.  Ha!  What does it matter?  I leave them home, and I have Klingon looking teeth...okay it's not that bad, but nobody's natural teeth have bumps on them.  I can imagine some rocker people might start wanting to attach spike-like things to their teeth...

Here's what they look like, and no these are NOT my teeth.  And I think these actually look MUCH nicer than mine.  The plastic just emphasizes it even more.


So yeah, if you are considering Invisalign, just know, NOTHING is invisible!  Unless you have the behind the teeth thing.  Oh well.

Invisalign - Day 2

Okay Day 2 was a bad day...the salivating was getting on my nerves, and by the end of the day, the pressure on my teeth just made me feel tired.  I didn't like the feeling of chewing so carefully....because if I didn't I would bite my cheek.  When I took them off for dinner it was a welcome break.  When I put them back on, I felt a lot better.  I think breaks for eating are very helpful during this transition.  I also looked forward to sleeping...it's easy to wear it for bed and I don't think I will have any problems using my retainer.  I read a few other blogs and checked out people's before and after pics and regained the strength to carry on.  I read that after 5-7 days you forget they are there.  Can't wait for that!  I also read some people get cavities???  I'm not drinking anything other than water when I have them in...even though you can have "clear" liquids.  And I've never flossed so much in my entire life!!!  I am assigned 23 trays.  Looking at tray #6, I can already see a SLIGHT improvement. Can't wait until I'm halfway done with this process.  I think by halfway I would see a large improvement - because they have to move all the teeth back and then I can have certain teeth filed (slimmed down) and last trays tighten everything back together.  I'm going to have to do a round of teeth whitening and some bonding on one chipped tooth.  Ah well....I'm still a long way away!

May 10, 2012

Invisalign

So I'm a bit old for braces...so I opted for Invisalign braces.  I really got them for my bottom teeth, but my top teeth could use a bit of straitening also.  Plus you need to move both top and bottom anyway so they match.  Now they have technology where they use a handheld wand to scan your mouth - better than waiting for a mold to set but still a bit time consuming and sometimes painful when holding the wand a certain way.  They sent me home with an appointment to come back 2 weeks later.

So yesterday was my first fitting...I sat in the seat and waited for them to give me my braces...when the lady was preparing something...I was like, what is that?  It's bump attachments, to give the braces something to grab onto she said.  Okay, I hope they are hidden somewhere in the back I thought to myself.  NOPE!  She glued on little "bumps" to 6 teeth (3 on each side of my face) top and bottom.  They are to help the teeth rotate. So much for invisible!  I wasn't told about any bump attachments!  If you read a bunch of forums, which I did when I got home, I found out a lot of people aren't told about them...you are fortunate if you have them in the back somewhere, but mines are on the front sides, so it's easy to see.  The Invisalign braces have bumps on them to accommodate the bump or buttons as they are sometimes called.  SIGH.

So after gluing the attachments, they sand them down so they would feel a bit more comfortable in your mouth, for when you take off the braces and actually eat.  They put in the braces...felt tight but not at all painful so I was happy with that.  Showed me how to put them in and out, gave me quick instructions about cleaning and I was on my way.  I am to change them every 2 weeks (I have 5 other replacements with me).  And I was advised it was better to change them at night this way come morning, they will be easier to take in and out.  I took out the last pack and didn't see much of a change...but I'm sure much later, like 15th pack I'll see a major difference.  I also have 2 cases, one for the previous Invisaligns and one for the current. I asked why I had to keep the previous set, they say in case the new set doesn't fit quite right, they would have me keep in the last set for a few days more.  Got it, makes sense.  So off I went!


FIRST IMPRESSIONS....

First thing I noticed, was it felt super weird.  I can't clamp down my teeth at all.  And it felt weird to drink too...which by the way, I could only drink clear liquids with them ON, if not I'll have to take them off.  Pain in the neck?  Yes, but that's the price I pay.

Second thing I noticed was the speech impediment.  Great.  Now I stalk funny.  LOL it's not that bad...but I do notice a huge difference in my pronunciation of things, but thankfully I read I will adjust within a few days or weeks.

Third and most annoying thing to me...is the increase in salivation!  My body thinks I have something in my mouth, therefore I'm constantly salivating!  Drove me crazy by nightfall...but I read your body adjusts in a matter of days or weeks.  I'm waiting!!!

Fourth thing, when you take them out to eat, you start chewing funny...your mouth was getting used to a new position, but then to chew, it starts chewing the old way or somewhere in between and then OW!!!!!!!!!  You just bit your cheek.  I did that a lot and had to make myself chew slower.

Lastly, you must brush your teeth after every meal or snack before you put them in.  If you put them back in without brushing, you will feel icky.  Plaque will build up and you will put your gums in jeopardy.  So yay fun, I have to brush my teeth EVERYWHERE I go.  At work, in restaurants, etc.  I will definitely be doing much less snacking!  Which is great....I'm trying to lose weight anyway.

So last night was my first night wearing them.  I went through a whole ritual, brushing, flossing then pop them back in and went to sleep.  Woke up with them feeling a lot more comfortable.  Needed to have my coffee so I dunked them in denture cleaner and had my coffee.  I was really told to brush them with water or mild soap but I read other people saying denture cleaner worked just fine to keep gunk off.  Gross I know.  I'm going to be OCD about keeping them super sparkly and clean.  Feels odd to have them off but I had my coffee, brushed and put them back in.  I think I will skip right to lunch today!  Such a pain to be brushing all the time.  I think it will be a good habit though.  I bought Colgate's "Optic White" and should have whiter teeth in the process.

I read a girl who blogged about her first week with Invisalign and then she didn't update her progress.  So I will probably glance at a few other blogs today.  Who knows, I might do the same thing.  Ha ha.  I'll try to update with my progress and experience with it.  It's helpful to read other's experiences.