In the Routine

Since the last time I checked in not a whole lot has happened Invisalign wise. I finally got the hang of getting my aligners off around the attachments, although for the top it does require thumb and forefinger wiggle action that requires most of my fist in my mouth, and am now half way through aligners #4.

There's only two changes that I've experienced in the last few weeks.
1: My lisp seems to be more prominent. On #3 it wasn't an issue but it's come back with #4. While it's getting less noticeable as the days go on it's definitely still slightly noticeable. I have noticed that in order for me to make 'S' and 'T' sounds I have to close my front top and bottom teeth together to minimise the lisp which can cause some tenderness after a while. As someone that talks very fast and is required to rattle off lots of complicated, tongue-twisting medical terminology for university, it is definitely a little challenging. The key has been to talks slowly with more gaps between what I'm saying. If I don't it appears as though I've enjoyed a few too many drinks at 8am.

And 2: The attachment on my lateral incisor on the upper arch is getting more noticeable as my tooth is beginning to rotate. You can now see a slight bump at certain angles, but more than anything its the shine of the plastic catching the light on that spot. Still nothing terribly noticeable, just more noticeable than before.

Not much else has been new/different. I'm not 100% if there's just nothing to tell or if I've been distracted. Starting last week marked the beginning of 3 weeks of studying, exams, and assignments before the end of semester and I had my birthday thrown in there as well. The only part about wearing Invisalign that's bothered me during this time is that I can't chew gum! I used to chew gum all the time, but in particular during exams to calm my anxiety and help me concentrate. No more. I did make the decision to change into #4 on Monday afternoon rather than Sunday night as I had an exam worth 60% of my grade Monday morning and didn't really want to deal with the discomfort of a new tray while I was trying to concentrate.

This week will bring new challenges in wearing Invisalign. More study, one last exam, movies (no munching on popcorn for 2 hours!) and a trip to a theme park. One can only hope I'm as diligent with my wear time during the theme park trip and am not tempted to whip them out for sugary churros and misplacing them/not cleaning my teeth before putting them back in.

Pictures in the next post!

Grippy Devils aka Attachments

Yesterday marked the start of my 3rd set of aligners and the start of attachments. For those who don't know, attachments are clear or tooth coloured 'blobs' used to help move certain teeth that come in a variety of shapes to do different jobs.

Having the attachments bonded was a pretty quick and painless process. First a quick check by my orthodontist to check the old aligners were fitting properly and then in went the amazingly gorgeous lip retractors. Little air to dry off each tooth, little glue, then templates with the attachment material in it put on and cured with a light. One did pop right off when he took the templates out but they simply redid that one and it stayed perfectly fine. I was then warned that they would use a drill that sounded like a jackhammer to polish off any excess material but reassured I would still have at least a couple of my teeth when they were done. It was loud but painless and the whole process over and done with in about 10 minutes. With aligners 3, 4, 5 and an appointment for 6 weeks time, I was on my way.

I was then given the templates to put back in. The templates look just like normal aligners but are much, much thinner and more flexible. I was given them to wear for the day until I got used to taking them out over the aligners and given strict instructions to return them at my next appointment. All I can say is thank goodness I was able to do that because boy was it hard! I'm so used to using one finger on the outside of my molars to pop the aligners right out, but no more! Now I have to use two fingers to grip the back of the aligners wiggle/pull those suckers out. I can only imagine what it looks like to basically shove my entire hand into my small mouth, make a bunch of popping/clicking sounds, and remove my 'teeth'.

I have 9 attachments - 6 on the bottom, 3 on top - and the aligners are definitely tighter and more uncomfortable. Prior to any attachments and it would only take 1-4 hours before the aligners felt like a pair of comfy old socks. 24 hours in with attachments and they're still tight and uncomfortable when removing them. Perhaps the discomfort when removing them is coming from my lack of finesse, so hopefully as I master removing the aligners around all 9 of my attachments it will become just as smooth and easy as before. I do have to admit that I have taken some over-the-counter pain relief to help. Normally I probably wouldn't bother but I'm currently in my last week of university for the semester and have 2 major essays due this week and study for 2 exams, and that discomfort is enough to distract me. I'm sure as the aligners go on this will be less and less apparent so I'm not concerned or worried.

In terms of visibility you have to be incredibly close to see anything. From a normal standing distance from someone its almost impossible and thats even with one attachment on my lateral incisor right in front! I'm glad I decided to bleach my teeth before getting the attachments because it's certainly given an all over better look and seems to make the attachments harder to see.