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.