Progress is Being Made!!

Yesterday marked my first appointment with my new orthodontist since my old one has retired. I was definitely nervous because I knew NOTHING about this orthodontist and had no choice in him dealing with my case.

It was definitely a different experience than my previous appointments. First of all, no reminder. My old orthodontist would send an email a week before reminding patients of their appointment time. When I did call to double check my appointment they couldn't even find me on their system! They just said to turn up when I THOUGHT my appointment was and they'd fit me in. Luckily I found my appointment card and knew for sure when my appointment was actually scheduled.

So I turned up on time for my 8:40 am appointment. Same office, same furniture, totally different environment. While the rooms used to be a quite little place with only 3 staff members and never seeing another patient there before or after my appointment (including 3 years ago when I first went there and every time since), this time was completely different. First there were 2 receptionists with 3 laptops in front of them trying to figure out what was going on, there were two people waiting, one person standing with the receptionist trying to figure out their account, me waiting to check in, and then two more people walked in. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind that there's other people there, but when there are 5 chairs in a space smaller than my tiny bathroom and 6 patients it's a little claustrophobic feeling. It was also noticeably louder. Instead of having one orthodontist that only does Invisalign, there are now two orthodontists that do both fixed braces and Invisalign. Rather than 1 dental assistant and one receptionist, there are now 4 dental assistants and 2 receptionists.

After waiting until 9am and hearing the receptionists whisper to each other that I was still waiting, I finally got called in for my appointment. My new orthodontist seems really nice but didn't really go through a whole lot with me other than asking which aligner I was up to and asking a few questions about me that he'd read on my file. He then did just a little filing between my lower front teeth to remove any calcium build up. I did mention that I was having a lot of sensitivity with one of my lower teeth where it presses against other teeth which apparently that small amount of filing will help with.

I also mentioned that I was finding that within the 14 day cycle of wearing my aligners by day 3/4 they were fitting really well and were no longer tight, and that by day 8 they were really, really loose. I have two rectangular shaped attachments on my premolars which basically cause a ledge that make it nearly impossible to get the aligners off in the first day or so. Usually I have to pinch the aligners and wiggle them from the inside and push them out/over the attachments to get them off, but by day 8 I can pop them off from the outside with one finger.

So great news, my orthodontist said I can go down to switching every 10 days instead of every 2 weeks!
I worked it out and it now looks like I'll finish my initial round of 23 lower/26 upper aligners in December/January instead of May/June 2015. So I've now cut my treatment time down from 12 months to 9 months which is nice. It also means that any refinements will most likely be finished by June 2015 rather than December 2015.

The only other things I'm noticing is that my lower teeth are definitely standing up straighter, the upper right lateral incisor is no longer overlapping my front tooth and is definitely starting to rotate, my lower canines are rotating, and the gap being created between my premolars and molars.....yeah that's not so comfortable in the first day or so. It's like having a popcorn kernel being forcibly inserted between my teeth. That being said it's totally fine within 18-36 hours of wearing the aligners.

Photos to follow next time!

Oops!

Well it's been a while since an update!

I've been in the middle of exams and uni holidays for the past 6 weeks so forgive the lack of updates.

Right after exams finished I was off to a theme park with my friends to celebrate my birthday. Not only did this day mark the celebration of my birth, but also the day I first failed myself with Invisalign. After having lunch and seeing the exxxxxtreeeeeeeemmmmeeeeelllllyyyyyy long line for the very messy bathrooms I did what I swore I would never do....... I didn't brush before putting my Invisalign back in.

Now normally this is cardinal sin #1 for me and I would never dream of doing it! But under the circumstances it was just not realistic to spend 20 minutes standing in line for a bathroom and asking my 6 friends to wait while I did so. That and to be honest those bathrooms were gross and I really didn't want to brush my teeth in there. I did swish really well with water for about 15 minutes before putting them back in and did use a on the go retainer wipe to clean them up a bit but I still had that horrible guilty feeling for doing something I know I shouldn't have. Luckily I was only a day out from changing my aligners so I wasn't too worried about any staining or smell, just about the hygiene of it.

Then came multiple trips to the Eat Street Markets. If you're not from Brisbane, the Eat Street Markets are a small food market by the river selling restaurant style food out of shipping containers with live music and about a million different foods to eat (think cronuts, calamari, churros, bagels, mocktails, wood fired pizza, crepes, quesadillas, dumplings, burgers, sweet potato fries, and a whole lot more). This was where my second failure was. Normally one to take my aligners out, eat, brush, and get them back in asap (usually 30-40 minutes) I ended up leaving them out from the time I walked into the markets until I got home (the longest of these trips was 2 hours!!!!). I try to console myself by saying that although they were out for two hours straight it was the only time they were out that day. What can I say, if you ever go to Eat Street, trust me, it will be the only meal you need that day.

I do find in general I am getting a little lazier about how soon I put my Invisalign back in after eating but I'm still meeting approx 22 hours wear time give or take half an hour depending on the day. And other than the one theme park slip up I have never not brush, flossed, and mouth washed before putting them back in.

Sadly, my amazing orthodontist is retiring at the end of this month. I am only 3 months into my treatment plan at this stage so I was a little freaked out and panicked when I first found out. However after many long hours worrying I'm finally over it and am trying my best to trust that the orthodontist he has selected to take over his cases is every bit as good as my original orthodontist. At the very least I am safe knowing that my initial treatment is already sitting in a box and was designed by the person I chose.

Aligner 6 were by far the MOST painful set I've had to date. I'm currently in 7 now and am glad to have seen the tail end of 6. Aligners 6 were horribly achy for almost 5 days. They gave me awful headaches and were not fun at all. Aligners 3 made my teeth tender but I think that's just because those were the trays I had attachments with for the first time. But 6? Holy cow they were not fun. At this stage I notice that the gap that is being created behind my premolars is definitely moving (although you can't see it in the pictures above). That's were I get most my achy-ness now with each new tray, although it passes within 24. It's sort of a feeling like having the worlds largest popcorn kernel wedged well and truly up between my premolars and molars.

Here's a little picture update.

As you can seen Mr Gappy is gone and some of the lower front teeth are starting to stand up tall rather than slouch on their friends. I've also noticed that some of my lower premolars are now standing more upright rather than leaning in towards my tongue. I know it's not an amazingly huge difference just yet but I'm slowly getting there!

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.

Invisalign Cleaning and Care

During my time researching Invisalign and reading a lot of blogs there was one thing I was constantly wondering about: what 'supplies' do people use to keep their Invisalign and teeth clean, both at home and on-the-go?

So I figured I would share what I use. Most of these items are things I have used before Invisalign and some are things I have acquired since starting. I am aware that it seems like a LOT of products but I definitely don't use them all at the same time and others may not find them necessary.

 Yes, yes I know 3 toothpastes seem extreme, however, the Pearl Drops Extra White is my everyday toothpaste that I use morning and night, the Colgate toothpaste is a newer one that I use during the day after I have eaten, and I use Sensodyne when my teeth are tender like they were the first few days of wearing Invisalign and after whitening as my orthodontist suggested.
I used Colgate Sonic Max White soft toothbrush ( or the Sonic 360 depending on which I can find at the time) also at the recommendation of my orthodontist. The small Oral B childs toothbrush (Disney Princess of course) that I used to clean my aligners because it's smaller and easier to get into all those nooks and crannies.
I like the Plackers floss picks rather than the usual floss that comes as a string. I use both the fine (blue packet) and normal (green packet) as some teeth are very close together and difficult to floss with regular floss, and others have gaps that are too wide to use fine floss.
As far as mouth wash goes I like the Listerine Whitening with Enamel Protection for everyday use and Listerine Total Care Sensitive after whitening and when my teeth are tender.

 As for what I carry with me, I keep it all in a River Island makeup bag I bought from ASOS. In it I keep a travel toothbrush, some floss picks, sample sized toothpaste (Sensodyne included since I'm currently whitening my teeth), a pack of two chewies to help seat my aligners better and also to curb my gum habit, travel sized mouth wash, some Cleanse. Freshen. Go wipes (purchased from Dentakit) to clean my aligners, and an Outie tool to help remove the aligners. Truth be told I have only used the outie once......when I had just painted my nails and didn't want to smudge them.
I also carry a case and a collapsable cup. I was given the standard blue and red Invisalign cases but there's two reasons I don't carry one with me. First, the black and gold one is slightly smaller and lighter, and I'm also worried the spring on the Invisalign case will break getting bashed around in my bag underneath weighty medical text books and my laptop. I got the other case from Smiling Box (also purchased from Dentakit).
I do still use the Invisalign cases though. I keep one in the bathroom and one in the car so I never have to take my aligners out and leave them anywhere.

To clean my aligners I use the Cleanse. Freshen. Go wipes when I'm out and about, and Retainer Brite each morning in a denture bath with room temperature water. Whenever I take the aligners out I try and clean them right away whether it be with the childs toothbrush and plain water or either of the above.
So far my aligners have stayed cleared and odour free which seems to have been a problem with some other people.

I have been using NiteWhite during the first set of aligners to whiten my teeth. I bought this from my orthodontist for $45 and have seen really great results using it. It comes as three syringes that you use to put a small blob of product into each section of the Invisalign aligners and leave for 4-6 hours (or while you sleep depending how long you sleep I suppose).

The only two things not pictured are a denture bath that I use with Retainer Brite and Tooth Mousse Plus. Tooth Mousse Plus was given to me by my dentist about six months ago to help strengthen some soft spots on my teeth.

Like I said before, some people may consider this to be an excessive amount of products purely to clean teeth but it's what I prefer. I'm extremely protective of my pearly chompers and do my best to take care of them.

Week 1 (Including Pictures)

It's been just under a week since getting my first set of aligners and I thought I would share the ups and downs of my first week and a few before/so far pictures.

My aim was to keep the same lighting for any pictures but unfortunately during our bathroom update the light was changed and it's difficult to see the results of any whitening I've done. I can definitely already see a few differences. The gap between my front teeth is remarkable smaller, the rotated lateral incisor now has a gap between it and the front tooth that I can actually get floss between!!!!!, and some of the lower are also a little more upright.

So let's start from day one. I went in to my orthodontist in the morning and have the first aligners fitted. It was pretty straight forward: orthodontist came in, put the first set in, was happy with the fit, and left me in the hands of his assistant to give me the run down on care. I could definitely feel an immediate tightness and pressure, especially on my two front teeth. I momentarily panicked wondering what on earth I had gotten myself into, but just as fast as I panicked the majority of the pressure went away and they felt totally fine.
I will have 26 upper, 23 lower, and 9 attachments. This is shorter than I first expected but including refinements I'm looking at about 15 months. That is a heck of a lot better than the four years I was told I would need in fixed braces!
I was instructed on cleaning (water and soft toothbrush/vinegar and water once a week if you wish), the 'rules' (take them out for anything other than water, including carbonated water, then brush/floss/mouthwash/rinse before putting back in), and very, VERY clearly told to never remove them without putting them into a case.
I was then asked to take them out myself to make sure I was able to. I have read many stories of people struggling for 10 minutes at a time getting extremely frustrated trying to get them out but I managed to get them out in one go with relative ease. I was asked if I had any questions. I enquired about whitening because I was told at my consultation I would be able to whiten at either the beginning of treatment or at the end, but not during due to attachments. I was given a bleaching kit called Nite White (the 10% ACP version) and instructed to put a small amount in each section of the aligners and to wear them overnight however I was expressly told that I would have to stop bleaching when I change to the second tray as they need 2 full weeks between bleaching and putting on attachments. For those of you wondering the Nite White was an added cost, however it was only $45 and came with 3 syringes of approximately 6-8 treatments in each.

Before I left I was given my next set of aligners, an Invisalign patient starter kit that includes 2 cases (one red and one blue), a few sample size toothpastes, a patient dvd that included photos, clincheck videos and any other relevant information, and Nite White.

From there I headed out for a day of errands and quickly realised that skipping breakfast that morning was not a smart idea. I went to find myself something to eat in the food court of where I was and realised I was going to have to conquer brushing my teeth in a public bathroom much sooner than I had thought. No issues though. Aligners out, food in, to the bathroom, teeth brushed, weird look from cleaning lady, aligners in, and on my merry way I went. I'm definitely glad I had taken toothbrush/toothpaste etc with me so I was able to eat while I was out otherwise I'm sure I would have given up very quickly and gone home.

The first few days were achy but nothing a little ibuprofen couldn't fix. I did have a slight lisp but it was barely noticeable and no dry mouth or excess saliva as some have reported. By day 3 I had very little discomfort, still no dry mouth/excess saliva, and still no real lisp. Day 3 was my first day back at university that week and involved a lot of talking and discussions using medical terminology which was a little difficult. By the end of the day I had noticed I was starting to develop a heavier lisp and the inside of my bottom lip and tongue were very raw from a few rough edges. Day 4 and 5 involved no talking as I was at home working on assignments, but the edges were giving me a lot of grief. I called my orthodontist for advice (as well as searching for help from the lovely members from the Braces Review forum) and was advised to gently file any rough edges with a nail file. I attempted it but unfortunately the spots that were rubbing were in parts that were too narrow for the file to fit. I called back my orthodontist and they told me to come on in that afternoon and they would fix it up for me. I took my second set of aligners with me as well just to be safe which turned out to be good as they file both my current set and the next set.

Since they filed the problem areas my lisp has dramatically improved, the rawness is completely gone and all is well. I have whitened them 4 times now and have noticed a little patchiness but that's how my teeth always seem to whiten when I've used whitening strips and the like in the past so I'm not really concerned or bothered. The only other thing I have noticed is tenderness when I first take them out which makes it a little difficult to eat at first but its getting better as time goes on.

All in all it has been far easier than I had expected and I'm really impressed with how much of a difference I've been able to see in just a week. I know I have a long way to go and I'm sure there will be times that I get fed up or annoyed with them but I just have to keep looking at what my alternatives were (4 years of fixed braces, jaw surgery, or cracked/chipping teeth needing crowns and implants eventually) and I remind myself that this has been by far the best decision I have ever made for myself.

Last Days Before the Start

Tomorrow morning (technically this morning as I'm writing this at 1am), is my appointment to get my first trays. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. I also realised this past week has been the last week of free teeth so to speak. So of course I made the  most of it. Going to the movies and munching popcorn through the whole thing, going out and having a leisurely dinner with friends, snacking during lectures at uni. While I realise I could on the odd occasion leave my aligners out more than 2 hours a day (by which I mean once every other month) without a HUGE impact on treatment, it's definitely not something I want to do. I've even been rethinking my annual birthday dinner into something a little more Invisalign friendly.

I've decided to take some before pictures of my teeth as well as during and after. It's something I've really enjoyed seeing on other blogs. I know the orthodontist has before pictures but my aim is to take pictures in the same lighting each time so that they're consistent. I think that will be especially beneficial before and after whitening.

Pictures will come tomorrow (or later today technically) after I get home from my appointment.