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!