Nothing else to really say on it... the pain and tightness were like usual the first couple of days, and now it's fine.
I suppose I owe you a picture before I go :)
First post of the new year! I changed trays Wednesday instead of Tuesday... partly because I was sick, and partly because I have been lax with my wear time (not terrible, but not great) so I figured an extra day would be good. I'll change to Tray 32 (last tray of round 1!) a week from tomorrow, if not later, to get the maximum amount of time. I'm sure I'll have my trays out quite a bit while on vacation starting Saturday.
Nothing else to really say on it... the pain and tightness were like usual the first couple of days, and now it's fine. I suppose I owe you a picture before I go :)
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This is my first entry directly on this website, as opposed to all the others that I transferred over from the Braces Review website. I am currently on Tray 30, which I changed to on Tuesday night... so nearly a week into it. After this tray, only two more until we start the refinement stage. I'm really looking forward to it. As long as there aren't many trays :)
Nothing too much to report regarding movement... just the typical soreness at the beginning, but nothing to write home about. It's still not tracking like it should, but that will *hopefully* be fixed with the refinements. I read on the forums, from an orthodontist that frequents the boards, that having trays out longer on holidays - without tacking on the missed hours later - can cause the tracking problems. I wonder if that's what happened with me. I used to be very good - very strict - when it came to how long my trays were out. Over the last year, I've become more lax, and perhaps keep them out longer than I should. I am for 20-22 hours/day, but some days have them out for much longer than 4 hours. I think I'll do a Refinement Resolution (kind of like a New Year's Resolution) when I start the refinement trays, and really keep track and do better about keeping my trays in for the ideal amount of time. And if I don't do it in the two weeks, then tack on an extra day or two. That might be better, and perhaps will lessen the likelihood of doing a refinement part 2. Here's my teeth tonight (er, this morning... it is nearly 1am) wearing Tray 30! Until next time... Okay, so I let time get away from me. I'm over halfway done with Tray 29, and just now talking about it. Haha.
The usual soreness but nothing special. The orthodontist appointment, well, I talked about last entry (refinements are coming sooner than I thought!!!) but I also had more IPR done. It was a little rougher between a couple of the teeth, but the others already had plenty of space. I still can't tell when I look in the mirror where it was done... which is a good thing! I still can't believe I get to move to refinements after Tray 32!! Okay, that is all for now. Except pictures! As I'm writing this, I'm supposed to change to Tray 29 tonight but haven't done so yet (ordered a pizza to have a late dinner... would've done so earlier, but ended up having a 2-hour phone conversation with a very dear friend of mine). ANYWAY I am so excited that I couldn't wait to post about it. I'll do the obligatory "Tray 29" post later to update about pain/movement/etc.
So what is this news? I had my orthodontist appointment today. Was given Trays 29-32. Had my (last) IPR done. Then my orthodontist decided next appointment, I'd get my molds done for refinements! So we're skipping Trays 32-37 and going straight to refinements. I was soooo surprised!! But kind of excited! I REALLY hope I don't need many refinement trays. Or attachments. Or IPR. But it's nice to know the next stage is coming! And I'll get to use the new SmartTrack material! My appointment is at the end of January, so there's some time... but it's so exciting!!!! Not too much to update on! Changed to Tray 28 on Tuesday night. A little soreness, but thankfully not as much as Tray 27! Still not tracking completely right, but at least they still mainly fit... so I may be able to avoid mid-course correction and can just do refinements after. My next appointment is a week from Tuesday.
Oops, I forgot to update! I've had my new trays for over a week (so halfway done with this tray) and I've neglected an update. Sorry about that :) Though I doubt many people are reading this, haha. Tray 27 started off quite painful. From what I remember with the Clincheck, now that my formerly-crooked right lateral incisor is in line with my central incisors and left lateral incisor, those four teeth are moving backwards in my mouth the next few trays. I think that's where the pain was coming from, because my lateral incisors were sore. Not fun. But at least it subsided after a few days. And it wasn't THAT bad, just comparatively more pain than usual. My teeth still aren't tracking like they should (as you can see in the picture - the gaps below my right central and lateral incisors). In fact, the end of the left side of the tray wouldn't stay over the molar for the first few days. I kept biting it down. It's finally settled, but it was stubborn! I only have 10 trays after this one, so I'm hoping they'll fit enough that I can continue with these trays. But I know I'm going to need refinements. I knew that I was probably going to need them from the beginning, but since those gaps aren't going away, and it's not looking as straight as it should (at this point), that it's a sure thing. While I'm not surprised - I was warned by my ortho that most patients need refinements - I guess I was hoping I'd be done sooner rather than later. I just hope it doesn't take a ton of refinement trays to perfect things.
Nearing the end... slowly but surely! I can't believe that next Tuesday will mark ONE YEAR in Invisalign!!!!
So I had my checkup this past Tuesday. It was a little different, because my usual assistant was gone (on vacation), I was in a different chair, and the original orthodontist saw me (versus the newer one, who saw me the last two times). I got that attachment off (whoo! that tooth feels SO smooth), and a little bit of IPR (though that was SHORT and sweet! Apparently there are already spaces between the teeth due for the IPR), and I left with Trays 26-28. I realized that, if I keep getting 3 trays/visit, I only have 3 more visits to get all my trays, and will be done with phase 1 in 4 visits! Even though that's 6 weeks between visits, it's nice to think of it in those terms, and doesn't seem as long that way :) Although it's still not tracking completely well, especially on the tooth with the recently-removed attachment, I feel it's doable and think I can get through this without a mid-course correction. Don't want to jinx it though! Well, I have to leave for dance class soon, but here's a shot of my top teeth tonight, starting to settle into Tray 26: I switched to Tray 25 last Tuesday night. A little soreness but not much. I really think the chewies help a lot with the pain and settling my teeth in, so the gap isn't looking any worse. Here's my top teeth now, tray in. I don't have much else to say... life has been pretty crazy. I hope things settle down soon though. I need a break!
I changed my top tray Tuesday night. Not too much pain the next day, though some soreness of course. The tray is getting easier to take off around that lateral incisor with the attachment (that comes off after Tray 25, yay!).
It's hard to really see changes right now, though I can kind of see where my four front teeth are moving forward, and after that attachment comes off, those four teeth will move back into place. Well, if they move according to plan anyway :) Not much else to say. I'm just tired. Not of Invisalign exactly, but it's just the end seems so far away. I hope I don't need many refinements. I've also got other stuff going on that I don't feel like getting into but basically I'm burned out in general. I could use a vacation but the closest thing to one is my intensive class in about 3 weeks. My top teeth now, tray in: Yesterday, I had my orthodontist appointment. My boyfriend was still visiting (I had a 4-day weekend) so he went with me, though waited in the waiting room when I went back. But that must've been the longest I've had to sit in the waiting room! Not counting the first appointment, the appointment I had IPR done, or the last appointment which added an attachment - they only take 10 minutes, tops. I guess the assistant was busy with someone else when I arrived? Well, my boyfriend and I got to watch some of the cute movie WALL-E that was playing on the TV :)
Even though it probably took 30 minutes from the time we got there until the time we left, I was only in the back for 5-10 minutes. I explained that the gap between the bottom of that one top central incisor and the bottom of the tray didn't look worse, but didn't look better either. So she had the orthodontist (again, the younger/newer one) take a look. He decided that we would continue on with the trays I have because (I didn't know this) the mid-course correction would count as one of my 3 refinements. So he wanted to use as much of the trays I have now in case I need to use all 3 refinements. Which makes sense. I just had no idea a mid-course correction counted as a refinement in the Invisalign world. Oh well! He put in Tray 23 to make sure it was okay, then I put Tray 22 back in so I could get pictures again - just to have more comparison pictures for next time. Also since I like to change my tray at night after dinner! The ortho told the assistant to give me 4 trays, so I could come back in 8 weeks... but after he left I asked her what the last tray was - she said Tray 26. I said "isn't that when the attachment comes off?" She checked and realized it was, so I do have to go back in 6 weeks and only went home with Trays 23-25. Also the assistant had asked if I was wearing the bottom tray at night, and I said I actually wore it all the time because I didn't feel comfortable leaving it out, and she remarked that I was such a compliant patient!! Hey, I am getting my money's worth out of this!! :) How are my teeth feeling? Well, a little sore. But not moreso than usual, thankfully. Here are how my teeth settling into Tray 23: |