Isn't Blackjack the card game you play to 21? Yeah, thought it'd be funny to incorporate that into my subject title :)
So now I'm at Tray 21. I changed into it Tuesday night. Didn't realize it until a week or two ago, but I had scheduled my 6-month dental checkup this past Wednesday. The MORNING after changing my top tray. The teeth were a little sore - which, I admit, made me feel better because they didn't really get sore on Tray 20 - but the appointment went fine.
I was really paranoid because while I haven't been slacking in taking care of my teeth, persay, I haven't been a Nazi about it like I was at the beginning. So I was worried I'd have cavities. The dental hygenist was using her metal tool a lot to scrape my teeth (careful about the attachments though) and then, after cleaning and flossing, she used that tool again on my bottom central incisors. I was concerned about what was going on until she mentioned that something was really stuck in between them! She went back and forth between using floss and the metal tool.. but finally stopped and all was good. Then the dentist checked my teeth and said no sign of decay! Yay!
While there, I learned something very interesting. We only had one dentist (the practice had his name) and at some point they added a second dentist, who I don't recall seeing until Wednesday. Turns out the main dentist sold the practice due to some health issues to another dentist and his dentist wife, and I think third dentist will come on board. That one that was already there will still be there, but only one day a week. A LOT of changes going on! So the name will change, there will be new dentist, the staff will have to convert everything to new computer systems that the new dentist uses at his other office... BUT I did learn that the new dentist does Invisalign! So that will be cool to have a dentist who knows Invisalign.
I've had a couple of people (my landlord and a good friend) remark about noticing the Invisalign. Not sure if that's because it's not tracking completely right on the top, and therefore more noticeable, or if they just are paying more attention to my teeth (my friend is shopping around a few different orthos to look into braces). Then my dental hygenist, who saw me last time, thought my teeth looked a lot better!
Okay, how is Tray 21 going? It was slightly sore the first day and not so much the second day, and fine since yesterday. It has been difficult to get it off with that attachment on my right lateral incisor. I basically try to take it off the old way (pull down from the back on the left), then pull down from the back on the right, then gently pull around my attachment until it comes off that tooth. But I will say since going from Tray 20 to 21, it's been a little easier. Maybe the movement is making it easier? I hope so! Although that tooth hasn't hurt, it was the other lateral incisor that hurt! So weird.
The teeth aren't completely tracking correctly but at least the gap doesn't look bigger. Part of me wants to do a mid-course correction to prevent having a lot of refinements, but part of me doesn't want to basically do a re-do with the molds and having to wait for new trays to come in... we'll see what the ortho says when I go back in a few weeks.
So now I'm at Tray 21. I changed into it Tuesday night. Didn't realize it until a week or two ago, but I had scheduled my 6-month dental checkup this past Wednesday. The MORNING after changing my top tray. The teeth were a little sore - which, I admit, made me feel better because they didn't really get sore on Tray 20 - but the appointment went fine.
I was really paranoid because while I haven't been slacking in taking care of my teeth, persay, I haven't been a Nazi about it like I was at the beginning. So I was worried I'd have cavities. The dental hygenist was using her metal tool a lot to scrape my teeth (careful about the attachments though) and then, after cleaning and flossing, she used that tool again on my bottom central incisors. I was concerned about what was going on until she mentioned that something was really stuck in between them! She went back and forth between using floss and the metal tool.. but finally stopped and all was good. Then the dentist checked my teeth and said no sign of decay! Yay!
While there, I learned something very interesting. We only had one dentist (the practice had his name) and at some point they added a second dentist, who I don't recall seeing until Wednesday. Turns out the main dentist sold the practice due to some health issues to another dentist and his dentist wife, and I think third dentist will come on board. That one that was already there will still be there, but only one day a week. A LOT of changes going on! So the name will change, there will be new dentist, the staff will have to convert everything to new computer systems that the new dentist uses at his other office... BUT I did learn that the new dentist does Invisalign! So that will be cool to have a dentist who knows Invisalign.
I've had a couple of people (my landlord and a good friend) remark about noticing the Invisalign. Not sure if that's because it's not tracking completely right on the top, and therefore more noticeable, or if they just are paying more attention to my teeth (my friend is shopping around a few different orthos to look into braces). Then my dental hygenist, who saw me last time, thought my teeth looked a lot better!
Okay, how is Tray 21 going? It was slightly sore the first day and not so much the second day, and fine since yesterday. It has been difficult to get it off with that attachment on my right lateral incisor. I basically try to take it off the old way (pull down from the back on the left), then pull down from the back on the right, then gently pull around my attachment until it comes off that tooth. But I will say since going from Tray 20 to 21, it's been a little easier. Maybe the movement is making it easier? I hope so! Although that tooth hasn't hurt, it was the other lateral incisor that hurt! So weird.
The teeth aren't completely tracking correctly but at least the gap doesn't look bigger. Part of me wants to do a mid-course correction to prevent having a lot of refinements, but part of me doesn't want to basically do a re-do with the molds and having to wait for new trays to come in... we'll see what the ortho says when I go back in a few weeks.
The bottoms still seem fine, though I am still wearing the tray like normal. I don't feel comfortable only wearing them at night yet! Maybe I'll work up to it :)