Two years ago, I started Invisalign treatment. One month ago, I finished my last tray. I am so thankful to only have to wear retainers at night now! I can eat like a normal person again, graze through the day without worrying about going to a bathroom, brushing my teeth, and putting trays back in! It was well worth it and I'm very happy with the results. It's not a perfect smile, but much better than two years ago and, more importantly, easier to floss!
I am going to wear my retainers faithfully and get new ones when needed (which, since I don't wear them much, hopefully won't be for at least a couple of years). I am NOT doing this again (twice is enough!). So wear your retainers!
So... it's been nearly two months since I updated. 6 trays since I updated. I figured it was time to update, especially since I had an orthodontist appointment Thursday.
Trays have been going fine, nothing new to report on the movement front. I'm not noticing much as usual with these refinements, but I know the teeth are moving.
The exciting thing was my orthodontist appointment. I got ALL of my remaining trays!! So I don't even have to go back untl the end of September. I change to my last top tray tomorrow, and then will wear that until I finish Tray 30 on the bottom. The end is in sight! I just hope it's the end of Invisalign, and not just the end of this stage. I am ready to be finished!
There isn't really much to update on the trays themselves - same ole same ole pain at the beginning, though not bad at all, and the week goes by fast before I have to change trays again!
I will say that I had my orthodontist check-up on Thursday. I usually go in the afternoons, but I guess because of the summer (when kids are out of school), all the afternoon appointments were booked for that day. Also, I used to go on Tuesdays, and apparently Thursdays are one of their busier days (since they're closed Fridays). I also don't have to wait very long in the waiting room before being seen. There was only one time I can think of where I had to wait a substantial amount of time.
This appointment, I was in the waiting room for 50 minutes past my appointment time! I got a little annoyed (it meant taking more sick leave for work), but when I was brought back my annoyance completely left because the assistant (not my usual one, but one I had last time - who is really sweet too) apologized profusely, multiple times, and gave me two coupons for free cupcakes at a nearby cupcake shop!
I LOVE my orthodontist office, not just because of the effectiveness of the treatment, but how they treat their patients! And not just with me, either. The reason for the delay was because it was "braces off" day - they really try to go all out when kids get their braces off. There was popcorn and drinks in the waiting room, and each child received a balloon. And all the staff were wearing shirts that said "Shift Happens" (on the back is a reminder to wear their retainers!). A couple of children were also GETTING braces - in fact, the reason I didn't get to see my regular assistant was because she was helping with a patient who was getting her braces, and I overheard her tell the parent that it would take about an hour (while I was still in the waiting room), so I knew I wouldn't see her.
Anyway, the appointment went well, and I received my next 7 trays and will go back at the end of July. I just changed to Tray 15 last night! Not seeing the progression (in fact, it was REALLY hard to tell when the assistant showed me the ClinCheck, since it is so subtle!), but the slight soreness tells me my teeth are moving! :)
Again, not much to tell, hence the sporadic posts. I know my teeth are moving, but I'm not seeing the difference. Then again, I haven't been taking pictures to track progress! So I took one now, at Tray 11, and providing some comparisons...
I will say that it's pretty cool to think I am halfway done with my top trays (11/22!) and more than a third done with my bottom trays (11/30!). Of course, "done" meaning "done with refinement 1." Haha!
Been a while since I last posted! But there's not much to update on. I had my orthodontist appointment today and everything looks good. I went home with Trays 8-14. I'll pick up all but one of my last top trays at my next appointment in June!
When I think of it that way, it makes me realize that I don't have much longer until I'm done with this round (and maybe, hopefully, Invisalign?) We'll see how my teeth turn out. I looked at my calendar and I should be done with my bottom trays (since there's 30 of those versus 22 of the top trays) in September, so maybe I can be done with treatment before I hit the 2-year mark! That would be great! Though trying to avoid getting my hopes up in case I need to take advantage of one or two more refinement rounds.
Not much to update on. I wore Tray 3 an extra day since I had my trays out a bit longer than I should a couple of times. So I change trays tomorrow night instead of tonight. The only thing I will say is I cracked a tray for the first time! I was putting Tray 4 on and used the chewies to try and see if I could get the back left side of both trays over my back molars better. I thought I heard something crack but didn't think anything of it. A couple days later, I noticed that the left back molar of my bottom tray had a crack in it! Like a piece was missing. Oops!
Still no pictures, and I may not until the very end of the refinement stage. I feel the refinement is less about straightening and more about fixing my bite. And since I change weekly, I don't think you'd see much difference anyway.
I will say that the refinements are going better than last update. It took me until Thursday night (and I had changed to Tray 2 Wednesday night), but I am able to get my top tray off pretty easily now. It's not as easy as my initial trays, but it's not taking me 10 minutes, or even a couple of minutes anymore. What a relief!
So far, I think I like the SmartTrack better. It seems to retain some tightness throughout the week instead of losing the tightness after a few days like the older material. Also, although I only have a total of 4 trays as a gauge (two sets of top and bottom), so far it seems like there's less edging issues. I'm not sure the best way to describe it, but with the old material, it seemed nearly every tray had a little sharp piece where the material wasn't cut quite evenly, so I'd have to file it down. I haven't noticed that with these trays, at least not yet.
I will say the only issue I have now is that the left side of both trays isn't staying over the back molars. I find it interesting, however, that they only cover half the tooth. With my initial trays, they covered the back molar completely except for the left bottom. With these refinements, they're all half-covered except the bottom right. I'm hoping that means those back molars don't need to move, so I'm not stressing out too much over the fact that two of them don't sit right. But I'm using my chewie pretty well each time I put my trays back in after eating, so I hope that helps these refinements track better. I never knew about chewies until the Invisalign board, and wish I had known about them before I started. Maybe I wouldn't have had such tracking issues in the front if I used them the whole time.
I had my 6-month dental checkup last Tuesday. Unfortunately, I had a lot of plaque and gingivitis, but thankfully no cavities. After I left, I realized that maybe it was because I was using the same trays for so long (bottom for months, top for at least one month) and I had a hard time cleaning them since they got gunk on them. Even when using Retainer Brite and brushing them, it was still a problem (it's unfortunate that my Sonic Cleaner died... I haven't gotten a new one because I'm afraid it will do the same thing). This is part of why I'm glad I change weekly - less risk of gunk build-up! I also decided to get really proactive with cleaning. I've been better than pre-Invisalign, but I feel I need to do more to have the healthiest mouth possible.
After waiting 4 weeks (instead of the estimated 2), I finally got to return to the orthodontist to receive my refinement trays. I had learned before going in that it was 22 upper/30 lower. Which confused the heck out of me - why were there so many more trays for the lowers, which I'm pretty happy with, and came out better than the uppers?
When I got there yesterday, I was told that the trays will be changed WEEKLY instead of every two weeks. That was such a relief... so about 31 extra weeks instead of over another year. I also learned that my old attachments will stay on for the duration of treatment (I was REALLY hoping they'd be taken off, but oh well). Then I received five additional attachments on my central and lateral incisors. Yes, five attachments on my four front top teeth. I was a little disappointed, but it makes sense since those are the teeth that need the straightening now. But at least no more IPR!!
The reason for so many trays? It's going to be a subtle change. Brooke, the assistant, was showing me the ClinCheck and I could barely tell the movement from tray to tray (whereas in my initial round, it was clear). It wasn't until she went from Tray 1 directly to Tray 30 that I could see it's slowly but surely going to move my bottom teeth for my bite. That'll be good to have a better bite after all this!
Last night was upsetting. I felt like it was October/November 2012 again, where I couldn't get my trays off. Well, my bottom tray came off fine. The top tray was STUCK over those four attachment-ridden front teeth. I was frustrated and wondered if I would starve. After Facebooking my sister-in-law (who has attachments on her front teeth), I realized I needed to pull harder. I think I've always been afraid if I pull too hard, I'll break the tray. I pulled hard, maneuvered, and pulled again, and after some minutes the darned thing finally came off! I hope it gets easier!
The good thing about changing weekly is that it should be more subtle movement... and you'd think less pain, right? Nope. This morning, my top teeth hurt - though not any worse than before. Maybe it's my teeth saying "hey, we haven't had to move in over a month, what's the deal?" or maybe it's the new attachments. Or both.
I received Trays 1-7 and will go back in mid-April.
No pictures for now... I feel like these changes are going to be so subtle, especially since the focus is on the bite, that I'll post some later on... and not as often.
One more thing before I go: I am now using the Smart Track material. I don't really a notice a difference with it now compared to the older material, but then again I've had these trays for less than 24 hours :)
I had my orthodontist appointment today, but didn't realize I wouldn't be seeing the orthodontist or the assistant. I got pictures taken of my teeth (just like before I started Invisalign), had a bite impression done (I think that's what it's called?) and then the dreaded gag-inducing goopy purple molds of my tops and bottoms.
I basically have to wait two weeks - as long as Invisalign accepts the molds, and there isn't too much back-and-forth between Invisalign and my orthodontist regarding the Clincheck - before I go in for my refinement trays. I REALLY hope I don't have many trays, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up either.
One thing I was surprised about was that my attachments were left on. I thought for sure they'd be removed before I had the molds done, but it was never addressed and I decided not to ask. I guess (hope) Invisalign can account for the attachments and "remove" them, so to speak, from the Clincheck, if I don't need them anymore? I don't mind the attachments, but I'd rather they come off!
No pictures, since no changes (I'm still wearing Tray 32/19)... but if my orthodontist photos show up on my online account, I"ll post them here. Will be really neat to get the side-by-side comparison of August 2012 and now!
I can't believe I'm almost done with the first stage of my Invisalign! Finally! Granted, I'm ending sooner than planned, but I'm ready for refinements!
I changed to Tray 31 on a Wednesday night. Since I was on vacation and had my trays out longer than usual, I decided to wait until Friday night last week before changing to Tray 32. I'm glad I got extra wear time, but I could tell the tightness was completely gone, so it was about time to change them. There was soreness as usual, and the left side didn't fit over my molars right away. I've had that problem before, but after a few days the back molars settle into the tray. Although it's fitting better, it's not tracking properly back there. Which makes me glad I am moving to refinements!
Interesting story... first, background. At Arthur Murray (where I dance), there are coaches that go around to all the studios. They judge the twice-yearly Showcases - kind of a dance recital for ballroom dancing, where they critique our performance and give us feedback the following day, in order to know what we can improve upon. They also come other times in the year to do coaching sessions, basically a dance lesson where they can help with technique or provide some choreography for a future Showcase routine. There have only been two women that have come since I started 6 years, and one of them came for the first time in a few years over the fall; however, I was not able to get a dance lesson with her. She came again last weekend and I was able to schedule a lesson with her this time. Anyway, long story short, it's been a long time since I've seen her and talked with her. In the first few moments of talking, she asked about my Invisalign. Turns out SHE had Invisalign, though I think she was finished since she wasn't wearing any trays. So funny!!
Anyway, here is my teeth wearing Tray 32 (top) and still tray 19 (bottom). My last smile on here before my next appointment next Tuesday. I really hope they remove my attachments. I really hope the molds don't make me gag. I really hope it doesn't take too long for my refinement trays to come in... and that there aren't many trays! We'll see how it goes...