FINISHED!!

FINALLY DONE! I had my appointment yesterday and Dr. Sharma said my teeth are looking fantastic, and if I’m happy (which I obviously am) then we are all done!!! Best appointment ever! I got all my attachments taken off, which feels AMAZING and I got fitted for my retainers which I should receive in the next day or two. To remove the attachments they have to use a small grinding tool (that’s what it looks like anyways) and spray it with LOTS of water, it is very quick and completely painless, just loud and I got sprayed in the face a few times. The paste they use for the retainer mold is similar to the Invisalign mold, it was slightly uncomfortable, but I didn’t gag, it has no flavor and it only sits in your mouth for a minute or so. I was told the retainers are almost the same as the Invisalign trays, just slightly thicker (more ‘heavy duty’). I have to wear them every day as much as possible for the first 3 months, to set my teeth. After three months I can move to night wear only. She mentioned that eventually, after a year or so, I won’t need to wear them at all, but because I grind my teeth at night she said I can wear them instead of a night mouth guard to protect my teeth from wearing down.




Gotta love taking selfies now!! :)







 

Next Wednesday (the 27th) I have a 7:30am appointment to grind down one of my front teeth so it can be the same length as the other one, and to fill a small chip in the other front tooth. I won’t be getting my teeth professionally whitened, as I don’t think they need it, but I will whiten them at home with just a Crest WhiteStrip Kit. I will be getting the “After” photos done at that appointment. Once the clinic has those picture they will send me some of my “Before” pictures, and the “After” pictures so I will have a really good comparison. I’m most excited for that part!





 

Tray Eight

I had a very exciting day regarding my Invisalign treatment yesterday! I had my appointment with Dr. Sharma and he said my teeth are looking excellent! He took all the attachments off of the top teeth and I can’t believe how good they look! He took the attachments off using a small grinding tool, while spraying with water; it was very quick and easy. He then flossed them and polished them! The bottom teeth will keep the attachments until the next appointment. My next two trays were cut down so only the front teeth are being covered. This is to let my back teeth ‘drop’ and settle in to position without moving my front teeth. The trays feel really odd (and look very silly) but I’ve already gotten used to them. I have two sets, so I will be changing them every two weeks until my next appointment on November 19th. At the November 19th appointment we will decide if my teeth are complete or if I will need more refinements.

The weird 'half trays'!



My fiancee took me to DisneyWorld in Florida for my 25th birthday! I don't mind selfies now!!



Tray Five

I had an appointment with Dr. Sharma last week, on September 11th; as I had finished the four trays he had originally given me. He was a little disappointed with me because I hadn’t been wearing my trays the recommended 22 hours a day (more like 8, only while I slept, woops!) but I told him that it’s hard to keep wearing them and I’m a little discouraged that it isn’t going faster. He told me if I promise to wear them 22 hours a day (or close enough) I can shorten each time I wear the trays by 4 days. Therefore I am currently changing the trays every 10 days instead of 14. I had to wear tray 4 for another 10 days because my teeth hadn’t quite moved and settled into the correct position.

I just changed into tray 5 yesterday (yes a day early, but I was sick of wearing tray 4!) and I have been vigilant about wearing them for as long as I can all day, every day. Dr. Sharma told me if I continue to change every ten days, and wear them for 22 hours a day then I may be done by October 22nd!! This means I should only need another 4 trays!! I am SO excited about the prospect of this. I explained that I wanted to do engagement photos with my fiancée but was planning on waiting until my trays were done, he said hopefully (if I do as I’m told) then I can be done much sooner than originally planned, get my attachments removed, my teeth filed and filled if necessary!! I’m definitely being very good about wearing them now!! I had another hygienist appointment yesterday and she explained my teeth are still doing very good; no cavities and my gums are nice and healthy. It has now been one year and four months since I started this journey and I am right on track to be done in the year and half that I was quoted. Fingers crossed!!

Tray One...

I am now on tray one of my refinements. I got them today and I have 12 refinement trays... Yes, another six months... I’m a little discouraged at this point, it took over a month for my new trays to come in and now I won’t be done until Christmas. I keep telling myself that it will be all worth it once I’m done, but I can’t wait; I was so excited to be done soon. My orthodontist said I probably won’t need all of the 12 trays, and I can stop anytime I feel happy with the progress. I won’t post any more pictures as I nothing has changed since the last pictures.

Tray Ten

I am now on my last tray of my midcourse corrections! I have my final appointment on June 12th and I CAN’T wait to hear what my orthodontist will say. I know I will need refinements, but I’m not sure for how long. I’m hoping only three months! Keep your fingers crossed! The trays fit really well, and the front attachments are barely visible.

I have noticed I have gained some weight (only a pound or two) since starting this Invisalign treatment, I think it’s because I eat more at one sitting now, whereas before I used to snack all day. It seems to have messed up my metabolism! I do drink an inordinate amount of water now, about 6 bottles of water per day, which I’m sure is very good for me! The weight gain is not a huge deal to me, but once I am done I will go back to eating smaller portions, more often, and working out a little harder so I can make sure I fit into my wedding dress next year!!

I had another hygienist appointment last week and I got the all clear again. There is one pocket in the back upper tooth on the right that has excessive bacteria, my dentist said I might have to get that filled before it becomes a cavity, but right now they’re ‘watching’ it.

I can’t believe it’s been a year and how far my teeth have come, I’m very excited to be finishing soon, and my Ortho told me he can smooth out the chip in my front tooth (which I hadn’t even noticed until he pointed it out!!).





We're enaged!!!



    









Tray Three

I’m a third of the way through my second set of trays, and everything is going really well. The trays fit perfectly, but they are a little harder to pull in and out of my mouth due to the new attachments, especially the two on my front tooth. I have to tell myself “You will not pull your own teeth out!” and yank! It’s only painful for the first day, I don’t mind because I know they are working! I’m still disappointed that I still have seven trays left, but hopefully after that I will be done. I can’t wait to get the attachments off and whiten my teeth! That will be very exciting. I had an appointment with my Orthodontist about two and a half weeks ago, and he is really happy with the progress, everything is on track. He mentioned that I wouldn’t be able to visibly see much change in the next couple of months, as these trays are more for moving my back teeth, to properly align my bite. As you can see in the pictures, my bottom tooth still needs quite a bit of movement, two of the teeth on my top row still need to move slightly and (not seen in the pictures, obviously) but my bite is still off. It is definitely second nature to wear the trays; I don’t feel the difference between wearing them and not wearing them. I also drink a lot more water now than I ever used to, drinking anything else with the trays in is a big no-no and because I wear them all day at my desk at work, I just drink water. (I’m glad I was never addicted to coffee!)

I had an appointment with my hygienist two weeks ago (Yes, I basically live at the dentist office now). They highly recommend a basic cleaning every three months while using Invisalign as bacteria can grow faster while you wear them (especially if you wear them without brushing!). I got the all clear, no cavities, no potential cavities and my gums are healthy. The only difference is that I have sensitive teeth and gums now, because of the movement from the teeth, which I was told is very normal. I can’t have cold beverages without using a straw, I definitely can’t bite into ice cream and I have to use sensitive toothpaste, certainly not a big deal!

Tray One...

I went to my ortho appointment on January 8th, and Dr. Sharma confirmed what I feared... I needed new trays. He wasn’t sure how many, but he took the molds and said I would get a call in a couple of weeks, to fit them in. He was very proud at how far my teeth have come since I first saw him 8 months ago. He took some new pictures and showed me the before and after, it was incredible! I’m still feeling a little disappointed to have to stop my procedure and wait a couple of weeks for new sets of trays but what’s another month when I’ll have beautiful teeth for a lifetime right?

I got my new trays on Thursday, January 24th. I have 10 trays in this next set, which means another FIVE months. I was shocked, considering how good my teeth are looking. I also got three new attachments, two on my front tooth and one on my lower back tooth. They aren’t visible, and I got used to them very quickly (although it reminded me of how awful it is at the start and how much I really don’t notice my attachments anymore!) The new trays fit wonderfully, no pain whatsoever, and it was nice to feel like I was back on track after a short diversion.

I only got one set of trays as my Orthodontist was away on vacation when I went for my appointment on January 24th, so I have another appointment on February 7th to talk to him and just make sure everything is on track.

Tray Seventeen

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! I’m on my last tray for my bottom teeth, and I only have 7 left for my top teeth. Unfortunately at my last appointment, at the end of November, my Orthodontist informed me that my teeth aren’t moving the way the trays predicted they would move. The trays have a small gap between the tray and the tooth, and no matter how much I use my chewies, they just don’t fit on how they should do. My teeth are still moving wonderfully, but not quite as much as the trays were molded. This means at my next appointment, on January 8th, I may have to get new molds, meaning I will be set back a month or so, while getting new sets of trays. I will definitely need more trays for my bottom teeth, as I still have two teeth that aren’t straight. It is disheartening thinking that I may be set back a month or more while I get new trays, but my teeth are looking fantastic and they have come so far. I will keep you informed!

Other than that, everything is going really well. I was on vacation for two weeks at the beginning of December, with my boyfriend and his family. We had an amazing time in the British Virgin Islands, and I wore my trays as much as possible, it is very hard while on vacation!

I will update after my next appointment!



The trays with a gap!




A picture from the British Virgin Islands;
My teeth are looking better and better!