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!!!