Tales of a snaggle toothed bride to be...

In retainers .... finally

2011-08-30T20:00:00.002-06:00

What can I say? It's been a long long time coming...

Since my last post I've finished refinement 3. I've had indentations made in my final refinement tray 3. I've waited and waited and waited and am now finally in retainers. They're a bit bulky and awkward and I am told I need to wear them full time for the next month and only nightly after that. I've cheated a little given that I was in my last set of invisalign for so long so I don't always brush after lunch but I do wear them somewhere in the range of 18 hours per day.

I will post pics when I get a chance...

Looking on the up and up

2011-05-25T19:08:00.002-06:00

Since my last post, my gaps are slowly closing and teeth are looking a bit more even. When I saw Dr. A at tray 4, he suggested we could always go to refinements 4 if needed (which made me feel hopeful yet slightly depressed because this is taking much longer than anticipated). Last Friday when I came in for a check up (tray 6), I took a good long look at my current teeth as well as photos from my last round. I have to admit they seem to have changed only a little and my front tooth is still a bit crooked. It's a world of difference from when I first started though! Dr. A wasn't quite as keen about refinements round 4 when I mentioned it. Instead, he suggested we at least go through my last three over correction trays first. To be honest, I'm pretty ready to just finish up and get on with my life at this point.

Anyhow, I've been a bit lax about taking photos lately but it's partly because my teeth haven't changed very much visually. Will post pictures at the end of this round!

Getting worse before it gets better...

2011-04-25T19:48:00.001-06:00

I've been pretty quiet basically because not much has been going on with my teeth. They were getting a bit gappy for a little bit after tray 3 but I figured it was some of that getting worse before it gets better stuff. I see Dr. A tomorrow so will update on where I'm at after that.

Back from Asia and refinements 3 have arrived!

2011-03-02T21:49:00.003-07:00

If you're planning to do any traveling with invisalign, you may want to think twice about going to any country that doesn't have drinkable tap water. It's a real pain to use bottled water whenever you brush your teeth. At least that's what I found.

I've been back since Saturday and managed to squeeze in a quick appointment with Dr. A. This round consists of 6U/4L (+3 over correction trays if needed) trays. I hope I'm happy after this. No attachments this time.

Pictures taken at the end of round two.

Waiting

2011-02-03T17:08:00.003-07:00

I'm just waiting for my third set of refinements :( It doesn't look like I'll receive them before I leave on my trip so will just take tray 9, refinement 2 with me and take it easy for the next little while. Would post pictures but I still have some packing to do since we leave tomorrow!

Refinements 3

2011-01-24T20:44:00.002-07:00

Wow.... when I started my treatment I never imagined that I would go through 3 rounds of refinements!!! It was supposed to take 10 months originally and has stretched out to over 3 years. I'll post pictures before I go on vacation and update with details of my third round when I find out more!! Let this be a warning to you my fellow snaggle toothed friends....

Quick update

2010-12-30T20:03:00.001-07:00

Not much to say really. Am going to go through with the last 3 overcorrection trays of 9 tray set (refinements round 2) and then will reassess if I need to go to refinements round 3. Argggh... will post pictures once I get to tray 9. Just switched to tray 8 on Monday.

Refinements round 2!

2010-11-02T19:56:00.004-06:00

Well, I knew it had been a long time since I updated but I didn't realize that I haven't posted since August!! Oh my - since then the snow has fallen twice where I live, halloween has past and we've even instigated a garden light war in our neighborhood.

And my teeth... well when it comes to my teeth I suppose there's two ways to look at it. On the negative side, I had to go through a second round of refinements after getting through my uber round of 20U/13L refinements. On the more positive side, there are only 6 trays (+ 3 overcorrection trays) and I have really little attachments (see if you can spot them) this time around.

I just saw Dr. A yesterday and things seem to be on track so far according to him (I'm a bit concerned about my uppers) and I as given my 4 through 6 trays. Pictures below and my next update to come in 6 weeks!

wheee.... refinements round 2!

2010-08-24T21:07:00.004-06:00

Well the good news is that I had kind of been hoping at the beginning of this set of refinements that I'd be able to get my attachments off before an upcoming wedding where I'll be a bridesmaid and I now have my attachments off. I have exactly two weeks to whiten before then too! The not so good news is that Dr. A and I decided that I am probably going to go for another round refinements. I kind of guessed this would be happen given the length of time the appointment was scheduled for but still a bit disappointed that my treatment is going to take a while longer before it's finished.

It's like playing Monopoly - except every time I get close to getting back to GO, collecting my $200 and moving on retainers, I keep getting sent back to jail for an involuntary break from treatment and then it's back to crawling slowly toward the GO again. I'll get there some day, even if it takes all 3 sets of refinements...

Here are pics of every fourth tray of this set of refinements:

End of first set of trays

Refinement tray 4

Refinement tray 8

Refinement tray 12

Refinement tray 16

Refinement tray 20

Attachments off!

refinement tray 18U/12L update with pictures

2010-08-11T19:56:00.003-06:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been really busy these past couple of weekends between hosting and attending bridal showers, helping with a friend's wedding, and starting a new job. This is supervain but I'm really glad that my teeth are so much straighter now and I feel pretty comfortable (despite all the attachments) smiling widely whenever I meet someone for the first time. First impressions are important and I think mine is much warmer now thanks to invisalign.

I'm at bit behind on posting as I'm on upper tray 20 right now (out of 23 trays - last 3 trays are over correction) and will be seeing Dr. A in about a week and a half but I have feeling that I'm going in for new molds since I've been booked for a full hour rather my usual 15 minutes in the chair. I kind of wish this was all over with but at the same time I'm not quite happy with my teeth right now and will probably go for second refinements if that's what Dr. A suggests at the end of our next appointment.

Pictures (sorry my front teeth look a bit gross around the front attachments, they seem to stain more easily):

Refinement tray 16U/11L update with pictures

2010-07-08T21:18:00.003-06:00

Since I've gotten my new front attachments, my teeth have felt really sore with every tray change. It kind of reminds me of my first series of trays. Hopefully, this will result in some big changes! I'm not sure what's going to happen after this current series

I had a chat with Dr. A about retainers as well. He usually puts in a bonded retainer on the lowers and an essix retainer on top because apparently having essix top and bottom takes some getting used t0 (too bulky?). Given that my regular dentist is strongly recommending removable retainers. I'm going to look into my insurance coverage to see if it will cover Vivera for the first year and then maybe I can just get the essix retainers once I'm into night time wear only. Anyhow, I think he's going to take a close look and determine if I need to go for another round of refinements after tray 20.

Pictures:

Kids do say the darndest things

2010-06-22T20:38:00.002-06:00

So I was in between flights at the Seattle airport, brushing my teeth in the bathroom and generally minding my own business when a little boy (6 or 7) came up to me.

boy: what are doing?

me: brushing my teeth

boy: why are you brushing them?

me: to keep them clean

boy: but in a public bathroom?

me: that's because i'm not at home

boy: oh ok

Well that seemed to be sufficient explanation for him but it makes me wonder how many adults wonder but just don't ask...

Refinement tray 14U/11L update with pictures

2010-05-31T19:34:00.004-06:00

I'm still here but I have to confess I'm getting lazier and lazier with my updates. In case you're wondering, I'm now changing up my lower trays (in my last 3 overcorrection trays) more slowly than my top ones to avoid wearing the last on for months on end. I've gotten a lot more questions about my invisalign (after close 1.5 years of wearing them!) since I got my new attachments. Mostly people are just curious or considering getting them themselves.

I've been a rather bad girl with my trays... Especially this past weekend since I was at an engagement party and a wedding. I managed to nurse a glass of wine, squeeze in a few courses without rushing and discretely brushed my teeth at the wedding and put my trays back in a few hours later without any trouble. What a far cry from the beginning of my treatment when I was hopelessly neurotic and on edge!

I've noticed since I've gotten my new attachments that my teeth are a lot more sore after each tray change and there seems to be some more visible changes in my teeth. For the most part things are pretty uneventful. Sometimes I feel like I want things to be over with and slow down at the same time (so that they can just as I want them before I finish this round). Most of the time, they're part of my everyday routine and I don't pay that much attention to them anymore.

Some photos:

Refinement tray 12U/10L pictures and 3 new attachments

2010-04-27T21:03:00.004-06:00

Update photos from the end of tray 12:

The new attachments:

Trays on - the new attachments are a little wider than expected. My right lateral incisor has been so so sore.

Trays off

Goofing off with my new mitts during a trip to the mountains.

My eyes are nowhere to be seen but at least my teeth look pretty even!

More attachments

2010-04-26T12:45:00.002-06:00

So today I got 3 more attachments for a total of 12 attachments (7 upper/5 lower). The three new ones are on my upper front two teeth and right lateral incisor. To be honest, I'm not too crazy about them. For one thing, they're much larger than I had anticipated and to me, they catch the light in a way that makes my invisalign much less discrete. Having said that, they're probably still slightly less obvious than having ceramic braces without the wire and you still have to get pretty close to see them. It felt a bit odd eating lunch just now and they're still a bit of a stranger to my top lip but I'm sure I'll get used to them.

I guess this far into treatment, I'll just try to focus on being positive and the fact that I'm pretty close to being done my first set of refinements. Hopefully, the look of the new attachments will deter from "cheating" too much with my trays so as not to prolong treatment anymore than I have to.

I'll post update pictures when I get a chance!

Can I get any sicker?

2010-04-15T19:50:00.003-06:00

After being struck with a cold and then allergies I figured I was probably done with being sick for a little while. Lo and behold I woke up on Thursday with a toothache reminiscent of my post wisdom tooth extraction days (bottom ones were fully impacted). I was so uncomfortable I had to take a tylenol to get through the work day but I was still somewhat hopeful, figuring that the most likely explanation was nightly teeth grinding. I had been wearing tray 11 at that point for about 10 days so it didn't make sense for the pain to be from my invisalign.

When the pain returned on Friday with a vengeance, I decided it was time to action. I gave my dentist a call and managed to book myself in to see her the next day. I was a bit anxious as I left the house for my appointment - hoping that I wouldn't need a root canal or filling. Luckily, after taking a good look at my teeth and some xrays, my dentist determined that there doesn't seem like anything was wrong with my teeth.

So, after a lot of research and the onslaught of a number of other symptoms. I think what I had was a sinus infection. It's just so odd - I could have sworn it was a really bad toothache. Anyway I'm just glad that I'm not sick anymore and happy that there's nothing wrong with my teeth.

Half way through refinements! (tray 10)

2010-03-28T19:10:00.006-06:00

... well that's if you don't include the 3 over-correction trays at the end.

In the past month, I've managed to get sick as many times as I've changed trays and so this past month has felt exceedingly long. I am hopefully getting over my second cold though and with some luck the rest of treatment should just fly by. I've got a few weddings to attend over the summer and elated about it the unseasonably warm weather we've been getting (no more snow!).

Not surprisingly, these past two trays have been pretty uneventful. The one exception being that the attachment on my left canine did not seem to sit properly and the top of it was cutting my lip. It sat properly after a few days though so no biggie. I was slightly worried though that it was the beginning of the end and that the rest of my trays wouldn't sit properly, optimist that I am.

I went to visit Dr. A this past Thursday and was given my next two trays. Only two as I am supposed to be getting more attachments at tray 13. These of course will be on my front teeth which I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, they'll be a lot more noticeable, but on the other, I really hope those front four finally move into place. It's about time! The other thing I was instructed to do was to slow down my bottom tray changing schedule. I had actually thought about it earlier but never got around to asking about it so I'm glad Dr. A mentioned it. My last trays from my previous set were pretty gross by the time my refinements arrived.

Some comparison pictures between re: tray 2 (first set with refinements) and 10:

natural smile (tray 2)

natural smile (tray 10)

Bottom and top teeth - Tray 2 (this was taken right after they added the new attachments)

Bottom and top teeth -

Tray 10

Right side - tray 2

Right side - tray 10 (sorry my attachments are a bit stained and gross - it does look like my one incisor has moved a tiny bit though)

Upper arch tray 2

Upper arch tray 10 - a little more rotation required

A big birthday smile. Luckily, I was healthy enough to celebrate in between two separate bouts of the cold. Just like last year, I had to spend this birthday in braces but hopefully I'll be in retainers by my next birthday!

And now for a special public health message directly from my sick bed

2010-03-08T14:01:00.005-07:00

I've been quite sick for the past week or so and am hoping to be able to drag myself into work tomorrow. While I've been quite miserable, I feel even worse that I seem to have made a couple of colleagues at work sick too. So given that I've got some time on my hands I thought I 'd draw up a list of things to keep in mind during invisalign treatment for those who are sick, living with others who may be sick and/or having a tendency to be a bit of a hypochondriac.

1. If you've decided to get your flu shot, get it early on in the season. If multiple flu shots are available, make sure you get all of them and remember that the incidence rate of various flu strains can change within the same season.

2. Even if you've gotten your flu shot and seem to be immune to a house mate's illness, don't let down your guard in case they catch a cold towards the end of the flu and unknowingly pass it along to you!

3. Always wash your hands before and after taking off/putting on your trays and try to wipe down the surrounding area as much as possible. You never know what germs you may have picked up or unsuspectingly left behind.

4. Have some hand sanitizer on hand in your purse if you use one or in various places where they would come in handy. That way if you need to pull out your trays quickly or decide to bypass a bathroom to put/take your trays on/off, you can ensure that your hands are reasonably clean.

5. Put your health before your invisalign treatment. That's not to say that it's a good excuse to be lax about cleaning your trays and dental hygiene. However, if you haven't been able to eat well for the past while and finally have your appetite back, it won't hurt to spend some time without your trays on so that you can have a bigger meal or snack in between meals if you can only eat a little at a time.

Aside from that, I try to make sure I do all of the usual things like get lots of rest, take in Vitamin C, stay hydrated. Hopefully later this week I'll be able to work out again too.

Anyhow, that's all I can think of for now. Do let me know if there's anything else you'd recommend.

Refinement tray 8 pictures and more!

2010-03-05T20:45:00.004-07:00

Hello! Sorry I've been so lax about updating as of late.

I don't have any good excuses really aside from being on vacation and getting sick over the past week. Teethwise, it's been business as usual for the most part. I went to see my dentist just before my trip as I noticed some issues with my teeth and gums. She was really impressed (again!) with how much my teeth have changed since the first time I saw her but mentioned that I seemed to be having some trouble reaching my back teeth and below my bottom attachments (which were turning a bit yellow - yuck!) as she could tell from the build up. She checked my gum pockets and said there's been some pronounced improvement there as well. I guess I've come a long way from where I started.

In retrospect, it might have been better to have my teeth professionally after I got back from my teeth but hopefully it doesn't make too huge of a difference and I tried to be as diligent as I could while I was away. We were in Miami for a few days before our cruise (funnily enough, we were there for superbowl weekend and didn't even know it until after we booked our cruise - silly Canadians, we are) and enjoyed some really good food. This meant of course that we went to quite a few restaurants and I ended up brushing my teeth wherever I could as soon as I could. Most of the time, it wasn't a huge deal, since we ate at off peak times (empty bathrooms!) and our hotel was close to a number of eateries so sometimes I just waited until we returned. There were a couple of times (ie. Sat. before the superbowl) though when I had to just whip out the electric toothbrush in front a bathroom full of women primping and preening. I find if you don't look all embarrassed about it, nobody really seems to care but I still get the odd sideways glance (if I don't have a toothbrush in my mouth, I just look directly at them and smile warmly).

Surprisingly enough, once we went on our cruise (7 days through the Carribean with NCL), it was a lot easier to either get to our cabin or a semi-empty bathroom in between meals. Trying to keep my trays in for a decent amount of time was another matter. Between all of that food (everywhere, all the time!) and getting to various events, I have to admit, sometimes I slipped my trays in after a quick, discrete swishing and other times, I just kept them out for a bit. I thought the port stops would be more difficult to manage but we went on a lot of Cruise organized excursions and while they charged an arm and a leg, they did include lunches at nice venues with clean bathrooms. With all of that negligent tray wearing going on I ended up wearing tray 7 for a few extra days to make up.

We spent a couple more days in Miami (24C and they described it as cold!) before coming home to snow, -10C (mild by our standards), and all of the excitement around the Olympics (Vancouver's a pretty long way from where we live but it was still easy to get excited being part of the host nation). Since then I've been down with a bit of a cold but hopefully I'm getting through the tail end of it.

One thing I've noticed as of late is that I'm not quite as motivated to stop everything and put them in after meals anymore. I guess I'll just have find a way to keep myself on track - perhaps, thoughts of yet another long refinement set??

Pictures from the end of tray 8:

My crooked tooth catches the light a bit, me thinks.

It'll be interesting to see what my bite looks like at the of treatment.

Darn front right incisor.

Taken on our second day in Miami,

I'm still pasty pale but at least my teeth look pretty straight!

My incredible shrinking lip and other side effects of invisalign treatment

2010-02-01T20:08:00.004-07:00

For as long as I can remember, my lower lip has always seemed a bit thicker than my top lip (picture). It's a subtle difference but something I noted in my side profile. And while I often noted how my misbehaving incisor poking out from between closed lips contributed to my lopsided "no teeth" smile, I didn't realize how much my overbite contributed to my formerly protruding lower lip.

Funny how oblivious I was despite all of the pictures I've been taking of my teeth in the past year. It's only while playing with different shades of lip gloss (I've been having fun with new make up and cosmetic products lately but that's a story for a different kind of blog!), that I've really noticed the shape of my lips an how they've changed. They've gone from being a little lopsided and disproportionate to being much more symmetrical in shape and size. I'd post a picture but I wouldn't have a good a comparator. If I do find one, I'll try to post it up with my next tray update.

Speaking of changes. I'm happy to report that I've lost my invisalign belly! I'm so happy since we'll be in Miami and the Carribean soon and swim suits are much less forgiving than sweaters and "eating shirts". As cliche as it sounds, it left as suddenly as it arrived. In an earlier post, I'd mentioned that as my eating habits had changed after I started my treatment (3 big meals vs. grazing over the course of the day), my weight kept increasing gradually. Initially, I wasn't too alarmed as I was quite thin post wisdom teeth surgery and had wanted to gain a bit. The problem with this though was that all the weight seemed to accumulate around my abdominal area, creating a rather muffin-like effect where my waist used to be.

After some soul searching and finally coming to terms with the fact that my metabolism isn't what it once was and that this state of affairs couldn't continue, I finally made some lifestyle changes that included not overeating at evening meals and working out 3 times a week (I cook and eat pretty healthily to begin with and worked out just not that regularly). As I mentioned in my last post, it looks like my weight has finally stabilized but I've lost the belly (!!) and fit my clothes comfortably again (I assume some fat has been converted to muscle) so I'm a happy camper.

What I find neat about all of this is how changing my teeth have changed other aspects of my appearance. I guess it makes me realize how inter-connected my teeth are to rest of the body (and reinforces all of those of studies looking at dental and heart health!). I know in the past I've been a bit negligent where my teeth were concerned but now that I've invested so much into getting my teeth to where they are, I really hope I don't ever regress in that regard again. In some ways, it may have been a good thing that my treatment will end so long after the wedding as it's not a milestone after which I can slack off.

Anyhow, a couple more days to pack, get ready and connect with family and friends before we're off on trip. See you in a few weeks!

Refinement tray 6 pictures and update

2010-01-27T18:17:00.006-07:00

I used to wonder where all of those formerly avid invisalign posters/bloggers went after they disappeared off the face internet. Now I think I know. After the majority of the correction has occurred, it's not nearly exciting to track to progress from one refinement tray to the next. It feels like quite a slow process at times until I remember that I've already gotten through 6 trays. I picked up trays 7-10 earlier this afternoon and am going to take a look to see what sort of differences I can spot between refinement trays 1 to 10. Now that I'm on refinements, Dr. A is making himself more available for questions and the like. I wish I had more teeth questions with which to impress him with my eagerness to comply or exhibit my curiosity but at this point I don't have too many questions, save one. I keep seeing this little space between snaggy the little top right lateral incisor and he explained that since my front incisors are both being intruded, I'll see a bit of space there all the way through treatment.

Other than that, I've started to lose weight again since I started working out and am going to have to readjust my meals accordingly. Nothing major, it just offsets the weight I put on initially with Invisalign and seems to be able now. It's an opportune time to lose the extra bit of flab since we're headed south for a much belated honeymoon starting next week. Perhaps when I return, I'll have an update on the challenges of wearing invisalign while on vacation.

Pictures:

My midline is finally lining up!

As snaggy finally comes forth, he's showing some signs of possible decay on the one side that developed in the shadow of the neighboring incisor. I booked an appt with my dentist for next week to see what she thinks and an early cleaning.

Refinement tray 4 pictures

2010-01-02T13:20:00.003-07:00

The photos below were taken a few days ago before I switched over to tray 5. For the most part, I've noticed a bit of tightness at the beginning of each tray but not much beyond that. No visible changes yet but there's still quite a ways to go yet. The one thing I have noticed is that my teeth are staining a bit around my attachments. I'll have to make more of an effort to get to keep them clean and maybe book an early cleaning appointment. It makes me a bit concerned about when I get attachments on my front teeth though.

Pics:

First comes love, then comes marriage...

2009-12-29T20:19:00.004-07:00

I hate to be presumptuous but please don't congratulate me yet, there is no bun in this oven as far as I know.

I have been thinking a lot lately about what it might be like to have to be expecting and undergoing invisalign treatment at the same time though. A year ago when I started this journey, I was hoping to be finished with my trays by now or at the very least by the time we go away in February. Given that I'm only on my 4/23U, 4/13L 1st refinement, it will be a while yet and any illusions I had of honeymooning on retainer time are long gone.

I haven't yet given up hope though that if and when we have children, I'll be brace free. At this point it's hard to say whether or not I'll need a second round of refinements but I think it's a definite possibility with so many refinement trays. And I suppose one could adapt to anything but based others' experience of morning sickness, munchie cravings and the like, I would think pregnancy could make invisalign compliance somewhat of a challenge to say the least.

Anyhow, if anyone out there has gone through the experience, I'd love to hear from you. As for me, I'm happy report that married life has been good for me thus far and I guess I'll just take one thing and tray at a time for now.

Refinement tray 4 pictures coming soon though I can tell you in advance that they're not particularly earth shattering but do stay tuned...

(I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. Enjoy the rest of the holidays!)

Refinement clincheck!

2009-12-08T16:54:00.003-07:00

It took some effort but the nice people at Dr. A's office uploaded my refinement clincheck finally.

Here it is:

Front view

Upper view

Lower view

At first I found the change in the front view a bit disappointing but then I took a closer look at the upper view and it looks like my next round of trays should address my remaining issues. My top arch looks like it will finally round out! Either way, I'm pretty unphased at this point. I'm too far in to give up and I've gotten so used to the trays, I don't mind them at all.

End of refinement tray 2 pictures and attachments

2009-12-04T20:36:00.002-07:00

Sorry I haven't been updating as much, my last couple of trays have been pretty uneventful. They were both without attachments and aside from my front tooth being pretty sensitive, I barely noticed that I had them on. I was a bit annoyed because I wanted to talk to Dr. A about this (tooth sensitivity) when I came into his office on Wednesday but he just popped in briefly while the hygienist was working on my mouth and was nowhere to be found when I was finished.

It's been so long though, I forgot how attachments felt but lucky for me I've got 8 of them now! Fortunately, I had also cut the side of my lip flossing so it made the struggle of trying to get my new tray (3) out even more fun. It's been a couple of days now though so I've gotten used to having attachments in. I'm supposed to get more (on my front teeth) but not until tray 13 so it won't be for a while yet.

Pictures:

natural smile

my new attachments

Ah, so this is why there are 23 more trays...

2009-11-18T21:30:00.004-07:00

I've decided that given that my teeth won't be changing as much from tray to tray anymore, I'll probably just post pictures of every second tray from here on in. After a couple of weeks in my first set of refinement trays, I've gotten back into the swing of things again and to be honest I barely notice them. What I did notice however as I was taking a few pictures last night prior to starting my new trays this morning is just how much my right front tooth needs to rotate to get in line with the others. It makes me a little sad after all that time and effort but at the same time I'm glad some of my major concerns are finally going to be addressed and I'm looking forward to some nicely rounded arches by the end of this round.

Some pictures:

Eek - no wonder I need so many more trays!

The left tray is my last tray from my first set, right is my first refinement tray. Notice the subtle differences between the two? New trays are also a much better fit.

With my new refinements trays in.

Refinements! (I must have been a bad girl)

2009-11-04T20:26:00.004-07:00

It's been 2 days now. 2 days since the office manager at Dr. A's office called to let me know that my refinements were in. I suppose I could have just let it be a surprise but I couldn't suppress the urge to ask how many trays there would be.

There are 23U/13L.

In case you are not familiar with my story I had 20U/21L initially.

I thanked her and tried to put on a brave face as I told my husband and a close friend. 23 more but perhaps I won't need to wear them for the full 2 weeks? Or won't need attachments? Or...

Well I went in this morning for my appointment (which was also 15 minutes lately despite me leaving before 7 to get there on time but that's a whole other matter) and it looks like none of the above.

There are 23 trays. To be worn 2 weeks each. There will be attachments (not until tray 3). Lots of them. Including my front teeth. Apparently this was a bit of a surprise to Dr. A as well although he did mention that the movements will be smaller and more precise. He also thinks my bite will feel a lot better after this round. It's still a bit of an unpleasant surprise after my first round of trays though. Having said, I do appreciate that I don't have to wear my months old trays anymore and that the new ones fit so much more snugly.

My teeth will hopefully be nice and straight by the end of this round (although it's likely that after 23 trays I will need at least another round of refinements) but for now I think I'm just going to mope and pout to my husband for a bit longer. heh. le sigh.

Confessions to my dentist

2009-10-30T10:57:00.003-06:00

If you've been following my blog you'll know that I have a history of dental issues that I finally started taking seriously a few months prior to my starting my invisalign treatment. Those dental issues led me to my current regular dentist, Dr. H, a little over a year ago. We have a pretty good relationship which probably due in part to her being quite informative without being paternalistic, about my age and easy for me to relate to. Prior to the summer 2008, I was a quite overdue in terms of seeing a dentist (to say the least!) but quite intent on having things looked at and hopefully having my teeth straightened before the wedding. After a few grueling sessions of deep scaling, xrays, surgical removal of my wisdom teeth (the last was done by her practice partner as my bottom ones were impacted), I finally made my way to a number of different orthos and dentists for consultations.

As it turned out, none of the orthos she had referred me to offered invisalign which I had my heart set on and while I might have considered metal/ceramic braces, the cost for taking them off for the day of the wedding just seemed a bit atrocious to me (upwards of $700 CDN). So in the end, I went with Dr. A, who is a dentist and premier invisalign provider and I haven't seen Dr. H since I began treatment. It wasn't intentional, it just sort of happened given that there were a couple of instances where it was suggested that I have my teeth cleaned at various points in my treatment and it was more convenient to arrange it with Dr. A's office and another instance where my insurance (after having my teeth cleaned about 4 times in the same year) ran out and I decided to pay out of pocket at the local university.

Needless to say, I've been a bit anxious and embarrassed about not keeping Dr. H in the loop and was a bit sheepish when I saw her this morning. She must have gone through her notes because she seemed to remember me quite clearly despite the long absence. I also explained about the invisalign treatment and where I was in treatment and she seemed to be pretty impressed with how my teeth had moved since she last saw me. Also commented on the fact that it was so much easier to clean my teeth now that they're so much straighter and that they seem to be in great shape. It doesn't look like I have any new cavities, however, there do seem a couple of spots I seem to have some trouble cleaning in the back of my teeth and gums have receded a bit. We also talked about retainers a bit and she did suggest that with my history of gum disease, it might be better for me to have removable retainers after I'm finished which makes sense. I might mention that to Dr. A if I get a chance to speak with him at my next appointment.

All in all, it was a pretty good appointment. After seeing Dr. H, I realize how I miss having dental professional who I can spend some time talking to and asking questions of. Dr. A while very efficient just doesn't spend the time. I don't know if this is the difference between going to a dentist for invisalign or just his style but if I had to do all of this over again and had all the time in the world, I'm not sure if I would have gone with an invisalign dentist but then again, I probably didn't do as much research as I should of in terms of understanding that the dental professional can play a very large role in determining the course of treatment.

Anyhow, these are just my musings on a Friday morning off. I'm not unhappy with my treatment, I'm just wondering if it might have been approached different had I decided to go with a different dental professional. Having said that, given that a little over year ago, I was dealing with all sorts of dental issues and today I got out of a dental cleaning and checkup in just over an hour with lots of positive comments from my dentist plus have reasonably straight teeth in my wedding pictures, I'm a pretty happy camper.

Refinement moulds and a split!

2009-10-20T20:37:00.004-06:00

Sorry I've been meaning to write this post for a while and am finally getting around to it now. I blame it on the turkey that we had the weekend before I went in my moulds last Tuesday. It was our first time cooking and hosting Thanksgiving dinner and it turned out surprising good is I do say so myself! So as I dragged myself in after the long weekend early in the morning, I figured it would be a pretty straightforward appointment and that I'd be at work within the hour. I sure wish that had been then case!

First the not so great but expected guesstimate. It looks like I'll need another 10+ trays according to Dr. A and a preliminary scan of my teeth. This was a bit disappointing but I had sort of expected it given that my teeth were still pretty wonky looking to me (and also how not-so-straight my teeth were to begin with).

After that they took off my attachments which wasn't too bad since I've been through it once before (when I had them off for wedding) and polished my teeth (which triggered a mental note to myself to book a cleaning). Then Dr. A stepped out and one of his assistants took some molds of my bottom teeth and then she redid them and then she redid them again. I was pretty relieved when she took the third set and checked in with Dr. A to confirm that they were ok.

At this point I figured I'd be into work about 15 minutes late than expected. Little did I know that I would also have to have my top ones done at least 7 times by 4 different people. Yes, that is correct - seven, I was keeping track. Apparently the room was too warm or the moulding material a bit old (not sure what to make of that). I was so glad when the last assistant finally got it right on her first attempt. She literally applied some of the clear moulding material (not the purple goop) directly to my teeth. Not sure if this is proper invisalign technique but I'm just thankful I didn't spend my entire day getting moulds done.

While I did get most of my questions answered during the appointment I was hoping to have more of a conversation with Dr. A regarding the rest of my course of treatment but had to be satisfied with peppering the assistants with questions instead. It sounds like it will take up to another 2 weeks for them (not including past week since I had moulds done) to arrive so in the mean time, I've booked some time with my regular dentist who I haven't seen since I started treatment (I have had my teeth cleaned multiple times though) so I'll be interested in what she has to say. I'm also going to use the last little bit of whitening stuff I have to brighten my teeth a bit!

A couple of pictures:

My teeth after twenty trays and removal of attachments. Never noticed it that much before but I think my smile is a bit lopsided.

It doesn't show up very well here but there is a little crack between the last tooth with an attachment and the next tooth. Surprisingly this tray has lasted me since me in its current state for over 3 weeks now as it cracked part way through week 2 and I had one more lower than upper tray (plus one week since moulds). Good thing because it's my last one and it will be a little while longer before I receive my refinements! Funny how they always told me to move on to the next tray before this and really, you would think that I would have learned not to split my trays by now!

More pictures and thoughts pre refinement

2009-10-07T21:05:00.002-06:00

So after 20U/21L, my teeth are a lot straighter but I think that there's probably a bit more tweaking that can be done with my teeth during the refinement process. I can't believe it - but despite going in just humbly wanting straighter teeth, I can't seem to embrace my teeth just as they are at the moment.

I'd really love some feedback on what sorts of things I might want to discuss with my doc when I see him next week. I'd like to come in as prepared as possible so that I can properly articulate the final changes I'd like to see.

Anyhow here's my list so far:

- can the top front right incisor be rotated a little further to the right and right lateral incisor brought out (or both)?

- can something be done with my top right lateral incisor that seems to be at an angle (not perpendicular to the gumline?

- will my top and lower finally meet again?

- will my attachments be coming off? when? what can be done about the staining?

- would it be possible to get both fixed and removable retainers for top and bottom? (he recommends, top removable and bottom fixed I think)

- can my teeth be shaved a bit? it seem like one incisor is longer than the other...

- is there anything that can be done about my uneven gumline?

End of my first round of 20U/21L

2009-10-06T20:10:00.004-06:00

So here I am, at the end of my first round of invisalign... waiting until my appointment next Tuesday to discuss refinements with Dr. A. My teeth really haven't moved very much with the last tray but I thought it'd be interesting to show you every fifth tray since I started, starting from my most recent photo (prob makes more sense if you scroll from the last picture first but I forgot about that when I uploaded the photos).

tray 20 - midline is almost straight and my top and bottom teeth are almost touching, it looks like my own front tooth is longer than the other though

tray 15 - my little crossbite tooth finally sees the light of day!

tray 10 - gappy!

tray 5 - in my gangly stage, it must get worse before it gets better!

pre-invisalign

So, as you can see, there's still a lot of room for improvement but my teeth have changed a lot since I first started. I'd still like to see right front tooth rotate some more and canine come in a bit. I'll update next week after I hear what Dr. A has to say!

If you've been sitting on the fence...

2009-09-21T20:56:00.006-06:00

I've been debating this for a little, wondering if I should... and I'm feeling a bit daring tonight so I thought I'd post some then and now pictures. I know I've posted lots of pictures of my teeth in the last little while, but like another invisalign blogger noted - it makes such a big difference when you actually see full face photos.

You see, I've always been pretty self conscious about smiling with my teeth showing and so I've always smiled a bit awkwardly. But I've noticed since I decided to get braces that I don't just smile with my teeth showing more often, I smile with a lot more confidence.

I know I've been a bit whiny lately about my last few trays but trust me, I am so glad I did this and kick myself all the time (while checking out my teeth in the mirror) for not going through with it earlier.

Before:

Here's my typical closed mouth smile/smirk - this is what most of my pre-braces pictures look like.

Here's a side profile picture - one thing I really didn't like about my side profile before was how my bottom lip jutted out because my crooked front top tooth came so far out. it almost looks like I had an underbite when in reality, I had an overbite and overjet.

This photo is one the main reasons why I rarely smiled in photos. I just never liked looking at them afterward because they reminded me of how crooked my teeth were.

This photo was taken late at night and the resolution is pretty poor - but... you can still make out my little cross bite tooth even in this photo.

During (around tray 14 out of 20U/21L)

this was from the wedding - you can see a bit of the sharp edge of my cuspid here but nothing our photographer can't touch up later.

This was right after the wedding. Never mind the dorky expression and hair in my eyes - I don't think I've ever seen my teeth look so straight in a picture. it may just be because you can only the tops of my teeth. haha... the vanity of it all.

This was taken after one of my makeup trials for the wedding and closer to how I've been smiling lately. Even my husband commented recently on how I'm showing so much more teeth these days. On days like that and most other days, I thank the makers of Invisalign and Dr. A for what they've done for me... so far.

So yeah - if you've been thinking of getting braces for a while (like I did), please do yourself a favor and at least book an initial consult. :)

(I think I'm going to leave these on for a few days but may take them down later as I'm a bit paranoid about some things...)

End of tray 19 update with pics

2009-09-18T22:38:00.003-06:00

This will be a pretty short update. Actually I can probably even write it up in the form of a haiku.

front right tooth, same old

top teeth - nothing changed, bottoms

as if same trays used

Picture here:

Don't get me wrong I'm not unhappy with my teeth. I just know I'm going to need refinements so I'm getting a bit impatient to get started. In the mean time I'll be finished my top trays in a little over a week and on my last bottom tray after that.

Tray 18 update with pics and dirrrty teeth

2009-08-31T21:38:00.002-06:00

These last couple of trays have left me with really sore and sensitive teeth. I think tray 18 has rotated my right front tooth in the right direction but it doesn't look like it's quite where it should be. I just want these next few trays to hurry up and go go go because I'm anxious to move on to refinements which I am pretty sure I will need. I'd also like to do a thorough cleaning of my teeth. Years of overlapping teeth have revealed stains in my teeth that my hygienist couldn't reach with her professional equipment let alone me with my little electric tooth brush.

slightly less overlap in the front??

yuck - i find the attachments make it harder to clean my teeth. that combined with the overlapping sections of teeth finally seeing the light of day makes for a pretty gross set of chompers!

my bite seems a bit off to me still...

it looks like the back of snaggy has kept my front right incisor from rotating any further.

Tray 17 update with pics

2009-08-17T19:28:00.008-06:00

So I had a pretty quick visit with Dr. A today but a few important things were discussed albeit pretty briefly. It looks like I'll be going through all of my over correction trays (18-20U and 19-21L) and will likely need refinements (he thinks it would probably just be a few but was hesitant to commit). I'll also be getting a permanent retainer on the bottom and a clear essix type retainer on top. Finally, he explained that my over correction trays will only bring my teeth together more tightly rather than continue to rotate my teeth into the correct position. My next visit if all goes well is in 2 months.

I really wish I had had written down all of my questions for him in advance but I was in such a rush to make my 7:30am appointment this morning I didn't have a chance to compose myself and ended up rushing through the appointment. What I would have asked and may still ask via email was when my attachments were coming off (so I can book a cleaning), if my next appointment would involve molds, if the shooting pains in my front tooth were normal, if refinements would fix my bite (molars still aren't touching) if it doesn't feel normal again by the end of this set, my angled bottom tooth, the excess attachment material on my teeth etc...

Oh well. I'm onto tray 18 now and my teeth are really sore. I may just give in and take something for it. I can see that front tooth moved a bit with the last tray though so I am sort of ok with it for now - no pain, no gain!

Pictures!

Almost there, my mutant extra long canine and uneven gumline kind of spoil the effect.

Snaggy's almost in line...

funny how this canine seems to be at such a weird angle

I think my front tooth is finally starting to slide into place! The letter must have helped.

A letter to my wayward tooth

2009-08-12T19:33:00.003-06:00

Dear right front tooth,

We've been through a lot together and I appreciate everything you do for me. If not for you, I wouldn't be able to chew my food properly, enunciate my words, and would look pretty funny in pictures. I know that lately I've been asking a lot of you with my invisalign treatment - all 17 trays to date of them. I also know that it's taking a lot out of you as I realized when I foudn you were the slightest bit loose at lunch time. I have to admit, sometimes I can be a bit negative with respect to how slowly you've been moving and I know that you're a bit sensitive about it; I can feel it whenever I drink something particularly cold.

I do hope though that we can make this work - we've been through so much and I look forward to many more decades together with you helming my smile, saying hello to the world and looking great while you're at it.

Yours truly,

(ps... you've come so far already, please turn just a little bit more to the right)

tray 16 update with pics

2009-08-02T21:23:00.005-06:00

It's funny I've always wondered if my friends (and others) in the dental profession were fixated on teeth in general and noticed how crooked my teeth were. People have always been polite in general about them and the only comments I had ever gotten prior to getting braces were from my family and for the most they were out of kindness (ie. my mom really encouraged me to straighten them to improve my dental health). Having said that, since getting my braces, they've really come out of the woodwork and commented on my teeth and even perfect strangers (dental assistants, hygienists and dentists alike) have asked about them. It's like the hone in on my teeth, what's going on with them and immediately recognize the invisalign where others might just notice that something is different.

So here I am, just finished tray 16, ready to move on to tray 17 on Monday and wondering how much movement can take place in one tray as it will be the last of my first round of regular trays (in addition to listening to Metric's new album - love love them). After that I have 3 over correction trays before moving on to refinements if needed. This is going quite quickly!

Natural smile, still some overlap between my right front incisor and next tooth

some bad lighting here, but notice how my midline isn't quite lined up and uneven gumline.

here's my top arch - you can see where the incisors aren't quite straight more clearly here.

bottom teeth are mostly straight but not quite. sorry my fillings are kind of gross

looks a lot better than before but i am hoping to shaving that canine down a bit after i'm finished.

here's my other big issue, my teeth aren't quite lining up with each other anymore whereas they did before. my molars don't touch either although they didn't to begin with. will wait until i'm through with my over-correction trays and see how they look then.

Anyhow my next appointment with Dr. A is in 2 weeks and I will update again then!

Tray 15 update with pics

2009-07-21T20:27:00.003-06:00

So tray 15 ended rather abruptly as they had split on day 11 of my wearing the tray. I'm not too down about it though because I managed to move my next appointment up a bit. I still don't know how I can be potentially done in two trays but I'll wait and see.

Wedding day update with pics (limited time only!)

2009-07-14T10:48:00.007-06:00

I could be wrong but I think I've finally recovered from my wedding day festivities as evident from my desire to do laundry, organize our house and getting around to writing up this post.

The wedding itself went surprisingly smoothly. While there were a few glitches in the morning, it got better and better as the day went on. And what a long day it was. The girls and I started getting ready at about 6:30 am, the tea ceremony started just after 9:00am, followed by a buddhist ceremony at 11:00am, vegetarian lunch and then formal photos until cocktail hour at 5:30pm, reception at 6:30pm and a dance that went from about 10pm until sometime in the wee hours in the morning.

I had my aligners out all day. To make matters worse - I forgot them at my mom's house and didn't get them back until the next day so in total I probably had them out for upwards of 36 hours or so. I was so glad when I finally put them in that they still fit although my teeth were supersore after having them out for such a long time. We took some friends from out of town to see the Canadian rockies for a few days after that so my teeth had a chance to readjust to tray 14 before I went in to get my attachments reattached.

Getting my attachments back was pretty non-eventful. One thing I did notice is that is there considerable more bonding left around the attachments on my teeth this time but I didn't notice that until I left Dr. A's office. I have to say, my teeth look a lot more crooked now that the attachments are back on and it took my teeth a few days to get used to having them on again.

It probably wasn't a bad thing to have them reattached at this stage though as my aligners seem to be a better fit again and hopefully will line up nicely with these last few aligners. Speaking of which, I found out from the assistant during my visit that I actually only 3 aligners left instead of 6! Yes, you read that correctly. My first round of aligners ends at tray 17U and not 20U as I originally thought. Dr. A had a few over-correction trays ordered just in case my teeth haven't moved as planned by the end of tray 17 (mid-August!!).

While my teeth still look a little ways from being done, I'll reserve my judgment until I've finished tray 17 at least. Having said that, I'm glad I have a couple of options to address any remaining issues (over correction or refinement). Tray 15 which I switched to last Wednesday, left me pretty sore for a few days; whether it was because of having attachments again or there was a lot movement involved, I'm not sure. It seems though that there might be some hope to be finished sooner rather than later yet.

I wish I was able to capture the whitening process somehow but I wasn't able to get the same lighting or positioning more than once. I did notice that my teeth were noticeably whiter in my wedding pictures though and you'll have to let me know if they seem whiter to you.

Anyhow - a few pics from the wedding. I'll just leave them on here for a few days. After that, just send me (lemon_tree) a note on bracesreview.com or archwired.com if you've missed the cutoff!

Post wedding thoughts...

2009-07-06T07:30:00.003-06:00

Total cost of my wedding $$$$$

Cost of my photographer $$$$

Cost of invisalign treatment $$$$

Cost of whitening gel: $$

Being to smile confidently in my pictures and all day long: priceless

So glad I decided to go through with it.

Will post pictures when I get a chance.

Tray 14, attachments off and whitening

2009-06-26T20:34:00.008-06:00

Considering how sore I was after tray 14, it didn't really result in much movement.

For the most part, Dr. A seemed to be pleased with how things were progressing with my teeth. The one sore point was that I was hoping to move on to tray 15 by the wedding but given that I wanted to do some whitening (take home kit to be used with my trays) before the wedding and was getting my attachments off in between, he suggested I keep tray 14 on. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed.

The removal of the attachments was less painful than I expected though a bit uncomfortable. It took less than 15 minutes. While removing my attachments my dentist noticed some plaque build up and suggested that I get my teeth cleaned prior to whitening to increase its effectiveness. I was kind of hoping to wait until July 1st when my benefits would be renewed to have them cleaned but at this point what's the full cost of another cleaning? Having said that, I'm kind of glad I did get them cleaned...

Notice the staining around my attachments? yuck

more of the same

Some staining around my molars too!

So given all the staining that was going on and that Dr A's hygienist had a cancellation, they were able to fit me in and I agreed to it. It was one of the most uncomfortable cleanings I've had in a while (ever 3 mos for the past year!). I'm not sure if it was because my teeth were more sensitive after having my attachments taken off or her technique or some combination fo the two. I have to say, given how much time I've been dedicating to keeping my teeth clean, I'm disappointed I'm still needing such frequent cleanings. I'll have to talk my regular dentist about this when I see her next.

My schedule for the next couple of weeks looks something like this, 2x daily in tray teeth whitening for a .5 hour each time, 2x daily rinsing with a special mouth wash, same trays until wednesday after my wedding (July 4th). On the flip side, it's been kind of nice to have a break from wearing the trays as much as possible all the time. I figure since I've already them on for 2 weeks plus, taking the odd long lunch, or evening out (wedding tomorrow) shouldn't hurt too much.

My teeth after my attachments were taken off

My teeth after 4 days of whitening - i don't really see a difference yet.

my fiance's teeth were a bit jealous mine were getting so much attention so they tried to sneak into a side shot. silly teeth but so so straight for being post braces 15+ years. someone's been really good with their retainers.

Almost there...

2009-06-18T20:36:00.004-06:00

Yikes! 16 more days until the wedding.

I have to admit, I've been a bit bummed that my teeth aren't straighter by now. Having said that, they are way way straighter than when I first started and based on our viewing of our engagement photos today, they seem to be camera ready too. I don't have that awful shadow where my snaggle tooth is anymore, which to me is worth the price of my entire treatment.

Allow me a moment of vanity here but I used to think I just wasn't very photogenic and kind of accepted it but now that I'm smiling more confidently, I'm finally enjoying having my picture taken which has never been the case. It's not just having straighter teeth, just feeling less inhibited about showing some teeth makes such a huge huge difference. I wish I had engagement session photos to post but we're still negotiating this with our photog.

Anyhow, here's a recap of the last few trays just to show you how much my teeth have changed.

tray 1

tray 3

tray 5

tray 7

tray 9

tray 11

tray 13

Oh, and I finally got my wedding shoes!

No one will see these under my huge dress but they are studded with swavorski crystals and are so much fun to wear.

Tray 13 update with pics

2009-06-08T22:26:00.005-06:00

Sorry I've gotten so boring with these updates! I've been a busy girl. Had my staggette this weekend and work has been nutty not to mention all of this wedding stuff that needs to be taken care of...

Pictures:

Natural smile - with aligners on.

It's funny, but I usually don't smile like this (ie. with my mouth upturned) becauseI've always tried to minimize what people see of my teeth.

My midline is almost lined up!

My teeth look whiter than they actually are due to lighting.

I keep wondering if that upper canine and the neighboring premolar are getting into each other's way.

A bundle of contradictions.

2009-06-03T22:12:00.011-06:00

I'm a just a bundle of contradictions lately.

In the mornings when I look at my teeth they look pretty good to me but in the evenings when I floss and the light is a bit harsher I don't think they look quite as straight as I would've hoped for the wedding. I guess we'll have to wait and see how the next couple of trays move my teeth.

As my teeth were falling into place I was wondering if I had unusually large front teeth but now that things have progressed further, they seem to be almost normal sized.

One night, one of my bridesmaids admitted to not being able to take her eyes off of my teeth as she was thinking of going the invisalign route. Out of instinct, I commented on how straight her teeth were already and immediately regretted it... I don't want to be one of those naysayers that everyone on the blogs always complains about!!

I think I'm being just a little bit obsessive, hopefully it's just a phase.

Tray 12 update with pics

2009-05-28T20:45:00.004-06:00

This past tray was mostly uneventful. My teeth are just the slightest bit straighter. Snaggy seems to be just a little more in line with the others. Actually, what I recently realized is that Snaggy is actually in the right place, it's just my canine and front incisor that need to move back a bit.

I've noticed a bit of staining around some of my attachments and am planning to fit in a cleaning in addition to the whitening when I get my attachments off. No point in having straight teeth if they're going to be discolored!

On to pictures!

My current tray was a little bit harder to slip on. I'm not sure if it's just the tray or if my teeth or if something else is going on. I guess I will wait a couple of days and see how it feels by the end.

Some reasons why it's been hard to keep the trays in for as long as I should lately...

Tray 11 update with pics

2009-05-18T20:49:00.005-06:00

My teeth are slowly moving into place as the countdown to the wedding begins. It's less two months away! And while there has been a lot of progress and I've gotten so many positive comments on my teeth lately (!!), I'd really love for Snaggy, my little crossbite tooth, to move in line with the others soon. You know, he just looks so lonely back there.

Now that I'm on a 12 day schedule instead of my original 14, I'm trying to keep my trays in as long as possibly but it's gotten harder and harder with all this wedding business coming up (silly wedding keeps getting in the way of my invisalign!). I'll have to have them out for close to 3 hours for our upcoming engagement shoot and at least a couple more for cupcake sampling this upcoming weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to space things out my appointments so they don't both happen during the same tray.

I was thinking back today about whether I should have taken Dr. A's offer at the beginning of treatment to change trays on a 10 day cycle (I was extra cautious and said no at the time). I might have been finishing up by the end of this month if that had been the case. Looking back, I probably would have made the same decision to change on a 14 day cycle again. I might just be overly cautious but I really wanted to make sure nothing went wrong during my treatment and my teeth weren't forced to move too quickly. To me, having straight healthy teeth is a lifetime investment, not just something to show off in a few wedding photos and hide away in my mouth forever more.

Anyhow, in terms of the actual trays, tray 11 was mostly uneventful. The one thing I have noticed is some changes in my gums as a result of teeth moving. This may be tmi but it looks in some places like my gums are a bit underdeveloped or pressed down where my teeth were overlapped. Also, I've noticed a line where I assume my gumline used to be on my molars and wonder if it's because my molars, which were tipped on one side before, are being tipped back with these last few trays. I may take a pic and send back to Dr. A's office.

Picture update below:

End of tray 10 update with pics

2009-05-06T21:16:00.005-06:00

Another picture update:

My front teeth are finally lining up!

Natural smile - midline is lining up just a bit more

A comparison between tray 1 and 14. Always knew my front teeth were crowded but never realized how crooked my bottom teeth were!

End of tray 9 update with pics

2009-05-06T20:55:00.004-06:00

Belated picture post:

Halfway through!

2009-05-06T17:57:00.002-06:00

I've been pretty excited about the last few trays. It feels like every day my teeth are straighter than they've ever been and each time I change trays, they get even straighter. Much more satisfying than the first 7 trays or so which were very much of the "it gets worse before it gets better" variety. I'm smiling more and more in pictures I've noticed and I'm beginning to get a better sense of what my teeth actually look like. Not that I didn't know before but I can now make out the actual shape and size of my teeth now that they're no longer rotated and pointing every which way. hahaha... I could go on and on but suffice to say I'm quite happy with the progress I've had so far.

I went to see Dr. A yesterday and he seemed to be quite happy with my progress as well. When he commented on how I must be wearing them 22 hours a day because the trays seemed to be fitting so well, I sheepishly said that I tried even though I've been cheating a bit lately (but only because I'm more this set for an extra day (I'm such a rebel!)). Having just finished tray 10 (half way mark for me!!), I was given trays 11-14 and managed to squeeze a few questions in with Dr. A before heading out.

I'm so glad that I did because (in addition to finding out that I didn't have a tongue thrust problem and that a minor issue with one tooth during tray 10 was inconsequential) we managed to figure out how to time my next few trays up until my wedding.

So this is the plan:

next 4 trays will be worn for 12 days each- my next scheduled appointment will be bumped up by a week so that I will be at tray 15 by my wedding (clincheck here for reference)
will take off my attachments at the next appointment
will do some whitening (2 x 0.5 hours per day, supposed to be more effective) while I have my attachments off for the two weeks prior to my wedding

I suppose I'm being a bit vain but the wedding was a huge motivator for me to get invisalign so I'm just so glad that I'll be about 75% done by July and will even get a bit whitening in. I guess now that I'm on a 12 day schedule I'll have to make more of an effort to wear my trays for as close to 22 hours as possible per day. Will post pictures when I get home!

Woe is me ...

2009-05-04T21:46:00.003-06:00

I was hoping that giving the boy at the Mac counter my best big-eyed sad puppy dog impression would help me get the data from my hard drive back but I must have been wrong... because it's all gone now. All gone :( It's as if the little Macbook they handed back to me was mine yet not mine, like a vampire who's body was with me but whose soul was long gone. Serves me right for not backing up more often I suppose.

Pictures of trays 9 and 10 still on their way because I've still been taking them, just not uploading. It's just part of my obsessive, compulsive nature. Will update on my last visit to Dr. A shortly as well. Lots of progress and news to share, I promise.

"whirrrr pssh whirrrr pssh..."

2009-04-18T09:11:00.003-06:00

That dear reader is the sound that my trusty Macbook is making right now (it won't even turn on anymore). It looks like I will have to bring it into the Apple Store to have it repaired when I get a chance. Despite how much my PC using fiance usually teases me about my Mac, I must have looked so lost and forlorn about its current condition that he has been entirely sympathetic about it.

Honestly, the sudden onset of whatever ails my Mac does not agitate me quite as much as potentially losing some of the files including my wedding guestlists, tasklists, reception program and.... dozens of photos of my teeth. Having said that I've emailed a lot of these things to the fiance, important appointments are my blackberry, I still have this blog and have access to an old laptop my fiance doesn't use anymore so it's not the end of the world.

Anyhow I've taken pictures of tray 9 but won't be posting until I know the fate of my Mac. Let this be a lesson to all of you to remember to back up your files frequently!

How will I know??

2009-04-09T20:46:00.005-06:00

I am and have always been a self proclaimed master of the no teeth smile. Actually, I take that back, I've tried to master the no teeth smile to varying levels of success throughout my life. Sometimes it looks ok, sometimes it looks like I'm fanged or either have a tooth missing or a very large gap (due to snaggy the crossbite tooth) and the rest of the time I look somewhat unnatural and self-conscious.

Consequently when I got my braces, I was really excited but a bit anxious at the same time. I wondered to myself, after so many years of trying to hide my teeth, perhaps the part of my brain that was wired for smiling widely had atrophied? What if I didn't know what to do with my newly straightened teeth? What if I looked goofy in all of my wedding photos? Should I consider enrolling in some modeling classes or will I just end up looking pouty and feeling hungry?

As it turns out, I had nothing to be afraid of. I was just looking through some of my pictures from my (surprise!) 30th birthday and noticed how broadly I was smiling all the way through. This was 2 trays ago before my teeth started showing noticeable signs of improvement. It could have been the pina colada or that I was pretty happy to come home to upward of 30 people hiding out in my house but I think that at some level, I've just begun to feel a lot more confident about my smile now that I'm finally doing something about it. And let me tell you, it feels great! :)

aloha!

End of tray 8 update with pics

2009-04-05T08:12:00.005-06:00

So out with tray 8 and on to tray 9 tomorrow (or maybe tonight). Don't tell Dr. A this but I was thinking about cheating and changing trays one night early. I am going to my trial dinner at the reception site on Tuesday and wanted to thoroughly enjoy it without having to mind sore teeth. I figure this is about the only time I'll be able to enjoy the meal since I probably won't have a chance to at my actual wedding. I'm otherwise very compliant when it comes to my trays, really I am!!

Anyhow this particular tray did not leave me nearly as sore as tray 7 for which I am thankful but I have a feeling there will be a lot of movement in tray 9 based on my clincheck. My teeth look like they're straightening out a little more with every tray. I do have some concerns though that first premolar on my top right is getting caught behind my cuspid based on how it feels when I floss and the front of the teeth doesn't fit right into the tray like the others. I'll have to see how tray 9 feels and call Dr. A's office if it doesn't get better.

Pictures:

Front - can still see some of the IPR gaps

Right side - notice how right side of cuspid blocks pre-molar

Left side - pretty much the same

A smile - straightening out little by little

Notice how saliva collects in pre molar tooth compared to surrounding teeth. Attachment doesn't seem to be quite flush with tray. (or maybe I'm just being overly obsessive about this??)

Eating with invisalign

2009-03-26T19:33:00.003-06:00

Yikes - I've always been on the thin side but lately (my fiance) and I have noticed a sizable bit of tummy hanging over the edge of my jeans. I'm not quite sure how that happened especially with Invisalign but I do know one thing's for sure, once my mom spots the offending bit of tummy she will quickly point it out, perhaps poke it a bit and remind me to exercise. Or worse yet, she'll warn me in a foreboding tone that if I don't keep a close eye on things I may not fit into my wedding dress(es). I don't know if it's something that's common amongst Asian moms or not but that's my mom. I do still love her though.

Anyhow, back in the fall when I had my wisdom teeth removed, I initially lost quite a bit of weight. Eventually once I began to eat solid foods again, I tried to follow the Canadian food guide as closely as possible to make sure I ate balanced meals. Given that I was already thin to begin with, I didn't want to disappear into my wedding gown. Once I started Invisalign, I had to adjust my meals again so that all the snacks I was used to eating two to three times a day could be incorporated into my meals. I even drank meal replacements shakes some afternoons to circumvent any weight loss.

A picture of a typical lunch is below:

It seems then that I've succeeded in gaining weight while using Invisalign where so many others have lost it. All I can say is that it's too bad the extra weight couldn't have been more effectively targeted.

End of tray 7 update with pics

2009-03-22T17:55:00.005-06:00

This tray was really tight and reminded me a lot of my tray 3, when they first put my attachments on. My IPR gaps haven't closed yet but it looks like my right front tooth is finally looking a bit straighter which is nice to see. On one hand I want the next few trays to hurry up and be over with but on the other hand, I've got so much to do with the wedding still. My mom has just returned from a trip overseas so I'm excited to see if she notices any progress over the last several weeks, well in addition to seeing her again of course.

Pictures below:

Who's afraid of the big 3-0??

2009-03-14T14:54:00.002-06:00

A little while ago, perhaps when I was 28 or 29, I had a mini-existential crisis. In my mind I wondered ... had I lived a meaningful life? ... where was I headed? ... what can I do to improve my situation, improve myself? etc. etc.

Eventually I ended up writing up a list of things to do before I turned 30 (today!). I haven't dug up that list yet and will have to check and see what I haven't gotten to yet. One thing I'll be able to proudly check off or mark "in progress" at least though is the one entitled "fix teeth".

Yay!

Wheee - clincheck!!

2009-03-12T16:44:00.009-06:00

Having a great day today as I:

Was on course and got to go home early
Am loving the extra hour of daylight
Get to see my brothers in just a bit
AND most importantly... I just got access to and figured out how to post my clincheck!

One thing I realized as I was looking at my clincheck is that the first several trays have mostly been of the "it gets worse before it gets better variety" (I guess I was mistaken when I thought I saw some progress earlier) and that it's the next 7-8 that are really going to result in some noticeable change; the last few trays seem to involve minimal movement. I'm so excited about the next few trays.

Enjoy folks (sorry, would've uploaded to youtube but it was in gif):

Front

Upper arch

Lower arch

(Note: I am currently on tray 7, engagement photos happen at around tray 10-12 and wedding at about tray 15)

IPR fun and a wedding update

2009-03-09T21:09:00.005-06:00

So I went in to Dr. A to get some IPR done on my front teeth today. The drilling sound was quite dreadful throughout but wasn't painful. The worst part for me is the sound of the instrument going in between my teeth. Pictures of the resulting gaps are below:

As I've noted previous posts, I was getting to be a bit discouraged but today was the icing on the cake. Let me count the ways:

Finally got the issue with my health insurance sorted out. They're covering 60% of my $4500 bill!
Dr. A told me I had access to my clincheck which I've been dying to see again. I just have to sort it out with his assistants. Will post if I can!
I got to see tray 15 (which is where I'll be by my July wedding) and it looks great. I'll be so happy if my teeth look like the tray I saw today.
Even tray 10 which I brought home today looks like it will be a vast improvement over where my teeth are today and it looks like snaggy my crossbite tooth is finally going to become less noticeable. Pictures below:

Bottom trays (L tray 10, R tray 1)

Top tray (L tray 1, R tray 10)

Note position of Snaggy (right of right front incisor)

In other wedding related news. My photographer agrees that I should take my trays out for the wedding and Dr. A confirmed that he'll take out my attachments a week before the wedding. I'm having a great teeth day. Le sigh.

End of tray 6 update with pics

2009-03-09T17:51:00.003-06:00

Pics from the end of tray 6 below:

I had such high hopes for this tray. I really hoped that this time I’d see some noticeable differences as I assumed this tray would close the IPR gaps made at the end of tray 2. Alas, the gaps are still there and Snaggy the little crossbite tooth is still trapped behind my front tooth.

A (dental hygiene) reality check

2009-03-02T14:10:00.003-07:00

As you may recall last week I went for a 3 hour dental hygiene appointment at the local dental school. Since I've gotten serious about my oral health several months ago and especially since I got my invisalign trays, I've been very conscientious about brushing (3x), flossing (at least 2x) and rinsing (1x with salt water and 1x with fluoride rinse) daily. I've also had my teeth cleaned professionally 2-3x in the past several months alone. So I was really surprised when at the end of my 3 hour session last week (this was the assessment alone!!), the dental hygiene student (let's call her D) told me that she'd need to see me at least twice to get all the build up off of my teeth.

I have to admit I feel a bit badly about seeing D since I never visited the clinics when my friend T was going through the dental hygiene program and was looking for volunteers to have their teeth cleaned. For the most part, I think I was just really embarrassed about the state of my teeth. Since I started having all of my dental issues looked after in addition to my invisalign, I've felt a lot more confident about my teeth. In addition, D happens to be wearing invisalign too which is kind of a nice coincidence because at first I was worried that my student wouldn't know what to do with an invisalign patient.

Today I went in for my first of said 2-3 sessions. It was rather uncomfortable but interesting to hear D and her instructor converse about my teeth and gums. Her instructor was wondering why my gums seemed a bit inflamed relative to the fine layer of build up and eventually came back and pointed out that my invisalign trays were the likely culprit. Anyhow, hopefully after my appointments with D are over, I'll be back to 2 cleanings per year schedule.

The two things that did make me feel (sore teeth and all) a bit better was that D commented on clean my teeth are despite some of the buildup below the gum line and... the cleaning cost me only a fraction of what I normally pay for a cleaning ($26 at university vs. 20% of $300 (or $60) at my dentist's office). It's not a huge difference I suppose but with the upcoming wedding and also in anticipation of some of the other things I'd like to have done with my teeth (ie. whitening) saving money by any means has become more and more rewarding to my increasingly frugal self.

Starting to see some changes (end of tray 5 update w/pics)

2009-02-22T12:36:00.010-07:00

I'm not sure what's changed but these past few days I've been so enamored with my invisalign trays. Whenever I think of them my heart flutters for just a moment and I break out in a wide smile. I don't know what it could it be. The anticipation of changing trays tomorrow? The knowledge that the gaps made by Dr. A behind my cuspids during my last visit with IPR will finally close? Realizing that 3/4 of my bridesmaids had braces (the 4th is blessed with beautiful, naturally straight, white teeth but is considering invisalign to straighten a single stray tooth surprisingly) and knowing my teeth won't be quite as snaggy by then? Or perhaps because I'm finally noticing some very subtle changes in my teeth?

I'll let you judge for yourself if there are any noticeable changes and then I'll post some old pictures and point out some of the changes I see. (Note to self: Remember to take more pictures in the bathroom during the daytime, the teeth look so much whiter!)

(note gap between cuspids and pre-molars from IPR,

to be closed with tray 6)

Don't worry about it if you don't notice any differences, they're not major. What I've noticed is that my cuspids or eye teeth are not as flared. Also my right cuspid ("Snaggy") is starting to line up with its neighboring lateral incisor which is nice to see. My bottom teeth are starting to look a bit straighter too which is nice to see.

Here's a couple of pictures of my from week 2 for comparison:

One thing I've noticed is that my teeth don't 'fit' together as well as they used to, differences in my bite and how much easier/harder it is to floss in some places but I figure a lot of it is just "getting worse before it gets better" stuff so I'm not going to fret about it too much.

Having said that, while no one's really noticed any major differences in my teeth (with the exception of myself, my mom, and possibly the fiance (not sure if he is just trying to make me feel better)), a few people have commented on how discrete they are. This is a bit surprising to me given that I have 11 attachments in total. I had a few friends over for dinner last night and one point A (a dental hygienist) asked me if I was wearing my trays (I was) because she said she couldn't see them and B who was sitting next to me (and recently had her ceramic braces taken off) said something the same effect. Another friend sitting across from me did comment that she could see them though. Still 2/3 isn't bad :)

I came across an article the other day about Japanese culture and how a lot of Japanese folks find 'yaeba' or double teeth cute and attractive. Some examples: here: http://yaebasuperstar.blog123.fc2.com/ In the Philippines, apparently wearing braces and even fake braces has become trendy as they're very expensive there and suggest that the person wearing them is quite well to do.

I find it really interesting how one's culture can color how they perceive the world and others and teeth seem to be a good example of that. heh... makes me wonder if I would gotten my teeth straightened if I lived in Japan or gone for metal braces if I lived in the Philipines...

From one extreme to the other

2009-02-18T21:05:00.005-07:00

I'm not entirely sure what is at the root of it but I've never really liked going to the dentist. I remember explaining once when I was 3-4 years old to an adult why my some of my teeth were so badly stained and filled with cavities and saying something to the effect of "when my parents first came to Canada they didn't know that it was bad to give me sweetened milk so it rotted all of my teeth. They know better now". I must have heard one of my parents give the same answer at some point. Eventually they took me to see a dentist regularly and he had to pull, drill and cap my baby teeth like there was no tomorrow so that those cavity ridden babies wouldn't affect my incoming adult teeth.

In retrospect, all of those dental visits probably saved me from having all sorts of gum and tooth related issues later on although I still developed crowding issues that were left unaddressed. To my much younger self it was probably rather excruciating though. So much so that I didn't seek professional dental help for a rather lengthy period of time after I finished high school. Honestly I don't know if I was more afraid of needing and having to endure dental treatment itself or that I was just embarrassed about the condition of my teeth.

Fast forward several years and it's a complete turnaround in behavior. I've probably had my teeth cleaned about 4 times in the past year. Two of which were follow up cleanings as the dentist/hygienist hadn't gotten to cleaning all of my teeth during the previous session and one of which took place right after I had my wisdom teeth out and just before I had my molds done for invisalign (I had some trouble keeping them clean as I was trying to avoid the extraction sites). Between cleanings, invisalign consultations and fittings and the like, and wisdom teeth extraction (including pre and post operation visits) I've probably seen as many or more dental professionals in the past year then I've seen in my entire life.

Having said that - I just booked myself into a 3 hour cleaning session at the local dental school. Yes, me. The girl who used to avoid seeing dentists as much as possible is making an effort to have her teeth cleaned without even being asked to make an appointment. I think it may be a combination of genetics (my dentist thinks that there may be a chemical reason as to why plaque seems to builds up on my teeth faster than on others), my crowded teeth, wearing invisalign and possibly my brushing/flossing technique but I've noticed a couple of deposits of tartar/plaque right below my gumline. I wouldn't have thought much of it before but I really want my teeth to be in tip top shape for the wedding and don't want to take any risks.

Ok...that explains why I need a cleaning but why a three hour cleaning you might ask? Well, while I have a great dental plan, it only covers 12 units of scaling and having had my teeth cleaned so many times in the past year for various reasons, my insurance won't cover anymore cleaning until the next benefit year which starts in July. Given that I'm really scrimping and saving right now because of the upcoming wedding, my bright idea was to go to the local dental school for an extra cleaning to save some money (hopefully it will be less than half of the usual $300 CDN that my regular dentist charges, 80% of which my insurance would have normally covered). Of course while the price is reduced, I'll have to pay for it with my time. I guess it's a way for my frugal side can find a happy compromise with my slightly dental hygiene obsessed self. Anyhow - my cleaning is set for Monday which is coincidentally tray change day so I'll have to check to see if my teeth shift very much after having them out for three hours before putting the new ones in.

When I think about it, getting braces, if you really want to reap the benefits is quite the lifestyle change and over the past year I've made a lot of changes teethwise. Even if my teeth are only mostly straight by the end of my treatment, my teeth will be way better shape and better cared for than they've ever been.

Life outside of braces...

2009-02-11T15:57:00.002-07:00

Things have been pretty uneventful teethwise lately. I've changed my bottom tray (5) now so I'm back in sync with my top tray (had to switch to tray 5 1 week early due to a split). I'm quite happy to report that my top tray is doing ok so far as I'm now in the habit of pulling it off one attachment at a time. I took some pictures but I think I'm going to wait until I'm ready to switch tray before posting as there really isn't a big difference. I find there's a point where taking too many pictures can be discouraging as I'm not allowing enough time before photo sessions for my teeth to change position.

Anyhow, given that I've been quite preoccupied (I really mean obsessed) with my teeth since I got my invisalign trays, I've been trying to focus on other things lately. we've started attending a marriage prep course and are checking out different meditation groups in the city. Our thinking is that there's a lot more to prepare for with the upcoming wedding than just having nice teeth (yes, I admit it). And hopefully at the end of the day, some of the other prep that we're doing will help us feel more confident about what lies ahead and smile a little more broadly on the big day.

Splitting trays! (tray 5 upper, 4 lower)

2009-02-02T11:21:00.018-07:00

I've had quite a bit of bad luck with my upper trays splitting around my cross bite area. To date, trays 1, 3, and 4 have all split before their time. Hopefully this hasn't affected my treatment. Having said that, I slipped in my 5th upper tray without any difficulty last night though and am still wearing my 4th bottom tray which will put me out of sync for a week.

I've gotten quite obsessive about photographing my progress (often under pretty unflattering lighting conditions). My fiance teases me a bit about this along with my newly developed habit of clicking my teeth together randomly. I took the next few at my mom's house (a herd of gaming geeks had taken over my place) so the lighting might look a bit different from the usual photos.

'ok' side

'snaggle toothed' side

mouth agape - look at all those jagged edges!

mouth closed - also highlights my uneven gumline

a smile - this is probably closest to what most people will see of my teeth

I have to admit, I never realized how misaligned my teeth were until I started taking all of these pictures and scrutinizing them more closely. I do think though that they don't look quite as bad as they're made to look here due to angle and light but there is still a ton of room for improvement. I'm so glad I'm doing this (invisalign) before the wedding though, it would have been so sad to smile unnaturally and/or end up disliking my wedding photos because of my teeth. Here's to straighter teeth!

An open letter to my trays...

2009-01-26T10:22:00.000-07:00

My dearest invisalign trays,

I know I can be a bit rough sometimes. And I know you're working hard - I can see it in my midline and in how my bite has changed.

I need you to know though that I'm trying to make this work too. Every chance I get, I clean you with a denture brush and water and refrain from using anything harsher. I wear you as much as I humanly can, despite the fact that I'm trying desperately not to lose any weight in the mean while. I only ever drink water with you on, never ever any food or even juice. Heck, I even gave up coffee AND tea for you.

Why oh why oh why must tray 4 crack on me barely mid way through the two week mark then? This after tray 3 cracked on me after its first week. Oh I know what Dr. A's office will say but I'm not quite ready to part with you yet. It just seems too soon.

Well tray 4, I'm going to try to wear you for a few more days and then I'm going to have to move on to tray 5. I hope you'll last until then. And I do promise to be gentler with you, all of you, for the duration of my treatment. I hope I haven't come across too harsh, I'm just frustrated right now.

Yours truly,
STB

Snap, crackle, pop!

2009-01-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

So I managed to do it again. I snapped my tray out (perhaps a bit too hard), it cracked a fair bit, and I called Dr. A's office before I popped from stressing out about what to do next. This is the second time I've had a top aligner crack on me (tray 1 did it too!) before it was time to be retired so I'll have to take extra care when removing it from now on, at least until my cross bite on the one side isn't as deep.

Anyhow, I was advised to move on to tray 4 a week early which I was surprised to hear. They seem to fit ok though. One thing I forgot to ask is if I should switch my bottom tray or finish wearing them for the full two weeks. Will have to bug them tomorrow I guess.

In other news, I saw my mom today. I haven't seen her in two weeks and she commented that my teeth had shifted and looked better. This without being asked! i happily retold the story to the fiance after he got home from work as it seems to be my favorite game ("hey, have my teeth moved???") with the fiance these days.

Actually when I think about it, long before I even met my fiance, my mom had always gently encouraged me to take care of my teeth. I really wish I had heeded her advice earlier on but in a way I'm kind of glad that I can afford to pay for them myself now and they're not an additional burden on her and my dad. Now that they're finally on, she's become one of my biggest cheerleaders.

I love love love my mom. She's the best.

Some pictures for your viewing enjoyment.

I take them off with the stealth...

2009-01-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

So now that my attachments are on, I'm not able to pop my trays on and off the way I used to. There used to be a time when I'd pop them off at my work desk without even having to look at mirror. Those days are over now... I guess I never realized how good I had it.

These past couple of days, I have to curtail my sense of dread as lunch approaches and I pop into the women's washroom, reach in and pull off my tray tooth by tooth, hoping that no one will have to witness the unglamorous sight of me 'taking out my teeth' before lunch, drool dribbling off the side of my mouth, face red from the struggle to get them off. Fortunately, it doesn't take quite as long to put them back in.

So far I've managed to evade potential witnesses to my daily ordeal. Sometimes I pop into one of the stalls as someone enters, other times I just keep brushing my teeth until other people leave. Given that I work in an office building where there is a ratio of something like 60 women on the floor to 4 bathroom stalls I'm sure someday someone will catch me but for now I'll keep taking them off with the stealth...

(ps it's not that I'm that embarrassed about having braces, just not crazy being interrupted while I'm taking them on/off)

And the attachments are on!

2009-01-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to report that I had 11 attachments placed on my teeth this morning and seem to be doing ok so far. They definitely make my braces more visible but still less so than a metal wire would have been. Dr. A's offered to take the attachments out for my wedding day (7 months into a 9 month treatment plan) so I'm not too concerned. In the mean time, the trays are pretty tight going and and out and feel kind of funny in mouth but I got a lot better after the first time and hopefully will get used to it soon.

One thing I have to say though is that while all of my questions have been answered (by the assistant) and i don't really have any burning questions I've been pretty disappointed by the amount of face time I've had with Dr. A. With the exception of the first couple of visits, he just seems to appear briefly during my visits and leaves the rest to his assistant. Is this normal practice for other dent/orthos, am I expecting too much?

Heh - I guess something kind of good came out of the mix up with my insurance claim though, they aren't processing the next claim until they've sorted the first one out which is a good thing since the christmas bills should be coming any minute now!

I'm kind of dreading dinner tonight. I'm supposed to go out for dinner for a friend's birthday and it's going to be a bit of a pain taking my trays on and off. Speaking of which, a couple of weeks ago I had lunch with some friends I hadn't seen in a while and one of them, K, noticed how often I was excusing myself. On our way out, she pulled me aside and asked "oh, so I was just wondering... are you expecting by any chance?" I could barely stop myself from bursting out laughing and explained about the braces. I guess some people might be offended by the comment but I'm a really tiny girl so I usually don't take comments implying that I've gained weight with any offense and my friend happens to be a physician and probably has this sort of thing on her mind more often than most.

Now that we're on the topic of weight. I find I've really lost my appetite in the last few days which is not good because I've been trying to offset that to begin with. On top of that, I've been eating more slowly than usual which is actually increasing my time spent without my trays. I guess I'll have to work on that. Really looking forward to getting some exercise machines so that I can work out again!

6 week pictures below. Honestly I never thought I'd be posting pictures of my teeth given how self conscious I've been of them all of my life but having viewed other people's blogs, I wanted to show others what I'm going through to get wherever I'll be approximately 6-7 months from now. I hope no one's scared off by pictures of my bad teeth!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2009-01-07T10:18:00.001-07:00

The Good:

-I'm finally getting my teeth straightened
-If all goes well they should look a lot better in time for my wedding
-I've got invisalign and so far, unless I've pointed it out, no one's noticed my trays.
-No major discomfort or pain (then again after having my 4 wisdom teeth (2 impacted) last fall, nothing really compares)
-My teeth have never been cleaner - I've been brushing, flossing and rinsing religiously after every meal

The Bad:

-Braces are expensive. Given that we just bought our first house and are furnishing it in addition to saving up for the upcoming wedding, that doesn't leave a lot to pay for the price of my vanity and oral health. Thank goodness I went for the enhanced dental coverage!
-Having to explain to guests/people I'm out with why I'm constantly going to the bathroom before and after eating. Was especially hard during the holiday season.

The Ugly:

-I just found out my claim for braces hasn't gone through yet! I hope they're just being slow but it looks like I'll have to follow up with them soon.
-Slightly odorous trays in the morning despite my OCD like cleaning of them (any suggestions?), the odd drop of unsightly blood in my trays, and not being able to snack as much as I'd like when I can't afford to lose any weight (I'm already tiny!)

----

Well, all things considered, if this is the worst of it, things aren't all that bad. I guess I'll have to re-evaluate after I get my attachments on next Monday though.

Anyhow - happy new year everyone! Will post once the attachments and tray 3 goes in.

So far so good... sort of

2008-12-26T10:15:00.001-07:00

I just realized that some people might be interested in my treatment plan if they've got a similar case and want to draw comparisons. My initial set of trays will be 20 upper and 21 lower to be worn 2 weeks each with 11 attachments (three in every corner of my mouth except my top left). Cost was approx $4400 CDN and includes 3 sets of refinements.

I was starting to get used to my previous aligner. To the point where I barely noticed it at all and my initial lisp (noticeable to me but not my fiance) was gone. And then I noticed it - a crack right center on my top aligner. I don't how long it's been there but figured it wasn't a good thing and have since moved on to my next aligner as I was instructed at my initial orientation.

It's actually quite a tight fit but if that means that it's moving my teeth in the right direction then I suppose it's a good thing. It does feel a bit funny in my mouth though and I keep running my tongue against it subconsciously. I just hope that my next set of aligners aren't too hard take off once I get my buttons on (next visit). It makes me wonder if they made that first aligner easy to take on and off on purpose so as not to scare me out of treatment!

Anyhow - hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and a productive boxing day (for the Canadians out there).

2 week pictures below.

It's been a long time coming.

2008-12-21T10:12:00.001-07:00

When I was about 10, I wanted braces because my best friend had them. Unfortunately my dad lost his insurance coverage that year and my teeth became more and more crowded as the years went by. At 17, I was offered braces but turned them down as 'I just wanted people to accept me as I am'. I'm 29 now and kicking myself for not starting treatment earlier and being the indignant child I used to be.

Anyhow, one of the reasons why I had put off getting braces for so long is because of a multitude of dental issues that I was avoiding dealing with. After much prodding from my then (super straight and healthy toothed) boyfriend, I finally got around to dealing with them over the past year. Since then I've dealt with most of my gum and dental hygiene issues, had 4 wisdom teeth removed (two were impacted), consulted with a number of dentists and orthos, and just last week started my first invisalign tray.

It's been a long time coming but I'm really glad I finally got around to it. With an upcoming wedding (to aforementioned bf) next summer and (fingers crossed) move into a more senior position at work, I'm looking forward to having a better smile.

Some pictures of my fairly crowded teeth below.

Migrating!!

2008-12-01T10:09:00.001-07:00

Hello and welcome to my blog,

I'm just in the process of migrating my blog from www.bracesreview.com (great info here folks) so please bear with me if there are any glitches in the process.

Once I've migrated all of my old posts I'll try my best to post on a semi regular basis.

Cheers,
STB