Sunday, February 22, 2009

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

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...

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

From one extreme to the other

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.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Life outside of braces...

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.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Splitting trays! (tray 5 upper, 4 lower)

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!