Monday, February 1, 2010

My incredible shrinking lip and other side effects of invisalign treatment

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!