In retainers .... finally

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

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...

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!

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

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

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....