"whirrrr pssh whirrrr pssh..."

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??

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! :)

End of tray 8 update with pics

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

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

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??

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!!

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)