Tray 9 Day 3 and Update!

I have been bad for updating but there really hasn't been much to tell.

I had my ortho appointment on Saturday December 9th and it went really well, my ortho was pleased with my progress and from the sounds of it I will be into retainers in March. Which means no more attachments; no more new trays!! I'll be all done.

Come March that will be 1 full year since I started wearing the trays, It's amazing how time flies and how much can change in a year.

I hope that when I'm all done I will get another set of pictures from the ortho to close off my journey.

Tray 4 - Day 4

So really not much to report here.

I've officially gotten to the one year mark of starting any treatment. I started my rapid palatal expander November 5, 2016, then wore that until March 2017 which is when I started my first round of Invisalign.

I''m currently in my first refinement stage and have 16 trays total, with 13 active trays with my next appointment scheduled for December 9th, 2017.

I've attached some progress pictures, and also my new ClinCheck can be accessed by: http://share.invisalign.com/treatment-viewer/latest/index.html#/?shareId=68b37097-6fee-401d-9d55-3553b41d8f6c&shareThrough=PATIENT and then using OC|CZXos as the password.

 

Refinement Tray 1 - Day 3

Well I received my refinement trays on Saturday October 14th. There are 16 in this phase, but only 13 are "active" trays. They also changed my attachments. I lost the ones on my front top two teeth and then my bottom 6 attachments were changed. I've now got 11 attachments.

I don't remember the first attachments giving me this much trouble when they first got put on. There is on specifically on my bottom lower right hand tooth that is on the larger side and seems to be irritating me a bit.

Also I was excited that I don't have to start wearing elastics yet (for now).

So I go back on December 9th for my next appointment and I'll be on Tray 9 at that time because I'm back to changing trays every week now.

Refinement scan complete!

On Saturday September 16, 2017 I went in to my dentists office and was scanned for my refinement stage. I was also provided with a new top Tray 18, and I have to wait for a new bottom tray 17.

My next appointment is on Saturday October 14, 2017 where any attachments that need to get changed, moved or added will be done and I'll also receive the first of "x" amount of refinement trays.

I have copies of photos from before I started any treatment, after I did the expander (which was before Invisalign started), and from this last appointment. I am going to post them below. What a difference! I can really notice how much wider my upper arch is. I am posting the photos below.

 Initial (before expander or Invisalign)

 After expander (before Invisalign)

After first round of Invisalign (before refinements)

Upper Tray 18 and Lower Tray 17 - Day 3

Jee where to start with these ones.....

I changed into Tray 18 on the top and bottom on Friday August 25. But I noticed that the bottom tray was not fitting onto some of my attachments and also that my one front tooth had started tilting to the left.

It took my most of the day Saturday to get a hold of Jane (my wonderful ortho's assistant). And after discussing with her about how the tray was not seeding or sitting properly and hadn't in the last few trays; along with having the tooth moving a way it shouldn't issue. Anyways she told me to try some past trays and see which one fit best and wear that one until my next appointment when we rescanned.

After trying Trays 14-18, Tray 17 fit the "best" out of all of them. it still isn't perfect because of that one wonky tooth, but all the other teeth line up and the trays fit over every other attachment except for the one.

So it will be extra interesting to see what happens when I get scanned in a few weeks

Also as a side note Tray 18 uppers really hurt! I don't know why....but these have bothered me as much as Tray 1 did....crazy

Tray 17 - Day 3

Well I had my appointment on Friday August 11 and it went really well. But they didn't scan my teeth like I thought they would.

I am now to wear Tray 17 for 2 weeks, then wear Tray 18 for 2-3 weeks before my next appointment which isn't until September 16.

Then at that appointment they will scan for my refinements and she believes I will get 10-20 new trays of refinements along with having to wear elastics (let me hide my enthusiasm lol). And also at that appointment they will have gotten me 2 extra sets of Tray 18 so that I'm not wearing one tray for 6-7 weeks and can switch them out with the same tray and so that no movements happen.

And the saga continues.....

Tray 16 - Day 4

This tray felt like it was moving my back teeth on the left side of my mouth. It was a bit bothersome for the first day and a half, but then like always the pressure subsided.

I have my appointment this Friday and I'm super excited for it. I get scanned for my refinements and I'll be interested to see what they will do for those.

The only down fall is that I believe I will be in this tray for a whole month while I wait for my next appointment and for my refinement trays to be made.

My teeth sure have come a long way in a short time. I'm quite happy with them as is, but I think the bit of space remaining between my front 6 teeth will have to be addressed.

Yikes...I'm behind!!

Ok so this will be a bit of a catch up post.

There hasn't been much to report really, plus summer is busier and add in holidays in there and poof....you don't update in a month haha.

So lets see:

Tray 12 - changed into on Friday July 7 - not much to report, trays usually bug me for the first day or two and then I'm used to them by the third day. Noticing less changes at this point.

Tray 13 - changed into on Friday July 14 - I had to change into these ones earlier in the day than I normally would as we were leaving to go out of town camping for a few days. So I had to change them right after I got home from work, where I usually change them at night before I go to bed. My husband thought I would be super cranky for the whole drive; but I think the drive helped keep my mind off the new trays and we didn't stop to eat before setting up camp about halfway to our destination so I had the new trays in for at least 15 hours before I even took them out to eat.

Tray 14 - changed into on Friday July 21 - again not much to report, I feel certain teeth moving, mostly the top front few teeth and it feels like they are moving downwards; but it is hard to really notice until I take out my trays.

Tray 15 - changed into on Friday July 28 - not much to report. I'm starting to get excited for the next steps and curious as to what the next steps will be

I emailed Jane (you remember my ortho's assistant) on Tuesday August 1 to ask her a few questions about my next appointment on Friday August 11. I'm curious if I'll wear tray 16 for two weeks and tray 17 for two weeks while I wait for my next appointment to get my refinement trays. I also wanted to know how many refinements I would receive.

At this point I still have spaces in a couple my side top teeth and I would really like those closed in as I don't believe they should be there. Other than that I'm pretty happy with the outcome of my teeth. My smile is definitely wider and you can see more of my top teeth when I smile. I don't think I can go any wider without widening my bottom teeth as well as my bite seems pretty good both with and without the trays in. My teeth actually fit together. And not just some of them, mostly all of them fit together...this is something I've never had with my two previous brace treatments.

Tray 11 - Day 4

I changed into Tray 11 on Friday June 30th just before bedtime as per usual. No pain or soreness anywhere noticeable when I woke up Saturday morning. I'm not sure what teeth are moving this week; but I do know that with my Invisalign on my front teeth almost overlap, also my top left canine and bottom left canine can touch in a certain spot, but in the same spot my right canines cannot touch.

When my Invisalign is off it's even more interesting, my top front teeth are definitely sitting over my lower front teeth, they do not completely cover them, but there is definite movement from Tray 10.

With changing the trays every week now I definitely notice changes more often then at the start.

Jane and I are missing each other due to holidays for our OMT appointments for most of this month. So I'm to continue moving on to the next weeks exercises weekly and we'll catch up eventually!

Not much else to report at the moment.

Tray 10 - Day 3

Not much new to report. Changed into Tray 10 on Friday June 23. Woke up Saturday morning and could fell that my front top teeth were a bit tender. When I went to take off my trays for breakfast I noticed that my upper front teeth actually were starting to sit over my bottom front teeth; so this was definite progress!

Ive' attached pictures from my ClinCheck that show were I started at and then approximately where I am with Tray 10.

Tray 9 - Day 3

Changed into Tray 9 on Friday June 16th just before bed. Woke up Saturday morning and could tell it was definitely moving my lower eye teeth; didn't really seem to notice any soreness or issues with my top teeth so I thought it may not be moving any of those this week.

But then on Sunday I realized that without the trays in I could actually touch my front teeth together now...this was definitely a development. So maybe it did move my upper front teeth but I just didn't feel it.

I'll take it either way! This process is amazing to me, it seems so much quicker and less intrusive than braces and I recommend it to anyone that is looking or thinking of braces.

Wooohooo Tray 8; Day 2

Had my Orthodontist appointment on Saturday June 10th. It went so well. Dr. Barb was so happy at my progress! She said she might even make me her Invisalign case for this year (too bad that doesn't save me any money lol).

She moved me up to switching out my trays to every week now. So I was able to change into Tray 8 on Saturday night just before I went to bed and she gave me from Tray 8-17....and my next appointment is on August 11th and I won't have gotten to tray 17 until that night. But I'll be going in to get my scans for refinements. That's so fast!! If we would have continued switching them every two weeks I would be into Tray 17 at the end of December. Which I was fully prepared for....

Now there is a bigger gleam of light at the end of the tunnel. Now from other blogs I've come across and read the refinements sometimes can take just as long as the active trays. But if it means my teeth are as perfect as my teeth can be at the end of this I will be happy.

My OMT is going well also, but she wants my tongue to do something that I don't think it will do no matter the exercises that I do, but only time will tell.

Tray 7 - Day 3

Tray 7 of 17 active trays! It's crazy the difference I can notice so far. My top teeth are coming back in nicely, the gaps between them are closing and my overbite is almost gone.

These things are like little miracle workers! I switched to tray 7 on Friday night before bed, so of course as per usual Saturday and Sunday there were certain teeth sore; this time I noticed in my top front few teeth and on my right upper teeth. So of course for a the first 2-3 days certain things are a bit harder to eat; but nothing that can't be handled.

I'm excited for my appointment on Saturday, I haven't seen them in person in 2 months that's enough  trays to make a big difference. And with Jane we've only been Skype chatting so she has a rough idea what my teeth are looking like but seeing in person is a lot better.

I'm wondering if they will switch me to switching out my trays to every 1 week now instead of every 2; as she had wanted to last time, bit it was going to be too long until my next visit....

By the way I love snapchat!!

Catch up post

Wow I'm behind!!

So I changed into Tray 5 on Saturday May 6 and this one really moved my teeth! The whole upper right side felt like they moved no this one. Also this one gave me a slight issue with the bottom where it snapped into place on my bottom teeth, but didn't want to seed all the way down no matter what I did. I thought this problem would carry over to Tray 6 but luckily it did not.

I changed into Tray 6 on Friday May 19, this one really moved my upper front 4 teeth. I could feel that this one was really pulling them down and in bringing them more in line.

I'm still doing my OMT exercises and I wear my MYObrace on the weekends only usually. Jane has told me that at my next appointment she'll be bringing something different than the MYObrace that is a bit smaller and easier to sleep with.

I change into Tray 7 this Friday June 2 and my next appointment with my Orthodontist is on Saturday June 10 and I'm looking forward to seeing her and Jane.

Typical Day with Invisalign

So I thought I would post what a typical day with Invisalign is like; and I say typical meaning Monday-Friday as those are the days I work.

7:30am-8am - Wake up (after wearing Invisalign all night)

8:05am - Take trays out and soak them with Polident

8:06am - Eat Breakfast

8:20am - Brush and floss teeth; take trays out of Polident and brush and put them back in (Amount of time trays out for: 14 minutes)

8:25am - Get dressed and ready for work and get son up and ready for school (if he's not already up). Also do my OMT exercises

8:45am-8:50am - Drive to work

9am-12pm - At work, no snacks or beverages (trays stay in!)

12pm-12:10pm - Drive home for lunch

12:20pm - Take trays out in order to eat lunch

12:40pm - Brush teeth and trays and put trays back in. Also do my OMT excersies (Amount of time trays out for: 34 minutes total)

12:50pm-12:55 pm - Drive back to work

1pm-5pm - At work, no snacks or beverages (trays stay in!)

5pm - Drive home from work

5:15pm - Prepare dinner

5:35 - Take trays out to eat dinner

6pm - Brush teeth and reinsert trays. Also do my OMT exercises (Amount of time trays out for: 59 minutes total)

That is my typical day, I'd say all in all not too shabby!! Total time trays are usually out for is about an hour. Now mind you some days I will choose to snack on something in the evening, but if I do my trays are not out longer than an additional 20-30 minutes.

Also I wanted to note that during the Winter months (October-April) I play indoor volleyball and I play with my trays in and so far that has not been an issue. And during the Summer months (May-August) I play softball and I'll be interested ot see how things go, but again I can't see the trays being an issue.

You may wonder why I mentioned this at all, and the simple fact is that during my volleyball season while I was still wearing my expander I had tried to play volleyball with it in and of course I got hit in the face and it ended up hurting my teeth/jaw because of the expander being in. So once I learned that I ended up just taking my expander out to play volleyball as it made things much easier.

Also here is a photo from this past weekend, you can't even notice he Invisalign. Although I am not full smiling though either.

That's all for now, I switch into Tray 5 this Friday night so I will update again either during or after the weekend.

Tray 4

So I switched to tray 4 on Friday April 21st at night. It went well, it probably bugged me less than tray 3 did just because I'm used to the attachments now and know how to take the trays out with the attachments. I don't need a mirror anymore to take the trays out, although I prefer doing it with one if there is one available. I also didn't need any sort of painkillers for this tray, which is a big step I think!

So far the only night I have been able to sleep with my MYObrace in for the whole night has been Saturday April 22 as I didn't have anything pressing to wake up for on Sunday. The OMT is going well I find. I did miss some exercises on Saturday and Sunday because I wasn't at home enough to do the ones that you have to do three times a day and use devices so unless you have the forethought to bring those with you...they don't get done three times and only get done twice. Hopefully I'll have done well enough that I can move on to the next set of exercises on Wednesday when Jane and I chat again.

I figure maybe I'll take photos of my fifth tray compared to my first tray then it might be a bit easier to see the differences between them as you don't really see it from on to the next although you know they are moving your teeth

Tray 3 - Day 12.....MYObrace and OMT

So I received my MYObrace and OMT kit in the mail on Wednesday April 19. Jane and I had a Skype video chat Wednesday night so she could explain how to use the MYObrace and went over the beginning exercises to do with my OMT kit.

Let's start with the MYObrace. So Jane told me to wear this at night but to start about an hour or so before bedtime so that my mouth would get used to it being in. So I ended up putting in the MYObrace in at about 10pm knowing that I would be up until about 11or 12. I could NOT fall asleep with this in!! I was up until 2 am and I finally gave up and took it out (SORRY JANE!!). But I had to be a decent human for work the next day and at least try to get a few hours of sleep.

Then I tried the same thing last night pretty much same result, so again out it came. I will be trying again tonight, but I still have to get up at the same time I would have to get up for work because I have a dentist appointment to get my teeth cleaned bright and early! Jane did say it would take awhile....might take me a long while to get used to as I value sleep highly and can't have this making it impossible for me to sleep...sigh.

Next the OMT exercises. These are fine. They don't bother me at all and I like that for 2 of the 5 exercises I can do them anywhere. The other 3 I need things for, and I have have 2 or the 3 things at current (hoping the elastics came in the mail today).

I also will be switching into tray 4 tonight...so i will have an updated sometime this weekend about how that one is.

Attachments and Tray 3

Alright so it's the start of my third day with tray 3 and these attachments. I got the attachments on at 9am Saturday morning. This process wasn't as bad as some other blogs I had found made it seem to be.

She started by putting this bendable plastic device in my mouth to hold back my lips, then she dried my teeth. Then she used what she called "shampoo" on my teeth and let that sit for about 60 seconds, she used a bit of suction to get that off. After that she put the bonding agent on my teeth that would be getting the attachments and she put the resin in the temporary tray and then put that on my teeth and set it with that blue light. My top teeth took all the attachments great the first time and I have 10 attachments on my upper teeth. She had to do the bottom twice as 2 attachments on my molars popped off (I've got another 6 attachments on my lower teeth). I've attached a picture showing my attachments (excuse my facial). I am not adept at taking selfies!

Getting the attachments on was a breeze and didn't hurt one bit! and even when she put in the new tray (Tray 3) it didn't "hurt" persay, but there was a bit of pressure felt on the teeth with attachments. That pressure got a bit more intense as the day went on and taking the trays in and out has definitely become more difficult.

Sunday was day 2 and it was a bit worse than day one. In the morning and afternoon I didn't want to take my trays out much. So I only took them out to eat breakfast and brush and floss my teeth, then back in they went and I didn't take them out again until dinner time.

As I said today is the start of day 3 I don't feel any more pressure today and I took my trays out for breakfast and to brush and floss. I definitely need a mirror in order to take the trays out. Maybe after a week or two I will master not being able to look in the mirror to remove them. The same happened with the first tray. It took me awhile to get used to taking them in and out without a mirror present.

My ortho wanted me to switch up my trays and change them every week instead of every two weeks, but I am out of town when she is back next so I won't see her until June and I still need my Myobrace. so I have to stay with changing the trays out every 2 weeks; and apparently they are ordering my Myobrace and then I can video chat with my ortho's assistant to learn how to use it (once it comes in).

Apparently I have to wear it at night and then about 1-2 hours during the day which there will be specific exercises I have to do; which is what I need Jane's (assistant) with.

Tray 2 - Day 3

Well I can certainly confirm that this tray has been a lot less painful than the first. It really hasn't given me much grief at all. There has definitely been some pressure on a few select teeth, but all in all not bad.

In the midst of all this my Grandmother who was 99 passed away on Saturday March 25th at about 1:30 in the morning. I'm glad that I got to say my goodbye to her in her last few hours. Tomorrow is her wake, funeral and burial. It will be a long tough day but I know I'll make it through in one piece.

Next appointment with my Orthodontist is on Saturday April 8th where I will get my attachments (unsure of how many). Will report how that goes and how much more noticeable my trays are after that. Right now people can not notice them unless I tell them I have them on and they really look; a big plus!

Tray 2 - Hour 16

So I switched my trays last night before going to bed and prepared myself to be as uncomfortable with the second set as I was with the first set. I took some pain meds about 30 minutes before bed, prepped and packed my old trays up to be stored and filed down my second trays to be worn.

Brushed and flossed my teeth and made the switch and went to bed. To my surprise when I woke up this morning I wasn't in pain!! There was some pressure of a few of my teeth, but nothing like the first set of trays. Now mind you day 2 was my worst day with the first set; so I will have to update again after I've passed that point to see if this wonderful feeling continues or I get let down.

Upper trays, set 1 and set 2

Lower trays, set 1 and set 2

Photos and 3D imaging of how my teeth should be once complete

Thanks to my Orthodontist's fantastic assistant Jane (Thanks Jane!!) I have some photos and a 3D rendering of where my teeth are currently (after the expander, but before Invisalign); and where I should be when this is all said and done.

I hope this works. Don't my teeth look amazing after?!?

Simulated Invisalign Plan then put in this Password to view: VWwHQ^kl. I could not get the link to work without the password.

If you don't like looking at real teeth I suggest you look away now!

Weeks 1 and 2 with Invisalign

So if you are reading this you know as of my last post I had left the dentist's office back in February with my teeth having been scanned. And my bottom permanent retainer having been removed (ouch!).

My next appointment was March 11. This is when I received two trays of my Invisalign and also got to see how many trays in all (so far) that I would need. Apparently I need 21 trays (to start), which equals to 42 weeks as you are to change them out every 2 weeks.

I got to take out my expander forever!! and start with the trays. They put boht upper and lower trays on for me then got me to take them both on and off myself. Something I didn't find too difficult at first. I left the dentist's office and I could tell they were there, but I could speak normally again and didn't feel any sort of pressure or pain.

Fast-forward to a few hours later and I was starting to feel it. I had to file the edges of the mouth cutter down and snip one small part at the front bottom that was jabbing into my gums; and then I had to fashion something out of cotton swabs for your face and make something for my lower lip so that my inner lip could heal up and not get more damaged.

By the second day I was a miserable human. They hurt to take in and out; so I didn't. I barely existed that day. On Monday morning I called my dentist because I couldn't imagine having to go through this every 2 weeks for the next 21 trays. I needed sleep! My jaw hurt, my teeth hurt, my head hurt and my teeth were sensitive to eating. Thankfully I got into my dentist later that day and was prescribed T3's (Tylenol 3's) and a medicated mouthwash. I took one T3 to help me sleep Monday night and by Tuesday (day 4 technically) at dinner time it didn't hurt to take the trays in and out anymore; and then by Thursday morning (day 6) I was able to stop putting the cotton in between my bottom lip and teeth.

I'm now onto day 11 (so I'm still in my first set) and I change into my next set on Saturday. I plan to do this at night with a painkiller; as that is what I did whenever I turned my expander.

My next appointment is on April 8, and at this appointment I will be getting my attachments and also something they call a Miyo(?) device. From what I know the Miyo device will only be worn at night and will almost be like a mouth guard and it is meant to bring my bottom jaw forward more. Also I was told that I would have to start doing exercises with my tongue and mouth.

Obviously I'm not looking forward to this part for many reasons; to name a few being the fact that I can only imagine how hard it will be to sleep with this Miyo thing in. Keep in mind this goes over the Invisalign already on my upper and lower teeth, plus the attachments. I can potentially see these taking a bit to get used to when you don't have your trays in; scraping your cheeks, etc.

Until tray #2!

The start of my journey

I probably should have started this blog when I started my treatment but better late than never!

The Beginning

I started my journey towards Invisalign back in July of 2016. I started by going to dentist (gasp!). To be honest I couldn't tell you the last time I had been at a dentist before then. If I had to wager a guess it would be somewhere around 10-12 years at least....I know I know that's horrible. But if you knew my dental past you might forgive me for waiting so long.

So what started me on my journey was that I noticed my overbite was coming back and I was starting to notice a lisp when I spoke. Now having been down the whole braces thing twice before in my life I wanted to do something different, something I had more control over. So that led me to look into Invisalign.

But of course I had to get all the regular dental treatments out of the way first (ie, cleaning, repairing old fills, etc).

Skip forward to September and I was finally ready to start my Invisalign journey. First I had to meet with the Orthodontist, she travels by plane once a month with her assistant to our community. I met with them they took many pictures, molds and scans. I was then told I was a candidate for Invisalign but first I would have to expand my upper arch with a three-way palatal expander.

The palatal expander arrived for my appointment in November. At first it was fine. I was under the instructions to turn it twice a week on the top part and the side part (the days didn't matter), and recommended I turn it at night; so start turning I did. I found that Tuesdays and Fridays were usually my turn nights.

Now if you've never seen one of these contraptions they are pretty inconspicuous as far as ortho treatments go, Someone else looking at you wouldn't be able to notice you wearing it, except for when you talk. This torture device makes you sounds very funny. You cannot pronounce certain letters and it impairs your speech...but you do get used to talking with it over time (say at least a month).

There was one point in late November where my teeth and jaw really hurt! It felt a bit like my mouth was being ripped apart, but not quite as bad. Luckily after a few more turns that pain went away. I found out at my next appointment in December that the pain I felt was likely from my upper arch expanding and the bone there "breaking" in lack of better terms.

I had to turn the front and side of my palatal expander up until December. Then I was lucky enough to only have to turn the side twice a week for the next month. When I went in to my January 2017 appointment; I could stop turning!!! I was so excited. Now I just had to wear the expander as a retainer but still wear it as often as before.

The only times I was taking it out was to eat, brush my teeth and play sports. February was my next appointment and when I went then they had to take my bottom permanent retainer out; which I had on my teeth since my last go around with braces (so say 15ish years). This did not feel the best. It felt like she was scraping my teeth down to nothing. It took about a week for the tenderness and pain to fade enough to be able to eat relatively normal again.

At this appointment they also took more scans of my teeth so they could start making the Invisalign. I was on my way!!