Trays 5 and 6

Tray 5:
I’ve completely missed updating Tray 5 somehow… I guess life got in the way! Tray 5 was quite aggressive. I had sore teeth for a full week with those and a few pangs here or there going into week 2. By the time I hit about day 10 on the trays, they begin to feel very loose. I mentioned the whistling air in the past, and it holds true still. That’s one of the most annoying issues I have had. Every now and then my gums will get sore from an edge, but it hasn’t lasted more than a day and then I forget about it. I have only needed to file down one corner in the back since starting the process.

I also tested my theory on why the aligners were staining on the molars – my thought was the breath spray I had been using. I was correct, I didn’t touch it with tray 5 and they had no staining to speak of. I guess I will stay away from the breath spray from now on. I’m not fond of the staining! I wonder if it sits on my teeth too if it is staining the aligners.

Tray 6:
I switched to tray 6 last Thursday before bed. This tray wasn’t as aggressive as tray 5. I haven’t had any pain or soreness really since Sunday. I still haven’t noticed any change in the appearance of my smile, but I can definitely feel a change in my bite as well as the spacing of most of my teeth. I imagine the first (many) months are used to move teeth out of the way so that the teeth that need to move the most have enough room to do so. The dentist mentioned I would need IPR in the future, which I already knew, but he didn’t give me a specific date. He checked my roots thoroughly when I went in. I’ve read that the rate of root absorption is higher on teeth that were previously damaged. He didn’t mention anything out of the ordinary, so I will assume that no news is good news on that front.

I STILL hate the attachments. To me they are so obvious. I have been hiding my smile in public, which is really hard to do – I smile big normally. I am very much looking forward to aligner 19 on top so I can have them removed for a bit while my lowers complete round 1.  I am completely used to wearing the aligners at this point in the game though, which is a good thing.

I realized that I have never mentioned my hygiene routine. Here it is!

First thing every morning I take them out and soak them in retainer bright with cold water while I drink a protein shake for breakfast. I brush in the mornings but don’t generally floss, because I haven’t actually chewed on any food that could get stuck in between my teeth. I rinse the aligners really well under water and pop them back in.

I don’t have a morning or afternoon snack anymore because I am just too lazy to go through the process of cleaning just so I can eat an apple, ya know?!

I always bring my lunch to work, and I am luckily in an office environment where I can bring it all on Monday, leave it in the fridge to have for the week, with no worries of it getting eaten or messed with. No one wants it anyway; I have a salad with protein every day! I wait until I have my lunch ready to eat then take out my aligners and put them in a small container of cold water. I don’t use retainer bright at work, at the same time, I like to leave my aligners soaking in water. I don’t like them to get dry. I think this helps keep them odor free. Oh and I always rinse them with running water to remove any saliva before I soak them. After eating lunch, I go the full gambit and brush and floss and rinse the aligners really well before putting them back in.

Dinner it is very similar to lunch, except I have my glass of cold water with retainer bright left over from the morning and I rinse my aligners and pop them in the glass before I go eat. After dinner, I brush and floss, as well as give the aligners a quick brushing with a separate toothbrush. I really try to get my dinner/dessert all at once, but sometimes I am too full at dinner, but will get hungry a few hours later and will then repeat this process. It is a major hassle, so I have to be REALLY hungry to do this!

The products I use are:

 Listerine Vibrant White – both morning and evening before bed

Sensodyne Pronamel gentle whitening every time I brush

   Prescription fluoride toothpaste at least once a week to keep sensitivity to a minimum

Standard Oral B Electric Toothbrush at home and at work, regular manual toothbrush “on the road"

I generally like using floss picks, but do have some regular floss around just in case

 

 

Aligner Cleaner: Retainer Bright

 

Orthodontic Chewies to seat aligners the first few days of wear, multiple retainer cases:

2 at home, 1 at work, and 1 travel case

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travel pack:          Retainer case with mirror (can hold water well for soaking), travel size toothpaste, floss picks and regular floss, regular toothbrush, Colgate Wisps (a must have for certain instances: Bathroom available is so disgusting I would rather have crooked teeth than brush in it, at the movies after I enjoy popcorn, long drives where I just want to snack a little but not stop etc. Bring extra water for rinsing!), extra chewy, and a makeup bag to put it in.

And there you have it. Exciting, isn’t it?! J Until the next tray…peace! J