Tray 16

The only thing of note with the remaining time in tray 16 is that last Monday, I took them out at work to eat lunch and dropped my upper tray in the sink. Right on the drain. Didn't go down the drain and our restroom is pretty clean, generally speaking. Being that there are only 2 ladies that use it and we are clean, I doubt the cleaning crew sanitizes the sink every time they clean. They SHOULD but I doubt they actually do. All that being said, I did not have any retainer bright at work. So I made the not so smart decision to use the anti-bacterial hand soap in a glass of water and let my aligners soak in it while I ate lunch. I HAD to clean them somehow, right? YEA, so then my aligners tasted like hand soap the rest of the week. It was disgusting. Unseen sink grime very disgusting.... soap in your mouth for a week... pretty darn disgusting. I now have retainer bright back at work! What a fiasco!

Speaking of retainer bright, I bought a years supply from Dentakit.com. I think I am good for the rest of my treatment! :)

I had my dental appointment this morning and got my last 3 aligners. Next appointment is on Nov 29th. They will remove my attachments (YES!) and do new impressions for the refinements. I should have at least 3-4 weeks attachment free. I am really looking forward to that. The company Christmas Dinner is  December 12th. I asked him about doing the crown prior to the refinements, but he prefers to wait until we are happy with results of the braces and then he will do the cosmetic treatment and that we we would wait until we are done with the cosmetic treatment and then do new impressions for the Invisalign Vivera retainers. I trust his judgement on that so I am good with his plan after talking to him.

That's about it for this update... I just switched to aligner 17 this morning...so far so good! :)

Tray 15 and Beginning of Tray 16

Tray 15 was pretty mild and it even felt loose the last week of wear reminiscent of the first few trays. With wind whistling through making it difficult to speak at times!  I seemed to have a dry mouth more than usual, which makes your braces dry out and stick to your lips when you talk. “Talk” about embarrassing…LOL!  I drink a lot of water too… upwards of 100 ounces a day.

 

For the staining experiment, I used retainer bright just like I did in the beginning of my treatment. I drank only water while wearing my braces. The results are quite clear that Retainer Bright is superior to the Polident 3 minute as far as retainer cleaning goes. Although, I am sure it is great for dentures! J  I am tempted to throw in the towel on the staining experiment and just stick with the tried and true method using retainer bright. I’ve got a ways to go yet in my treatment.

Tray 13 - Polident 3 minute. Drinking Diet Coke & Crystal Light while wearing braces



Tray 14 - Polident 3 minute drinking only water



Tray 15 - Retainer Bright drinking only water - as you can see there is barely a difference between the new set and this set!



Tray 16 - brand new out of package

Completed Mudder and braces happily back in!

 

Last Saturday my husband and I, along with his cousin and wife, did the Tough Mudder which is a 12 mile obstacle course mud run. We signed up long ago back in January 2013, and have been anticipating this event for about 10 months now (and training!) It was an absolute blast and we will all be joining again next year for our second event! I was torn over wearing my braces and getting mud and gunk stuck in there for the duration, or leaving my braces off and not having to think about having bacteria thriving in between my teeth and the braces! Happily making its ways around my teeth and gums! HEEBIE JEEBIEs! So I decided to not wear the braces and extend my treatment for a day or two if needed. Normally I switch my braces out every other Thursday, and of course last Thursday was THAT day. So I just kept the set on for an extra 2 days. I didn’t want to switch into a new set, and then have them off for an extended period of time the day after putting them in. The mud run ended up taking about 5 hours to complete! 5! I have never had my braces out that long before, and when it was done, all I could think about was going and brushing my teeth and getting them back in pronto! I am glad didn’t wear them because I had mud in my mouth more than once. YUK. LOL But worth it… it was so fun to complete the event! My braces were snug but I didn’t have to wrestle them back in, so I was comfortable switching to the new set after dinner Saturday evening.

Beginning Tray 16

This tray is more aggressive. My front teeth are sore as are some of the molars on my top right side. When I first put in the tray they were really super tight and it took me a minute to get them over the attachments on my uppers. Once I got them in I used a chewy until the felt seated properly.  It’s going well so far. Here are my updated photos. This time I did with and without the braces in.

Pre                     No trays             Tray 16

 

The straighter my teeth get the more I can see all of the jagged edges and chips. Yikes! Not a pretty site! I am looking forward to having some filing done later on.

I’ve noticed with trays 15/16 that my crossbite has been corrected (hard to tell straight on) but my bite is off at the moment. My molars aren’t touching now but my wisdom teeth touch, so chewing hasn’t been a problem. I may have had the bite issue for a few trays and didn’t really notice it since I have been able to chew with no issues.

 Left side with corrected crossbite

 

Right side

 

 

Only have just over 7 weeks before I go in to get impressions done for refinements. I need to talk to the dentist this Friday when I go get my last 3 sets of trays (for my uppers – I still technically have 12 for my lowers.) I want to make sure they are going to remove the attachments (3-4 weeks attachment free!! YES!) I’m wondering if they should go ahead and put the crown on that front tooth, so that it can be accounted for during the remaining treatment. I am also getting the bridges so it would be easy to just cut off the back of the final lower tray to make sure my front teeth stay where they are supposed to then they can take new impressions for my Invisalign Vivera retainers after the bridges are placed. Way too complicated! LOL.

Tray 14

Tray 14 was mild but consistent with pressure the entire 2 weeks. The night I switched to tray 14 I whitened. BIG MISTAKE!! I had instant pain where one of my first molars meet the gum line. I mean instant searing pain! Maybe because the aligner moved the teeth but they hadn't settled yet. I don't know, but from now on I will wait until the tail end of the wear. I wanted to start out "fresh" since I had just had my teeth cleaned and made the pact to only drink water while wearing them. I could only keep them in for about 15 minutes and that was pushing it! I had tears...seriously! Have been using the Colgate Prevident like crazy to combat sensitivity.




I completed the first experiment with staining of the aligners. I did the exact same hygiene routine using Polident 3 minute except that I only drank water when my aligners were in.

 

Add caption

Top is tray 13 - Polident 3 minute - I drank some diet coke and crystal light while wearing them (but not continuously, I still drank mostly water while wearing them!). YUK!





Middle is tray 14 - Polident 3 minute with only water while wearing them






Bottom is tray 15 right out of the package.





So, you can clearly see that these aligners stain terribly. From here on out, I am back to my water only regimen. Even only drinking water, while using the Polident 3 minute, there is still some slight staining. I didn't really notice the discoloration on a daily basis like tray 13. It wasn't until I took the new aligners out that I could really see that there was still some staining. I have a feeling no matter what, after 2 (or longer for others) weeks of wear, there will always be some staining and general grunginess (is this a word? LOL.)

Aligner 15 will be my normal regimen but using Retainer Bright instead of the Polident. Let's see how that turns out (I could just pull out some old aligners to compare as I still have them all (not sure why!) I put in tray 15 last night before bed and my front 2 teeth are some what loose today when I remove them, but I haven't had any pain at all. I was half expecting more soreness since trays 5 & 10 (pattern of 5's lol) seemed to hurt more than the others, but so far so good! I can't believe I just put in tray 15! 196.5 days into Invisalign! I still have a long ways to go, but I am used to them fully now (even the hated attachments.)

I think my teeth look much better when I am wearing the trays at this point.  :)

                                                     Pre                                   Tray 15



Tray 13

I had my dentist appointment today and also got a cleaning. I may be in the minority but I love to have my teeth professionally cleaned! I got a great report - no cavities. She didn't have to scrape as much as normal - a sign I have been pretty diligent (but not perfect) with my hygiene routine. The dental hygienist is pretty awesome I have to say. She is one of the most thorough and nice to boot. Her only concern was my----drum roll---- DIET COKE habit. Ya. So I promised myself I would stop drinking the diet soda with my aligners in as she mentioned some staining - I have enough trouble with my teeth being more yellow wearing these things - maybe my teeth are very porous?? Driving me crazy though... I haven't whitened in a long time so I am going to this weekend and suck up the sensitivity. I've noticed that the teeth with the attachments are the real culprits. HMMM! I also got a new prescription for the Colgate Prevident. She wants me to use it before bed and not rinse my mouth, but I am worried about it staining the aligners (it's blue.) Why do manufacturers feel the need to add "food" coloring (usually chemically)  to everything? I am good with clear! or White! or whatever natural color comes out! :) My next cleaning is scheduled for March 7th next year, which will be 1 day before my full year with Invisalign (got them March 8th this year.) I will look forward to seeing those xrays and seeing the changes!

On the cool message board I frequent (not a huge poster but I sure do like to read about other's experiences and watch for progress pictures!), Braces Review Board (check it out if you haven't already) there is a debate ongoing right now about what causes the aligners to yellow/stain. A few people are really awesome about only drinking water, so there is the thought it may be the denture cleaners being used. I never really noticed much staining when I was only drinking water and using Retainer Bright - but I started using Polident recently, which also coincided with my return to diet coke (I keep mentioning the diet coke because it was a HUGE deal for me to quit that habit last year - now I can't remember what made me drink one again a few months ago but I eventually said to heck with it, I'm drinking my diet coke. It's akin to having stopped/restarted smoking...UGH!!) So, all that to say is I am going to try and experiment cleaning my aligners over the next 6 sets using various methods. I will try a different one each week, and then compare. I will only drink water with my aligners in for the entire experiment. I always brush my aligners at the very least 1 x a day, but usually twice a day (morning and before bed.) I will keep that commitment during the entire experiment because the thought of NOT brushing them at all gives me the heebie jeebies. Too many crevices for germs and crud to hide in. (shivers)

Tray 14 - Polident 3 minute (although I usually leave them in there longer than 3 mins....)
Tray 15 - Retainer Bright
Tray 16 - Half water / half mouthwash
Tray 17 - Basic brushing the aligner using only water each time I remove them (not sure about this method but I've seen it recommended by ortho's - If I get wind of any odor or do not feel "clean" I am going to abandon this method and chalk it up to "oh hell no" sorry...LOL)
Tray 18 - Soaking in water and a dab of bleach (wow this is actually recommended by a dentist- at least they will be more sanitized than the Tray 17 method)
Tray 19 - Brushing with water and dish washing liquid each time I remove them. That should be fun when I am off site working (I work off site every Thursday for my job)

Okay - then I can compare and report. I will take photos on the last day of each aligner so we can compare for ourselves.

I feel like I am really starting to see some results, especially on my uppers. Uppers only had 19 trays as compared to the 28 for my lowers. 6 trays left on the top. Can't believe it!

At my last appointment I discovered that they didn't order passive trays and the coordinator came to talk to me about them today. They had their Invisalign rep come in to see them and they spoke with him/her about it. (They didn't know about passive aligners prior to my mentioning them - they do now. She said they have a few other patients in the same scenario.) So what we think we will do instead of worry with the passive aligners, is to just move into my 1st refinement at that time. Which is fine with me. I am hoping my uppers won't need too much more work at the end of this round. I still have that one tooth that will get a crown as well. I asked if it made sense to have the crown done before refinements or wait. She said we would get with the dentist on my next visit to really figure out how we want to handle it. That works for me. I can handle wearing my trays for a few extra weeks as compared to the 4-1/2 months I was looking at with the uppers. I wish the cleaning debate had come up earlier now that I think about it. What if method 6 sucks and I have to spend 3-4 weeks wearing a yellow aligner?? LOL

Finally, here are my progress pictures!

Trays 11 & 12

Trays 11 and 12 have been uneventful. Consistent pressure with both trays and very little soreness. The first few days of a tray I can always tell exactly what teeth are being focused on with the movement. It seemed that my teeth were "loose" when my trays were out longer than normal (especially noticeable when eating something crunchy like an apple) and that feeling creeps me out, I have to admit. I had a crazy dream where I fell and hit my mouth, and because my teeth were in trays I knocked out ALL of my upper teeth. I really hate those kinds of dreams!

 

I will leave off with a few comparison photos.

 

                                                Pre-Invisalign                 Tray 12

 

 

I feel like I have issues keeping my teeth white with the trays. May have something to do with the fact I was drinking only water for months, then started back on my diet coke habit. I swish with water after most sips but eh.

Ortho Visit

I went to my dentist this morning for a check up and to get trays 11, 12 & 13. I asked to see my last trays to compare (I wanted to see "final results" up close) and low and behold, there was only 1 tray in the bag! EEK! I stated to the assistant that they have to order me passive trays since there is a 4-1/2 month difference between when my uppers are done and my lowers are done. That these trays are not meant to be worn that long. I don't know about anyone else, but no matter how great I am at cleaning my aligners, by the end of two weeks they are worn and slightly dingy looking (they look even more dingy in the photo!) Strangely my upper tray more than my lower tray. I drink water 80%+ of the time and diet coke or crystal light the other times. I always swish with water after drinking it though.

 

                                                        Old Tray                   New Tray

 

 

 

They said, sure no problem, we can order those at a later date. When the doc came in, I also mentioned to him and asked that they have the attachments bubbles removed from the passive trays so I can have a break with my upper attachments while waiting on the lowers (before refinements if they are needed.) He said no problem. I don't think they are used to people knowing so much about their treatment. The assistant seemed irked a little bit. No matter to me, my money out of pocket and my teeth! I plan on reminding them again in 2 visits, so that there is enough time to get them in from Invisalign before that 3rd visit when I will be done with my uppers!

 

We also discussed what I plan on doing with the spaces in the back that will need to be filled, and after discussion both agreed that bridges make the most sense. He said that there is a great deal of bone loss (being the teeth have been gone so long,) which would mean a larger bone graft than normal, in order to place implants. I have done some research on both, and implants are EXPENSIVE. As in could be upwards of 4-5k PER TOOTH and I have 4 that need to be replaced! No can do!  

 

My next visit is the first week in September and I will also get a cleaning done. I am actually looking forward to that - I expect that my teeth will be pretty well clean being I brush and floss 3-5 a day! Maybe the very back molars might need a little help, but I have been very diligent with my cleaning and checking for plaque build up etc.

 

I have had tray 11 on for about 6 hours now, and can already tell it won't hurt like tray 10 did. Slight pressure but it is nothing like the previous tray. I had zero pain when I removed them for lunch, and have no aching at all. I will give a full update in a few weeks.

 

 If anyone has any questions, feel free to leave me a comment! Have a great weekend!

Trays 9 & 10

Tray 9
Moderate pressure that lasted until I reached about day 12 on the wear cycle. Normally by day 10 they are pretty loose so this was a surprise! I guess maybe it just depends on what manuever is being made to the teeth... I really don't know. :) Nothing of else to note. I've become somewhat bored with the process and am not as obsessed with it. I figure after 4+ months of wearing them, I'm pretty much into a set routine and I've done (and continue to do) so much research I am not sure anything will surprise me at this point (knock on wood!)

Tray 10
Holy tightness Batman! This set has been the tightest yet. The first 2 days I thought I was going to rip out my lower teeth every time I tried to remove the aligners and it actually hurt to try! I also felt my teeth were a little more loose when the trays were not in my mouth than they normally seem to be. Maybe since they were so sore I just had that impression. By day 3 they were back to "normal" and the soreness and extreme tightness was relatively gone. They are already feeling pretty loose and I am only on day 8 of this wear cycle.

Great news, I am halfway through round 1 on my uppers. Whooo! I would like to find out if my dentist ordered passive trays (without attachment spaces would be ideal) for when I am done with the uppers while waiting for my lowers to complete. I have 4.5 months longer on my lowers than the uppers and I can't imagine wearing the same upper tray for that length of time. By the end of a regular 2 week wear they are pretty worn out. I would also like to get rid of the attachments on my uppers for that length of time and get a decent break from them before refinements (if needed at all... of course I would like to think they will not be needed but that's doubtful going on the general percentage of patients who need them.) I am going to mention when I go see my dentist next Friday.

 

I've also noticed a small gap between the aligner and my tooth on my upper left tooth (one with the attachments) and am going to keep an eye on it to make sure it isn't going off track. The aligner fits over the attachments correctly, so it may just be the way this pair was manufactured, but to be safe, I will be extra vigilant watching it. I'll see if the next set fits properly. I do not want to extend the treatment time if I can help it!

I'll leave off with a comparison photo:

                                            Before Invisalign                 Tray 10

Tray 8

This will be a short note as tray 8 was very uneventful! I had the standard snugness the first 2-3 days and no pain and no sore teeth at all. I didn't notice too much of a difference between tray 7 and 8, so I won't bother posting any pictures. I ran low on my Retainer Bright and after reading other's experiences on cleaning their aligners, I bought some Polident 3 minute cleaner and it works just as well, if not a tad better than the Retainer Bright. Not to mention, it's much easier to obtain as Retainer Bright can only be purchased online.

Cheers until next time!

The Voice

I had my ortho appointment this morning to get trays 8, 9 and 10. All is well in my mouth. I found out I won't get any IPR until tray 22 on the lower teeth. Dr. A said that is when the bottom teeth will really straighten out. That's a long way to go before I reach that point.

He also asked me if I watch The Voice. Yep, sure do! Turns out Danielle Bradbury is from Cypress Texas and is HIS Invisalign Patient!

How cool is that! It's funny because I told my husband before I am pretty sure she wears Invisalign, because I swear I saw attachements when they were interviewing her on one of the shows. (My husband thinks I see attachments on everyone now...lol!)

Go Team Blake!

That is all - have a great weekend y'all!

Tray 7

 

There hasn’t been anything of note with this tray. Very mild and am in the loose stage of wear. I go to the dentist’s office on Friday to get my next 3 sets of trays. I have started noticing a very small change in the way my front teeth are starting to look. Below are comparison shots from pre-invisalign to now (top photos prior, bottom current):

 

I have also been whitening my teeth, albeit very slowly. I only do one treatment a week because it really makes my teeth sensitive for 2-3 days after I am done with the treatment. I do it for 1 hour. I am using Watts Power Pro 35% Teeth Whitening Gels - Plus NEW Enamel Booster Gel. They include a remineralizing gel you keep on overnight after a treatment. I actually bought an extra supply of the remineralizing gel. I still need to whiten a few more shades. You can see with my right front tooth (crown) that at one point in my life, my teeth were super white and I need more to catch back up!

 

 

Eventually, this blog will turn into Michelle’s Invisalign Smile Make-Over Journey. I have additional work to be done after I finish my invisalign treatment. I am missing 2 molars on both sides of my lower arch (removed in my 20’s due to lack of dental care when I was growing up and lack of funds being so young!) I still have both of my lower wisdom teeth (no longer have wisdom teeth on upper arch and I am not missing any upper teeth.) I plan on getting bridges put in place of the spaces. My dentist mentioned implants, but I have some bone loss being the teeth were removed so long ago, and the process and cost of implants with bone grafts are extremely long and expensive! Bridges worry me in the fact that I have to ruin 2 perfectly good teeth for each bridge! In any case, those teeth need to be replaced. I also have the right lateral incisor that will get a crown as soon as I am done with the invisalign. It’s the tooth that started this entire process to begin with!

I have a confession! I went and got a second opinion by one of the top invisalign providers in my area. They took pictures and the orthodontist reviewed them along with my clincheck. We spoke a little about my concerns in using a cosmetic dentist with little experience in orthodontics. He said being that I am simply straightening (we are not trying to correct any complicated issues – I did ask if moving my lower wisdom teeth forward any were possible, and he said not easily. They are stubborn teeth to move and he said it would be an incredible amount of trays) that he isn’t seeing any issues with the current treatment plan. Any final tweaks can be taken care of during refinements. His recommendation was to stay on my current course of action. Now, whether or not he was being completely honest with me or just placating me being that I have already paid 100% for my treatment with my current dentist and that they have never had a current Invisalign patient show up looking for a second opinion (mentioned with surprise.) The hassle of transferring my case and trying to figure out the payment options are most likely just not that attractive of a prospect. In any case, below are the pictures they took of my teeth at tray 7.

 



That's it for this update! See ya in about 2 weeks! :)