The attachments

Attachment day :(

At the dentist, about to get the attachments put on my teeth. I have been dreading this day and now it is here. Just took some Tylenol and will update with photos after this is done. Freaking out just a little- mostly about how they will look but also a little about the more intense soreness that I am expecting to come with it. I guess it's time to get this done...

2nd tray

Well, it's been a little bit since I updated this last. We just moved into our new home and the move went surprisingly well despite the fact that I started my 2nd Invisalign trays the night before the move. It felt tight and sore but less so than with the start of the 1st trays. I came home from work Wednesday night, took out tray 1 for dinner, ate and popped some Tylenol and put in tray 2 when we were done eating. I can feel it moving my upper front teeth and also my lower middle section. Today is Saturday and its starting to feel less like a vice grip on my teeth, so I guess they're cooperating and moving like they're supposed to.  I feel like I'm more in the rhythm with managing the invisalign and I have a little travel bag that I carry so I can take them out when eating on the go. It's becoming less of a nuisance and more of a way of life, so I'm happy about that. 2 weeks and 1 day down, 2nd tray of 26 in my mouth! Looking forward to finishing this and having beautiful straight teeth!

Clin-Check video of my teeth moving

Here is the Clin-Check video that shows my teeth and how they will move and eventually end up... hoping this works  :)

1 week down!

It's Friday 5/17/13 and I have made it to the 1 week mark! Yesterday the cleaning stuff I ordered (Retainer Brite) came and I got to use it this morning and it was so much easier than scrubbing the trays with a toothbrush and paste. Just drop the trays in a cup of water with one of the tablets and it starts off blue and the water turns clear when it's clean. I ate my breakfast and came back, did a quick rinse, and back in my mouth they went. Tried to reach the dentist again this morning and plan to ask about how often I can use that stuff- would love to do it twice a day, but don't want to ruin the trays either. Hopefully they call me back this time. I'm also still planning to see if they can email me the clin-check diagram/video of how my teeth are going to move. We'll see. I feel like I'm getting used to them now and I have a short list of items I plan to buy today that may make all of this easier. I want some little pencil/makeup bags to carry in my purse and work bag that will contain a travel size toothbrush and paste, a carrying case for the Invisalign, the little remover tool, and some floss. I think that will keep me more organized and I won't have a bunch of random things floating around in all of my bags. Each time I take out the trays to eat these days I can really notice how much my teeth have moved, so I'm eager to start the next tray already and see the change each one brings. 

back to work today

So, I was back to work today and tried to create a new AM routine. Woke up, invisalign out, teeth and trays brushed and then ate some breakfast and drank some coffee before brushing again and putting the trays back in to head to work. I have also started measuring my time with the trays out so I can keep track of achieving the 22 hours/day with trays on goal that Invisalign encourages. Today with all meals, I only had it out for 1 hour and 30 minutes. I'm sure there will be some days (mostly when I'm at home or we go out to eat) that it will be harder to get a full 22 hours of wear, but I'm off to a good start. I also am excited to see how much money we save by me eating b-fast at the house and not buying food at work. Today at work I found out that a girl named Lauren that I work with has been in Invisalign for a couple of months now and I really had never been able to tell. She even has attachments already, although hers are in the back, but she says she will be getting more and they will be in the front very soon. I'm sort of glad that I will be able to see them on someone else before I have them. The ones she has now really are much smaller and more discreet than I had imagined them to be. I also was seeing her during lunch though, so she didn't have trays on top of the attachments at that time. Will have to pay attention to her mouth more when she's not eating.  :)   Still wondering what I can do about the dry mouth that the trays give you. I have been drinking a TON of water and it doesn't really seem to help other than to make it feel better at that instant. Also, started using some mouthwash that is supposed to help improve enamel since I have been brushing so much. I think it helps, even if it's just to overwhelm my mouth with minty fresh flavor so I don't taste the plastic trays so much. So, that's about all the news for today. Tomorrow I work again and we have a going-away dinner to attend afterwards, so may take some work to reach the 22 hour goal.

5/14- photos- trays on

It may not be pretty but I was trying to show as many teeth as possible for a reference. This is day 4.

Here is a better view of a more normal smile.

And here is my "In a wind tunnel" look- (showing as many teeth as possible).