Tray 4

Wow! I can't believe that I am already 7 weeks into my treatment. That seems pretty crazy. My excitement level has obviously been taken down a notch as you can see that I have neglected writing for over a month now.

I really have had no aha moments just yet. I was hoping that my eating on the run habit would be stopped and although, it has slowed I still find time to eat on the road. I mean, lately I live on the road and I have to eat sometime. I am just really okay about brushing my teeth in the car and in random places now. I literally will find myself pulling out a toothbrush anytime. I think that sometimes that can be a bad time, especially in my professional life!

I do have one observation about just general life with Invisalign. I find that when its almost time to change trays, the one I am wearing is really loose. So loose almost that I can lift it off my back teeth with my tongue. And, I get really excited when its time for a new tray. It's almost like you have proof that they are working because you can feel how tight they are. I don't know if I can see the difference in my smile just yet. Again, I think because my teeth are in pretty good shape for the most part, that it will be more difficult for me to see the overall change as quickly as others. I can feel the difference in my bite and in the way my teeth feel.

I promise to post new pictures soon, but today is Friday and well- I'm just too lazy to do it! Enjoy the weekend my friends.

One week down

Week one without aligners
Notice just how shifted my bottom bite appears.

Week one with aligners

(I promise these are the same teeth, just different lighting)





Okay. So, Tuesday made one week that I have been wearing this aligners and I must say, WOW! Just wow.

First off, I am loving this new diet. I have completely eliminated unnecessary calories because to be honest, its not worth taking the trays out. I paid to keep these bad boys in. So my day sort of goes like this:
*Wake up
*Shower
*Get baby up and dressed
*Take aligners out, put them to soak in water (with some hydrogen peroxide)
*Eat quickly and possibly have a glass of tea while feeding baby
*Brush, floss
*Brush, rinse aligners and pop them back in
*20 mins total, try to get it at 10 mins if baby isn't ready for food

*Head off to work
*Get to work, fill up jub-o-water
*Warm up lunch (soup or steamer meal or something just as quick)
*Grab diet soda
*Grab lunch, pop out aligners
*Eat, drink soda quickly
*Brush, floss
*Brush, rinse aligners and pop them back in

*Back to work
*Home for the day
*Get dinner ready
*Pop aligners out, eat quickly with or without soda
*Brush, floss
*Brush, rinse aligners and pop them back in
*Sleep

So, that's the long drawn out day that is my dental responsibilities. Of course, occasionally I might indulge in a soda out of those time frames which means I just need to brush as soon as I can. I kind of really enjoy the simplicity of it. It keeps me from eating fast food! I've learned to preoccupy myself with the novelty of the apparatus in my mouth to help curb any mid afternoon office snacking.

Now, down to the nitty gritty. No pain, just a little annoyance now and again. It's amazing that I never noticed just how bad my center line was off. Now, that is all I can focus on when I look in the mirror. I kind of feel like I have more spaces between some teeth. I don't know if that was just the IPR or if my teeth are actually being shifted that way to straighten them out. I guess I will find out at my next appointment. I did break one attachment, but the majority of it is still there. Hopefully this does not effect things a great deal. I am including some pictures. I hate to do that because now I can see are the flaws, but I know they help to drive home the results. I did get a good picture of my teeth at the start. I will have to wait to get that from the dentist when it's all over.