Video Blog #1

Main Content of Video: Taking aligners out & putting them back in.

2 of 24 aligners

My second set of aligners!

I have been anxiously awaiting this day! It marks the completion of my first set of aligners. That means that I am done 4.2% of my Invisalign treatment (I like thinking in percentages).

So I put the second set of aligners in no more than half an hour ago. I can already feel more pressure, but it is not uncomfortable yet. Hopefully I will be asleep during the time when it would start to be unpleasant or cause a headache. With the first set of aligners I did not feel as though any of my front teeth were affected, but this time I sense that my lower front lateral incisor (purple arrow) is going to be on the move. I say that because I am feeling pressure in the area of that tooth. I am also noticing some pressure that is specific to my upper front central incisor on the same side.

Wearing the second set of aligners (January 20, 2009)

As with the first set of aligners, I feel that my vertical bite is more open. I believe that this happens during the first day or two of wearing new aligners because the aligners need to move the teeth a bit before they can really settle down into their intended positions.

Here's hoping that the next few days don't bring me too much pain! :)

1 of 24 aligners

My first set of aligners!

I got my first set of aligners on January 6th, 2009. When I put them in at the dentist's office, I was surprised to find that they didn't hurt at all. Fast forward a few hours and I was singing a different tune! The pressure being put on my teeth by the aligners started becoming uncomfortable, but at least that meant the aligners were doing something. That night I also noticed that my teeth were not able to bite together as closely as normal. However, the next day the aligners had settled further down onto my teeth, which improved that aspect of my bite. On this second day my cheek started to get cut by the edge of an aligner at the back of my mouth. After contacting my dentist, I was told that it should go away in a few days as the aligner settles even more into place. Sure enough, that problem has gone away on its own :)

I am now on day 8 of my treatment, and I must say that I am already quite used to wearing the aligner. In fact, this evening I had a moment where I thought that I was not wearing the aligner when I was! I also feel pretty used to my new tooth care regime that involves timing how long I have the aligners off (I'm supposed to wear them for at least 22 hours a day), as well as brushing and flossing after every meal. During the first few days I thought that my speech (lisp) would tip people off, but so far nobody has noticed my aligners (or at least nobody has said anything to me about them). I still feel as though my speech is a bit different than normal, but it's improving every day. With regards to the visibility of the aligners, I don't think they're that visible. I have not informed my boyfriend of my Invisalign treatment, and he has not yet realized that I am wearing the aligners. He did notice something about my teeth on Sunday (day 5 of my treatment), but he dismissed it as a problem with his vision. I am waiting to how long it takes him to truly notice the aligners, since I know he will tell me when he notices them (as opposed to co-workers who may choose not to say anything). Perhaps he and others will discover my secret after I get my attachments on February 4th.

I have 24 aligners for my upper teeth and 24 aligners for my lower teeth. That means that I should be done my treatment and into the refinement stage by December (2009).



First day with aligners (January 6, 2009)
Believe it or not, I am trying to bite my teeth together in this picture.

Second day with aligners (January 7th, 2009)
My teeth come closer together than the previous day.



View of bottom teeth with aligners (January 10, 2009)

"Before Pictures" of My Teeth

To give you a clear idea of the "before" state of my teeth, I'll share a few pictures. I am not including full head shots because showing off my teeth in this way is not at all flattering :p

So, to start with I'll show you my current smile:

I don't think my teeth look that bad from this "regular angle". In fact, all of the photos I typically saw of myself looked pretty much like this...so I think that's why I hadn't realized that my teeth were getting so bad.

Now onto the other angles that depict the sorry state of my teeth:

Full front view

Looking up at overbite

Side view of overbite

Sticking tongue through overbite space

While I am rather ashamed of the current state of my teeth, I realize that it's pictures like these that will let us all assess the progress of my teeth over the course of treatment. In addition to my overbite, you may have also noticed that my bottom front teeth appear to be on a bit of an angle. I am really looking forward to having my teeth back in their proper position! :)

My Smile's History

Hi everyone! This is my very first blog, so please go easy on me as I try to figure things out. :) I guess I will start off by giving you a brief history of my teeth, and then I'll bring you along on my current Invisalign journey.

Unfortunately this is not the first time that I have had braces. When I was little I sucked my thumb, and that sufficiently messed up my teeth. My front upper and lower teeth did not come into contact with each other when I bit down, and I remember my parents finding that particularly noticeable when I attempted to eat corn on the cob. Although I had no particular interest in getting braces, my parents knew that it would be best for me to have orthodontic treatment. I don't have a good "before" picture from those days, because I used to only show my upper teeth when I smiled in order to hide the gap that existed between them and my lower teeth. What I do have is a picture of myself with the so-called "train tracks":

1997

Luckily in those days I wasn't so vain, and I didn't care that I had a metal mouth. However, once I got the braces off, I fell completely in love my new smile! I also loved the fact that I had a proper front bite when eating food.

2001

Of course, after I got my braces off I was told that I would have to wear retainers for the rest of my life. I remember thinking "surely I don't really have to wear them forever". I started out wearing the retainers every night as I was told, but then I started wearing them less and less....figuring that my teeth were set in their lovely new position despite what my orthodontist had said. Eventually I misplaced my retainers and went quite a few months without them...I think this happened when I moved away for university. Anyhow, when I came across them again they were so tight and uncomfortable (= my teeth had been moving). Instead of dealing with that discomfort, I decided not to wear them. Big BIG mistake! Later down the road, they no longer fit on my teeth and therefore had no chance of retaining my once beautiful smile. However, it wasn't until last summer (2007) that I really became aware of my changing smile. I saw a picture of myself in which I knew I was biting my teeth together, yet it looked like I was doing an "open" mouth kind of smile with my tongue showing:

2007

My overbite had returned! It turns out that I'm a tongue thruster, which basically means that when I swallow, I push my tongue up against the back of my upper teeth instead of putting it on the roof of my mouth. Additionally, my lower teeth have become more crowded...something to do with some muscle in the chin area that I unconsciously contract more than the average person. Basically this means that without a retainer, my teeth most definitely will not stay put. Anyhow, after seeing that picture I became more and more bothered by my overbite. Then in the summer of 2008 I decided that I would seek out orthodontic treatment again. This was not just an appearance issue; I was once again experiencing difficulty when eating food. I don't feel like fully explaining it here, but let me just say that I have become very self-conscious about taking bites of food in front of other people.

So that's the story of my smile that has lead up to my Invisalign treatment.