Oopsies

Sorry to not be updating as much! It's hard to describe the changes only I see and I doubt all the tiny details are that interesting. But I will want to know these things later on to track my progress. SO...only a few more days left of this tray. Feeling about ready to change them, so that's a good sign. They were sore a few days into the current tray, which is a little unusual for me at this point, but like I have said before pain=progress and that makes me hopeful. So I try to ignore it and know it means it's working.

I noticed today when I was looking at my teeth that the bottom ones- especially on the left side- are straightening out considerably. There are 2 teeth that I have been waiting for to move for awhile now. They are the ones on the bottom row near the corners of my mouth when I smile. They were the ones that were really crowded on my bottom room. And it seems they are finally straightening!! My smile is looking so much better. I really need to add some pictures! I'm not self conscious about showing my retainers for the most part anymore. The only thing that sometimes makes me uncomfortable is the attachments because they stick out. But really it's minor.

One thing I've noticed is that I am not very good at eating/drinking. The other day my sister bought me an orange julius as a little present for an event we were celebrating and I just took a drink without thinking. She was like, "did you take your retainers out?" and then I realized OOPS! No I didn't! But I just kept them in and when I got to my car I realized 1) the juice was seeping in and my retainers/teeth were turning pink mmm triple berry and 2) the seeds were really annoying because you can't really chew in your retainers (not that I haven't before, but it's just too risky and feels weird) Plus I will never get used to people giving me food to try quick when we're cooking or someone's eating something good and wants me to try and it's awkward but I have to say "I can't. My retainers are in" because it's so inconvienient to take them out for a second and putting them back in.

Another bad thing is if you eat something quick and then just put your retainers in, you don't realize what you're essentially trapping in your retainers. So even a dry brush is pretty necessary. And my last complaint is gum chewing. Which I basically can't! I used to chew gum as a way to not snack. But if you take your retainers out to chew gum, they won't be in very long and therefore won't be doing their job. But the bad things are so little compared to what it could be. And unlike braces I can eat whatever I want. It's only a short amount of time these retainers are on. And I guarantee it will be so weird to get used to not wearing them. I am going to have the smile of my dreams and that is totally worth everything!!