Really?

Well I sure had a blast from the past. I changed my retainers yesterday. Now I'm on tray #16. That sounds so far into it! And I guess it really is. I think I'm supposed to have 24? Or somewhere around there. Anyway when I changed into these new trays yesterday they were pretty tight. I guess that was to be expected. Certainly shouldn't have surprised me. But what did suprise me was they got stuck! I couldn't get them off when it was time to eat. I literally had to use my shirt. Something I hadn't had to do in quite awhile!! They literally felt like they were clinging to my teeth. I figured they would be fine by the end of the day. But nope, over a full day later and they are very difficult to get out. I still am using my shirt, or a napkin. It's not a huge deal. It definitely gets frustrating when I want to take them out quick. But I'm sure it won't last too much longer. I have my appointment in two weeks where I'll get my next retainers. I should be finding out soon when (and if) I'll actually be getting my teeth filed. Sort of hoping I won't have to have that done because I don't want my teeth to be very different sizes. I'm sure they'll do it so it looks good, but I'd rather not have to deal with it.

Something that I have been aware of is it looks like (at least to me) that my front teeth are not perfectly centered in the middle of my lips like they used to be...and like they should be. I know my teeth aren't in their permanent positions right now so I'm trying not to worry. But my sister told me when she had her consultation (she didn't go through with treatment because she didn't want to take on another bill as she had several others she had to pay off) the orthodontist told her at the end of treatment her top teeth wouldn't be aligned with her bottom teeth so that the line between the front top and front bottom teeth wouldn't be in exactly the same spot. But they said it wasn't a big deal because no one would notice it. But to me, that is a huge deal. I am very critical of myself and that would bug the crap out of me. So I'm hoping everything will come out aligned. I'm pretty sure if things aren't perfect they can tweak them. I know if for instance right now things weren't going as planned they would have the company make refinements to correct the future trays, because they make all the trays at once. So I'm not too worried about it, just keeping it in the back of my mind.

The more I think about it, the more I stress about flossing. It makes sense that if your teeth are only moving millimeters (or less?) during a set of trays, that tiny things make a big difference. So if your teeth are not clean and there is food or anything in between your teeth they probably can't move like they should. And althought I am fairly good at flossing, I don't do it daily. Which my regular dentist has been yelling at me for years about! I'm definitely better than I used to be. My invisalign has really made me more aware of that. But I should be better at it. I'm only going to get what I put into it. If I don't wear my trays the reccommended 22 hours, my teeth won't be where they should. So I make sure to wear my trays. If my teeth are not clean, they will not move like they should. So my point is I really need to force myself to do it. I use floss picks so they are so simple. There is no reason for laziness. I keep seeing invisalign commercials and I'm so proud to be among those who have made the choice to better their smiles. It means a lot to me as I have been so self conscious for years about my teeth. I would hate for this all to be for nothing. So I need to step it up! But don't think I will stop drinking pop with my retainers in. hahaha. I really should stop that too, but that is not always easy.