Holy teeth week

Yesterday was a check up for my invisalign. In which I expected they would tell me I was almost done. That didn't happen. They gave me 3 new sets. I put the new ones on. Again this time the bottom set didn't fit right, but the tops did. The hygenist helped pop it in, but it still needed a day or two to settle like last time. It hurt, but I tried to stick it out. I asked the hygenist if I was almost done and she said after these 6 weeks, I have 6 more weeks and the last set I'm supposed to wear for 4 weeks to make sure everything is in place. Which means at least another 3 months! So that's probably into July. Which is not what I was expecting. That will be about a year of treatment, not 10 months. Which is still not horrible, but I'm getting ready to stop wearing these things! It's kind of annoying sometimes, especially now because these last trays have been painful. And my naughty tongue, who likes to play with things he shouldn't, couldn't stop popping my retainers off in the back right because it wasn't down all the way. It was very unnatural feeling. When I pressed it down, it HURT. And it even made me talk with a lisp, which was very gross and weird sounding. (thankfully it's better now. this morning I was disgusting by my voice) I was quite annoyed, I just medicine and went to sleep.

When I woke up this morning BOY were they sore. I brushed my teeth and actually kept my retainers out while I showered. I needed a small break. I put them back in and they immediately ached. So ibuprofen it was. I was nervous because I had to go to the dentist for a cleaning and my teeth were so sore as it was. But the ibuprofen helped, and the gentle hygenist, because it was not painful. I got a new hygenist at my regular dentist's office (which by the way I was excited to go to besides the pain. My alarm clock went off and I didn't even press snooze! I jumped outta bed! I love the dentist. Call me weird.) She was SO nice! We chatted and she actually stopped a few times so I could legitimately answer without her hands in my mouth. And it was so easy to talk to her. Usually I'm at a loss for words aka socially awkward, but she was welcoming. And I told her my teeth were sore, so she was extra careful. It was nice. Plus she said I was doing great with cleaning and flossing. There was very little plaque. AND this was the first time ever I didn't get "yelled" at for not flossing enough. I'm psyched. I must be doing something right.

Anyway then the dentist came in and said I was doing good. He became interested in my invisalign. So he asked if he could see them in. I told him they were saliva-y, because they were. Which is gross. Every time I switch trays, the first few days my mouth views it as a foreign object, so it super produces saliva to try and break it down I guess. But he didn't care. I showed them to him and he told me to put them in cause he was curious. Which was sort of funny. Then I was on my way. Clean teeth and retainers mostly fully molded to my teeth like they should be.

What I gathered from the last few days is: my teeth are not as far along as I thought. They have come a LONG way, but there still is a significant amount to go. I was rushing things I guess. So I will try to be more patient because even a year is nto that long to wait to have the smile I've always wanted. To prove my teeth are far from "perfect" as I thought they practically were, here is an extreme close up:

Obviously as you can see, the top AND bottom teeth need to line up a little better to get on the same level. And the bottom teeth need to stretch out a little more so they're not as crowded. But still an improvement nonetheless. And I've noticed today my lips are fuller. The orthodontist said that might happen. And it looks very nice considering my top lip was always smaller than my bottom one!!