Done again?!

First and foremost, my laptop broke so I am blogging from my iPod touch, which is not a fun task. But it is definitely time for an update. A few days ago I finished my 5th and last set of refinement trays and went to the orthodontist to have my final checkup. (that went fast, huh?) my bite was still not fixed as last time so I wasn't sure how he would fix it. He took my attachments of, which is he most exciting part since they are not cute. Even though there was lots of water splashed in my eyes, I was happy they were coming off. Then he looked at my bite and decided since last time the metal weird retainer didn't help my bite, he wouldn't be using it again. So he had them cut my retainers into mini retainers that only hold 6 teeth on both the top and bottom. They're so little they freaked me out at first. But apparently this will allow the front teeth I stay in place and the back ones to move together. It's only been a couple days and they've already moved a lot. Hopefully thy won't too much because I don't want my progress ruined. My final retainers, which are coming soon, will be cut the same way. They will have no bumps since I don't have attachments and I have to wear them all the time for two months then only at night.

I've already started to attempt whitening techniques. Brushing after any food I eat that could be staining. Whitening mouthwash once a day as well as my toothpaste is whitening. Em I'm probably going to try the whitening pen. And I have a sample of crest white strips I will try. Hopefully I can figure out how to put pictures up sometime. You never realize how much you depend on technology until it doesn't work.

Ow and what?!?!

So I am days away from my check up appointment, which means I'm days away from being done with these retainers. And I'm ready! My bite still isn't right. When I bite down, my teeth meet in the middle between the back and front, when it should be the back. That doesn't surprise me because it happened last time, but it's still semi-annoying. Also I'm having the problem where a top tooth is aligned in a way that it digs into the middle of a bottom tooth, which doesn't feel good! It's very painful. Plus that same bottom tooth is just sore. For some reason, towards the end of the trays occasionally pain will start even thought it wasn't there earlier. So that pain is annoying me. Not bad enough to take medicine, but enough to make me complain. LOL!

Also even though I brush my teeth and chew gum like crazy, I have noticed my teeth look to be yellowing. So I am eager to do some whitening on them. I'm thinking of getting a whitening pen because my teeth are sort of sensitive so I'm afraid of even trying the white strips. I will have to look into options when these attachments are off. Yellow teeth are NOT cute! Especially such expensive teeth lol. That's pretty much all that's new on the teeth front. We'll see if I will be getting new trays in a few days (which I assume I will since I had 5 in this express tray and I'm currently on 3 and my bite isn't perfect) But you never know with invisalign!!

Number 3

So the past two weeks were pretty uneventful. The set never really hurt and it went pretty fast. Today I switched to my 3rd set. The last set I physically have in my presence. It 2 weeks when this set is ready to be done, I have my appointment to check on things. So far my teeth have made great improvements. It's only been a month and they are almost back to the straightness they were before they started shifting back. So that's promising. I am in a little pain, but it's very mild. The only concern I have at this point is my bite. This happened last time and now it's happening again. My right teeth can't touch in the back because my teeth are shifted in a way to make them straight. So that's annoying. The way to fix it last time was the special metal and plastic retainer, but since he told me I wouldn't be going back to that kind I'm not sure how this will be fixed. I'm happy with the way my teeth are looking. I also want to have a normal bite. So we'll just have to see how that will be addressed. Otherwise it's relatively boring. No excting stories. Just sitting here living my life moving teeth hahah.

Set #2

So this afternoon it was time to switch to my second set of retainers. I was very nervous it was going to be painful. I pre-tried them on yesterday to see if they would be tight and they were. So when I got home from school, I took some ibuprofen and ate enough to make me full so I wouldn't have to worry about taking my retainers out of awhile. I put my new set in and it didn't hurt. I was just waiting for the pain, so I took a nap in anticipation. I woke up and it still didn't hurt. I waited and waited for the pain, but it never came! I've been wearing this new set 10 hours, which I took out twice to eat, and I still don't have any pain. I'm thinking it was just the initial getting my teeth moving that hurt. And this time no retainer plastic digging into my gums. I think my mouth is used to the drill now.

It definitely feels weird when I bite down with my retainers out, which means they're moving so I think everything is moving along! I looked at my retainers and they look very straight, and I've also noticed the difference in my teeth so I am pleased with the way things are going. I also bought two new packs of gum today. I have a problem stockpiling gum! It's so convenient to chew after eating something so my teeth are clean enough to put my retainers back on. Even brushing doesn't get everything out of our teeth. And they have so many interesting flavors. Lemon squares? YES!

Realizations

I have come across a few realizations that explain some of the situations I previously wrote about. 1) the reason the top felt twisted or stretched on the right side is because the mold has an entire back tooth on the right side and on the left side the mold only shows half a tooth. So it's not going all the way back on the left, only the right. So it's not even. It hits pretty much the same place in the back, but it gets caught coming off the right side. 2) When I'm not paying attention, I have a bad habit of pressing my teeth down together. Not grinding, just clenching them I guess. I don't know why I do it, it's not a conscious thing, but I always catch myself doing it. It definitely doesn't feel good to do to teeth that are already sore. I need to figure out how to stop this habit! I especially seem to do it when I'm concentrating or something painful is happening, like the shot I had to get in my arm earlier this week! So the bottom teeth are still a little sore, especially because of all the teeth clenching, but they're doing pretty good. I'm in my habit and have gone through lots of gum, so I think it's all on track. I changed retainers next week so we'll see then.

Update so far

I think it's pretty safe to say I went through days of some of the worst pain I remember having with retainers. I heard it takes some pain to get your teeth used to moving again, but I don't remember it being this bad. My gums and tongue got cut by the plastic on the retainers and my teeth were really hurting. Brushing my teeth hurt incredibly bad. I took many breaks with my retainers out and found excuses to snack just so I could have them out for awhile. (Not a good idea to keep that up!)

After a few days (and lots of ibuprofen and aspirin), it faded into a sore feeling. Now my top teeth feel fine. Although it looks like the upper right side of the retainers bent or twisted a little, which has never happened before. It seems as if they're not hard enough, if that makes sense. The retainers aren't supposed to be malleable, but firm enough to force your teeth to move. I'm not sure what's up with that, but I'll have it checked out if it continues to worry me. I once again found myself almost liking the feeling of my teeth being held into position. The retainers hold your teeth and make them feel like they are where they're supposed to be.

However, the bottoms are still sore and uncomfortable. Tomorrow will be one week on this set, so it's moving along. I honestly wouldn't mind wearing them near as much if it wasn't for the pain. I definitely don't like that. I was asking myself why I did this again, as it was purely cosmetic. But it does make me feel better to have a smile I'm proud of. And the pain will be just a memory once it's all over. So I still think it's worth it. Ask me when it's time to change my retainers again...

The whole taking them out to eat/drink thing definitely took time to get used to. I still am getting used to it again. Having to say no when people offer you food because it's awkward to take your retainers out in front of people and frankly too much of a hassle for one bite of food. I keep gum stocked in my purse so I'm able to eat when I'm not at home, so it's not that bad. Once you get in the routine, it's a lot easier. I've done this before, so I'm familiar with the drill. That's pretty much all that has happened this update. Until next time, teeth out! (like peace out..nah didn't catch on)

It's a done deal

That's right. I am not sporting retainers again. And boy do they HURT. I've only been wearing them literally 30 minutes and it does not feel pleasant. But I know I'll get used to them. I took ibuprofen right when I got to my car, so it's bound to kick in eventually. I had to get LOTS of attachments. More than last time. I have 6 just on the bottom teeth. 2 teeth even have 2 attachments each. What?! They're tiny though. When they were putting the attachments on I guess they use clear goo and they can't really see it so they were trying to get all the excess off, but I kept making them check specific spots because it felt weird to bite down. DON'T BE AFRAID TO SAY SOMETHING! Take it from me, better to say something and sound paranoid than go home with an uncomfortable mouth. They won't be open to help you at 11 pm when you can't fall asleep cause you're in pain.

I am having the problem again where the plastic is digging into my gums. Actual text I just sent to my dad: "Can you let me know when you get home? I may need some sandpaper to get through the night. I got my Invisalign back on today". So yes, that will be happening. Besides the pain, I'm doing fine with the whole process. And I'm guessing the pain will only last a couple days max so I'm good. Here we go. Round 2.

Invisalign Eve

On the eve of my second round of Invisalign treatments, I'm nervous, but ready to get it done and over with. I decided to take some updated pictures of the movement to share and so I can better keep track of my future changes. I'm just dreading pain and eating tomorrow (and the self-consciousness that comes with attachments), but hopefully I'm just overreacting! And that's very likely with me.

Here is just an overview of how my smile looks right now. Not horrible, but it was better when I first got done with treatment the first time. The bottom seems to be worse off than the top. Not that I'm complaining, but it's very visible my middle tooth line is a lot more even than it used to be. So that is an indictation of the movement, because when I was done with treatment, that line wasn't that even. It's not a big deal I guess whether it's aligned perfectly like this:

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or a little off like this:

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But the change in position definitely shows a post-treatment shift.

Here's a better look at the bottom. As you can see, there's one tooth on the middle bottom 4 that has moved out of line behind the others. And now that I'm looking at it, the one next to it looks crammed and sideways. The top appears to be fairly good to me.

Anyway just wanted to post some pictures before tomorrow. I will surely update soon to post what happened.

Here we go....AGAIN

So I just got THE call. My new invisalign retainers are in (and I will be needing attachments..ugh). I made an appointment for Wednesday, and suddenly all the memories of pain, hassle, and commitment are coming back to me. I am NERVOUS! I've done this before, but I'm thinking back to the first time I got them on and the pain that lasted for a couple days was so severe, I don't want to deal with that again. I do want my teeth to be as good as they were before they started shifting, but I'm just worried. He guessed it would be about 5 trays I think, so around 3 months. I've had them off for probably 9 months, so it's going to be weird getting used to them again. I will definitely be reading my own blog for some advice. I already stocked up on gum. And I have some clear mouthwash left from last time. I'll keep you updated. I know it will be worth it, but it's just going to be getting back in the routine and hopefully not having to worry about pain.

I get to....

GO BACK ON INVISALIGN TREATMENT. That's right, I have to go back on retainers for probably 5 trays my orthodontist guessed, so that's at least 3 months. I never thought I would have to do this again, but my teeth moved so I have to. I'm not upset, just shocked. I had to get molds done again (my very least favorite part). I gagged at least 4 times and almost threw up on the hygienist, but they are all done and sent away to invisalign. I may have to get attachments again. I'm a little nervous for the pain, but mostly I just want my teeth back to looking good. Then when I'm all done, I will have to wear an invisalign retainer at night instead of my other one because it didn't work. Overall, I was very impressed with my orthodontist and their ability to help me out. Plus he said it wouldn't cost me anything. Which is amazing, since I already spent a lot on these teeth!

UPDATE & movement?!

So it has been quite some time since I wrote. I got used to my night retainers, but they didn't seem to really keep my teeth in place. They were sort of loose and basically just had a bar in the front. They weren't tight fitting like the invisalign retainers that had a spot for every tooth. There were a couple nights I didn't wear them (because I was sick and really didn't want to throw up or hack with retainers in) and I noticed a couple weeks ago certain teeth were moving back! I was so angry! One tooth on the bottom is now unaligned with the rest and the top problem tooth seems to be moving back in the direction it came from. I guess the retainers weren't tight enough or maybe I should have worn them more than just at night? No clue what happened.

So naturally I called my orthodontist, even though it has been probably 6 months?, and they unfortunately couldn't get me in for 3 weeks because he was going out of the country. So I will be going back to hear what they have to say. I am nervous because 1) I'm afraid they can't do anything or I'll have to pay a lot OR 2) If I do have to get new retainers, it is almost guaranteed to hurt. And having to go through new molds (ICK!) But I'd rather have nice teeth than worry about a little pain. I'm thinking original invisalign retainers should be the best solution. But I also don't know because they weren't enough to originally correct my bite. I guess I will not know until I get there. But I just wanted to provide an update. I can try to get pictures to show the movement, but we'll see.