ONE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In one week from today, I will be going to the orthodontist to get my attachments off and get my new retainers (to wear only at night I believe). I am sooooooo excited. There are three minor issues I have at THIS moment, but overall I'm very pleased with the results. Those three issues are: 1) my front teeth (as in top & bottom) seem to grind together which sends chills through my body. It's so horrible when it happens. But it doesn't happen often and I think with some getting used to, I could prevent it. 2) a side tooth seems to not be turned all the way, so it's sort of on its' side. But I don't really notice it unless I stare at my mouth and it doesn't look bad. and 3) the back right still seems to not bite down right. That's the only part that actually bothers me a lot. I will probably ask about it if it's not better. It's not that big of an issue, I guess, but I constantly notice it when my retainers are out...which will be permanently soon.

Anyway, in preparation for next week, I have already purchased the new whitening toothpaste I will be using. I did a lot of "research" and found a semi-new product (thanks commercials) that upon further looking into seems perfect! It's called "Crest 3d white luxe glamorous flouride anticavity toothpaste" It's supposed to remove 90% of surface stains in 5 days! And it's also very safe on enamel, which is important when it comes to whitening products because a lot of them are so harsh. It was around $4-5 I believe, but with my couponing and savings (which I could write a whole separate blog about), I got it for $2.75. Which I think is very, very reasonable for toothpaste, let along whitening toothpaste! So as soon as these attachments are off, I will be able to use it...and report how it works!

YIPPIE!

It has been 2 weeks with these retainers so I normally would be changing them. But since this is my last set I have 2 weeks left. TWO WEEKS!! And then the official unveiling will occur. I couldn't be more excited! I have been looking closely at my teeth and they surprisingly have REALLY straightened out in the last 2 weeks. I only have two minor areas of concern. 1) my bite seems a little off AND 2) my front teeth still don't look completely centered in the middle. Now these are things I could live with, but my perfectionism makes me VERY aware of them. Right now I'm just getting super excited to get my attachments off, be done with retainers (during the day at least I believe), and whitening! But I also am nervous about the whole getting used to not wearing retainers. Because now when I have them off for awhile, it feels weird. I can only imagine how weird it's going to feel not wearing them all the time. I'm very ready to add my new teeth brushing/flossing/whitening rituals into my daily and nightly routine. I know I should already have been having these rituals down by now, but my retainers are enough of a ritual for me to deal with. (cleaning them, keeping them clean during the day, etc.)

I don't think my teeth will be moving anymore because the 2 week movement period is up, but things really need to set into place. So all I'm really looking at is two weeks wearing these retainers that already fit until these attachments come off and I'm done with normal treatment.

Update Part 2

In a couple days it will be 2 weeks of these retainers. My teeth are used to them it seems. Since the last time I wrote, my teeth have gotten to another position where my bite seems off. I'm hoping it will correct, or else I get used to it. I'm very eager to start teeth whitening and have looked into different products. I will try to write about how that goes as well. I have read a lot of online reviews (which I recommend doing for ANYTHING you are thinking of buying) that white strips can cause tooth sensitivity, so I'm thinking I'll stick to whitening mouthwash and toothpaste. But that's not for a couple weeks anyway.

I have been almost religiously chewing gum to keep these retainers clean. 4 weeks is a long time wearing the same set of retainers. I also keep some flossers in my purse so I can easily and quickly clean my teeth anywhere I am. I did eat some sausage today with them on out of pure laziness, but otherwise I have been very good. I actually haven't had much of a chance to look at my teeth. I have been super busy, so tomorrow I will have to take a good look at them. I'm kicking myself for not taking more before pictures, but the ones I have seem to show my progress is definitely big.

I have been thinking and am pretty sure the reason my teeth aren't PERFECT is because invisalign could only do so much. I remember years and years ago when I got a traditional braces consultation the orthodontist said I needed a spacer and the procedure was a lot more complicated. My invisaling treatment has been very low maintenance and not hard at all besides the moments of pretty bad pain. No tooth pulling, or tooth sanding. Really just attachments and retainers. So for what I've been through, things look really good. And I suppose nobody is really going to see the back of my teeth and judge that they're not perfectly straight. I'm definitely more aware of my teeth than other people are. Especially because I've seen how great of a change could be made. But I also feel like I paid a lot of money for my results to be perfect. Sometimes being a perfectionist is very thought consuming!

Here's where we're at

So it has almost been one week on my last set of retainers. And I'm becoming more at peace with the idea that this is my last set. At first my bite in the back was very uncomfortable, but it seems better now. My teeth will not be perfectly straight in the back, but the more I think about it, the most I seem to remember the picture they showed me didn't have the back perfectly straight. So I am beginning to think this is the best invisalign can make it. I'm sure braces could make things even better, but it would be more complicated, more expensive, and I didn't want traditional metal braces. I think I will be happy with the look of my teeth once the attachments are off, but only time will tell.

I'm actually kind of sad I won't be wearing retainers anymore. So weird. I was ready to be done (the cleaning part is gross), but I really don't like the feeling without retainers. I'm so used to them, it feels weird when they're not on for awhile. Like my teeth aren't being supported. I'm sure it will take getting used to just like it was getting used to wearing them.

But I am excited to start some teeth whitening. I have about 3 weeks to go until I have my attachments taken off and I'm done. But I will definitely be monitoring my teeth and addressing any concerns I have before that happens. I wonder how they get the attachments off? More researching for me!

I'm...done?!

That's right. I am apparently done after this set. And I'm happy/sad about it. I went to my check today and the hygienist told me I had 3 sets of "pluses" that the doctor would see if I needed to use. Which I wanted. How weird to WISH for more retainers?! But I'll explain. He came in and looked at my mouth and was really pleased. He said I didn't need to use the extra ones because they are just to overcorrect things that didn't come out. And he said mine look great. Which confuses me. I have to wear this set for 4 weeks. Which really isn't going to do much. Each tray individually barely moves your teeth. It's a very small difference ONE tray can make. Then I will get my attachments aka bumps off!! And he said he will order my retainer today. My number one complaint at this point is communication. I'm not sure why I need a separate retainer, if I have to pay, etc. I guess it just had the bumps gone so it will snug to my teeth once I get the attachments off. Otherwise, it seems to be done.

Now on to the good/bad feelings. GOOD is that I'm soooo ready to be done. I won't have to worry about eating and constantly cleaning them, how I eat in public, the gross feeling or dirty retainers, or new pain. BAD is that I don't think my teeth are near perfect (maybe I'm just being overly critical because I've seen how much they CAN change and how much I like the change) (I'm also not sure if they're making me done because they think I'm done or they just don't want to waste more time on me. That's my cynical nature to question motives.), I don't want to be unhappy with my smile ever again and really this was a big investment. I have said I would be happy if my mouth stopped in this position. And I kind of would, I just really had my heart set on everything being PERFECT. They didn't really make it easy for me to ask questions and they were very pleased with how things looked. My teeth from the front look really good, but the back teeth are NOT completely straight. Is that normal? Aren't back teeth supposed to be straight too? I'm going to look into it and then try to post some pictures!

Quick Update

Haven't had much time to write & seriously every picture I try taking turns out horrible. I was just going to wait, but I thought I'd write quickly. I go to the orthodontist n 4 days, so at this point in my current trays my teeth aren't hurting. Things are fine that way. My retainers have gotten so dirty and it's pretty much impossible to clean them back to normal once you let them go. I half don't even care at this point since I'm almost done with this set, but know I need to focus on better habits.

I have been doing some research because I was very worried that my teeth weren't where they should be and apparently it's quite common to need refinements. Which from what I've heard is just new retainers because things didn't go as planned or for whatever reason aren't perfect. Which I believe includes new molds (ick) and new trays. Which can be a lot depending on the case. I've read some blogs where people needed 2 different cycles of refinements, which can easily add up to 6 months or more. Which is both discouraging and nice. I want perfect teeth. But I am sick of retainers and was very much looking forward to being done. Plus I have to wear this next set for a month. Which seems wasteful if I'm going to get new molds. AND then the molds take time to be sent away so I can be making NO progress for like a month. That seems like a waste of time. And I'm unsure about payment. I read sometimes 1-2 refinements are included in the cost. But I'm not sure. I would hate to have to invest more money into this process when I'm trying to save for other things! I'm guessing I will learn about this when my teeth are "done"  and the orthodontist realizes they're not perfect and will require more work. For now, I guess I will just wait.

I've been meaning to write...

I've been meaning to write, but I was waiting until I took some pictures (which I never did...oops) so I figured I should at least write. I changed into my (so-called) second to last set of retainers 2 days ago. My penultimate set of retainers. Haha never thought I'd use that word when I learned it in college prep senior year of high school. Ohh the good old days. Sorry this is turning into a non-tooth related blog. The bottoms hurt a lot, as usual. And I find that weird because the bottoms look almost perfect to me. The tops actually hurt a tiny bit this time, which I feel like they should hurt more because they have more moving to do. I don't possibly think in one more set of retainers after this one my top teeth will be completely straight. And I want them to match the bottoms and also look good. I guess I can talk to my orthodontist about it, but the appointments are so quick they really don't give me time to talk about anything and I don't even get to see anyone but the hygenist. But this is a big deal (and investment). My worrying is getting the best of me. I'm trying to trust in the plan they made for me, but I can see my tops not moving like I expected them to.

I have been very good at brushing my teeth after everything I eat, and in the event I can't (like the recent roadtrip in which I was starving) I at least floss. I put a couple flossers in my purse so I'm good to go anywhere. I have been trying to do my best to get in the habit of keeping my retainers clean because after this set, I will have to wear the next set for a month. And if I let them get dirty/gross, it will be unpleasant. Plus if they're my actual last set (which I'm unsure of at this point) they will probably be the ones I'm supposed to wear at night. Not that they told me I would have to wear them at night when I'm done, but I've heard you have to and I don't want my teeth to shift back.

My teeth are still semi sore as of now, but a lot better than they were 2 days ago. And not enough pain to need ibuprofen, but this headache I have right now may break my day free of pain medicine. And I still haven't learned to stop biting down on the areas that are sore to check if they're still sore (which make them hurt more, but I can't leave them alone!) I will TRY to add pictures soon. It's just very hard to take quality pictures that show my teeth with my cell phone's crappy camera!