Waiting... trying to be patient...

I realize I haven't posted for a while. There hasn't really been any new developments to update with. I am currently on my last set of trays for the initial round. YAY!!!

My son started first grade earlier this week, and I took some pictures of the two of us. I made one of them a the lock screen on my cell phone. Yesterday, I kept picking up my phone and thinking, "WOW, who's that hot mama?" LOL I love my new smile!

I go in a week from today. I will find out at the appointment if I need refinements or if I am done. I'm ok either way really, I've just grown accustomed to them now and feel naked without them in. I can't imagine what it will be like to go all day without these things in. I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming I'll eventually get down to night time wear only for retainers, hopefully that will be sooner than later.

I will update again in a week after my appointment when I have more news, and I know they'll be taking pictures for me again! :)

Have I Lost My Mind???

So I was just in the bathroom washing my hands, looked at myself in the mirror, and thought to myself - "Did I forget to put my trays back in?" I had to take another look to make sure they were there!!

If anyone questions how noticeable these things are... they must not be if I had to look twice at my own mouth! :)

That is all... short one today! :)

Good News/Bad News

Which would you like first? The good news? Or the bad news? You're getting the good news first!

The Good News

I went in for my regular dental checkup and cleaning... no cavities!!! I was a little bit concerned with all of the horror stories of people getting cavities with Invisalign. Personally, I think it's just people not brushing and flossing correctly before they put their trays back in. BUT, that's just my opinion and I don't want to offend anyone. :)

And now...

The Bad News

As I have previously mentioned, I'm on the Invisalign Assist Program, so after every 10 trays, they do new digital scans to make sure everything is tracking correctly before making the next 10 sets of trays. Well... the new trays came in so I went to pick them up yesterday. Yay!! (Or so I thought before I went in.) A couple of issues;

• One tooth on the bottom is a little slow and isn't moving the way that it's supposed to, so they added more trays to the bottom. Not a huge problem since I was supposed to have 16 Lower and 23 upper trays to begin with, it makes things a little more even and I won't have to wear the bottom tray so long waiting to finish the top set and waiting to move on to refinements or retainers or whatever I chose to do when these are done.
  
  • They have also made some changes to the top since one of the front teeth is moving, but it's not straight up and down, it's now crooked. So I now have 27 trays (Upper and Lower), which how now increased my total time by 2 months! :(
• I now have 2 small attachments on one of my front teeth, one in the upper corner and one in the opposite lower corner to kind of torque the roots and get the tooth into the proper vertical position. 

I FREAKED OUT when they told me. Seriously kids, for a minute I had to hold back the tears! When I expressed my concerns, this was the response - "Well look at it this way. You could have brackets and braces." (At this point I HATE that she shares my silver lining kind of thinking.) To which I responded - "OR... I could have just NOT started this whole process at all. Never mind, I wouldn't like that at all." :)

• Some of the other attachments were removed and moved a little and one was removed completely.
  
  • Before I went in yesterday, I had 7 teeth with attachments. I walked out with attachments on 7 teeth, but 2 teeth have 2 attachments each, my front tooth and one on the bottom.

And Now For Some Positive Thinking

1. I am sure glad that I am on the Invisalign Assist program. If it hadn't been for all of this horrible news yesterday, these are things I would have needed fixed when I was done with the original 23 trays and would have definitely made for a VERY long refinement period. 
   
2. I will have to do these scans again at the end of tray 20. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that at that point I can get these 2 attachments back off of my front tooth. Who knows - maybe I will end up with less trays at that point.
3. In the last 24 hours, I have come to terms with the additional trays and the attachments on my front tooth. (and they are  VERY small in comparison to the other attachments that I have.) I was very paranoid with about it at first but asked a coworker to be honest with me and she said she couldn't tell when I was talking. 
4. I'm VERY grateful to have a dental professional that listens to my concerns and helps me rationalize things.
   
   I also realize that the next set of scans could reward me with even more trays and/or even worse attachments, but I'm not thinking about that. The end result is all I'm focused on right now. It's too late to turn back and even if some horribly placed attachments are noticeable, it's still better than the hideous gap I started out with!
   
   

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Exciting News!

My progressive smile 10/20/2012

Appointment
I went in for my appointment to get my next set of trays on 10/26/2012. I am on the Invisalign Assist program, which means that after every 10 trays, they do another digital scan of my teeth to make sure my teeth are on track and moving the way they are supposed to before making the next set of 10 trays.
I received only Tray 10 today and I will have to go back in 2 weeks when my next set of 10 trays are in to pick up 3 more sets.

Progress Pictures
What a difference 4 months makes!
They also did some progress pictures at this appointment, and so kindly emailed them to me so I could compare these to the before pictures. As you can see, I still have a ways to go, however, I can definitely see some progress here. I personally like to compare the open mouth shots or the "top view" - the middle row of pictures in each set. I think it gives me a better idea of which teeth are turning and moving, and takes my focus of just my front teeth that are my main concern.

Side note: With all the brushing I'm doing these days, my teeth are looking much whiter. I can't wait until I get to the end of this and get the actual whitening done that is included with my treatment. And by the way, I think my teeth look WAY better with the trays in, so I've also included the pic to the right. This gives me extra motivation to keep my trays in the recommended amount of time. :)

Progress Pictures 10/26/2012

"Before" Pictures 5/11/2012 - taken 6 weeks before starting Invisalign.

Exciting News!!

Well, you may be wondering by now why I titled this entry "Exciting News!" Or maybe you didn't even notice that I hadn't clarified that yet, but either way, you're about to find out.

I was having dinner with my son 2 weeks ago and I had a salad with chicken on it. Believe it or not, it took me a minute to figure out what was going on for sure - a new experience for me, I got a piece of chicken stuck between my two front teeth!
I GOT A PIECE OF CHICKEN STUCK IN MY TEETH!! :)
Also, I was having some hot chocolate and mixing it with one of those coffee stirrer thingies. I put it in my mouth and bit down and it didn't fit!
IT DIDN'T FIT!!! :)
For most people in this world that don't have this hideous gap, this means nothing, but to me it means everything. I never imagined that either of these things could happen.

Overall,  I am very happy with the decision I made to take this journey. :)

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Updated Progress Pictures

Late in Tray 5

It's been a few trays since I have added any pictures, so here is an update... FYI, the trays are in my mouth in all of the pictures except the one below on the left, as noted. I would say they are pretty undetectable - they make my teeth look shinier and I think they make the gap look smaller. What do you think?

Tray 6 Day 1, Without Trays In

Tray 6 Day 1, With Trays In

 The above 3 pictures were right after putting tray 6 in for the first time. Late night and bad allergies make for very horrible pictures, but you get the idea.

And as a reminder.... here is where I started June 21st, just over two months ago. There are still plenty of improvements to be made, but I can definitely see some changes starting. :)