LI confess I am bored. Bored, bored …..bored. I was not signing up for 3 years of this, but sadly this is where I am now at. My wearing regime has become increasingly sloppy as the months and years have gone by.

After being given my 2nd round of refinements – so third batch of trays, I was advised by my dentist that if I was good I could actually change the trays weekly…..but I am not good, far from it, and so having to stick to the fortnightly change over. Changes are still taking place but the posterior open bite is stubborn, and is determined to stay in its original position. I will share a photos as there is progress…..but the mid line is not off at the front, and wearing these things all the time can’t be good for my teeth.

Lordy lor – will it even end…….the novelty has strictly worn off.

Is anyone else on year 3?!

Invisalign Trays 21/23 Refinement.  I am nearly nearly there…..surely? I think not however. One of my upper molars has got left behind and the trays no longer fit properly with a big gap between the bottom of the tray and my tooth, but my dentist does not seem to want to do anything which is rather frustrating and has asked me to wait until the end of these last few trays. I am fully expected a second refinement and another 6-12 months of treatment that is really disappointing but I cannot stop now.

I will report back when I see my dentist in 6 weeks with news of the next scan and refinement. I hope everyone else is getting along really well with their treatment plans.

Invisalign Trays 17/23 Refinement.

Well months have passed since I last posted after having been so diligent for so long. After a tough summer and about 6 weeks of allergy hell and not sleeping night after night, and having tried heavy duty steroids, and 5 different antihistamines none that helped, I saw a second specialist who gave me something called Atarax and binged it worked! – So relieved to be able to sleep, be able to work again, and back to invisalign once more. I think it was probably triggered by the heat wave, humidity and maybe stress but once started it was like a bush fire and so hard to put out.

I am now on trays 17/23 of the first refinement, and am picking up my last 6 trays next week – supposedly. 2 years now done! I am sure that I will need a second refinement as although the top teeth are looking really good now, and the arch has widened out the bottom teeth are a bit of a disaster however…..hmmm. The bottom teeth are now no longer parallel to the upper teeth and have a awlful skew, not great and certainly not what I expected after 2 WHOLE YEARS OF WEARING PLASTIC….UGH. So I will see what my dentist has to say but I think realistically likely 6-12 months of trying to sort it out.  I have actually got used to wearing the trays now but am worried my gums might be receding as now have quite a few ugly black triangles. Am a pretty aggrevied about the slopey bottom teeth – as it seems to be a problem that invisalign have caused.

My friend with the metal hidden braces is still also going through treatment – massively extended treatment plan and had to change orthodontist so has not gone as well as planned and on balance I am still glad I chose the invisalign path.

I will report back after the next appointment……..

Invisalign Refinement 07/26!

So I have had a hideous last 3 weeks with some kind  of severe allergy and ended up in A and E on Tuesday night all swollen up, so off to see specialists. I am on heavy duty steroids for a few days to try and knock it on its head. I am not sure of the cause but have had bad allergic reactions before as you will see at the start of this blog. I had to swallow about 14 tablets today. So because of this I have not been wearing my trays during the day – I just could not face them in my mouth. I am not assuming it is related to the Invisalign yet….. So I had refinement trays no 06/26 in for an extra week to try and compensate and have just wedged in trays no 07/26 just now and am chomping down on the rubbery chewies – yuk. I ended up with my new crown and new zirconia inlay – £750 ouch…..but my dentist has not rescanned for new trays since so I am not sure of the implications of that.

The top 6 front teeth are good now, but still more widening at the sides needed. Bottom teeth still all very wonky thanks to Invisalign splaying them out so unevenly- and wonder if a will need an elastic at some point for the big molar that is so off from the horizontal.

So…supposedly only 19 trays left…..getting very bored but will not give up! This is helped by two other friends still wrapped up in metalwork.

BTW Mrs Birdman – fabulous progress!

Invisalign refinement 05/26 and one in the bin!

Hmmm well boredom has officially set in and the hours of wearing these plastic things has dwindled. It was so bad yesterday that I actually put them in a napkin at a restaurant only to give them to the waiter by mistake – so number 04/26 went in the bin. This meant I had to wedge myself into trays no 05/26 a week early. This seems to be a common problem – the Invisalign threshold of boredom is reached and bad habits set in.

Plus another filling – that I blame on the plastic trays – so I have a temporary filling whilst I wait a new Zirconia inlay – all very ££££.

So somehow I need to fall in love again with these things so that I don’t waste all the hard work over the last year and a half.

Keep Calm and Carry On.

Invisalign Revision Trays 1/26! ….following the first 30 trays….Just another year to go……………So after the 3D scan and waiting for the new trays to be made, I visited my dentist on Thursday and had all of the old attachments filed off and the new ones put back on. It took quite some time and was completely painless other than the hideous new mouth opening plastic thingy that he wedged into my mouth – it was WAY to big and split the side of my mouth, so 5 days later I am still healing up again – I was less than impressed with that. The good news is the new trays are super tight and fit much more snuggly than the previous ones, and are made from a thinner plastic too. So back to the old routine. The new plan has no IPR although I still believe that the bottom teeth will need this to avoid black triangles being on show as the teeth are not rectangular.

The cavity issue is a real worry however so NO more fizzy drinks for sure. I am back to the dentist this Friday for a minimum of two inlays at £250 each, as he wants to use a material called Zirconia as apparently very hard and looks very natural. One might need a root canal (I have never had one in my life before) and it might need a crown – so I am probably looking at £1000………….I am still shocked that my dentist did not see this big crater of a hole and the scanner did not pick it up. I now believe that Invisalign trays DO raise the risk of tooth decay, and I want to get some Tooth Mousse that apparently can help to reduce the risk. I have always brushed twice a day as a minimum and soak them every day in mouth wash but still eat chocolate.

I am a very nervous patient after the same dental practice having once given me an injection in the wrong place and getting my optical nerve by mistake….and not believing me when I said I was not numb in the right place, so I am having to take a valium tablet before the next procedure to stop me running out mid treatment!

On a  positive note the smile is coming along slowly – and I have to remind myself that I am over half way there now. :-))

Invisalign Trays No 30! Well finally no 30/50 so I am positively middle aged with this thing. The tightness of the trays seems to really vary from set to set, and this set feel incredibly loose again, after pinch tight no 29. 2 more weeks and then I am getting my 3D scan (I hope rather than the “goo” set) and a mid course adjustment – hurrah! This means that I may have to wear this set for 2 weeks + 3 weeks – so my only concern is that is how to keep them really clean and fresh with 5 weeks of wear. I am going to avoid the strong cleaning products on the market as I am far too nervous about getting an allergic reaction, so I will just have to keep dunking them in the listerine and water cocktail. My mother actually commented on how nice my teeth were looking, so big smiles all round. My only concern at this stage is what the mid course correction might lead to, and how many additional attachments and additional weeks treatment I might need. Whilst I have got used to these things I have been rebelling recently and had them out all day this week, so must not slack off too much when I have invested so much over the past year. Keep smiling……….