Liz Invisalign Trays No 7. I am getting into the routine now. My changeover to new trays is done in the morning and not at night as most people seem to do, as I do not as yet suffer much discomfort.  I can still not notice any real change which is somewhat frustrating for all this effort. I have noticed one of my front bottom teeth projecting out more and my bottom canine being pushed out to the point the top tooth will soon be behind it which won’t be very good at all, but my dentist tells me that if I have my trays in then that should not matter as the teeth all have to shift at different times. So will I have to put up with potentially my teeth being moved into positions that could look worse before they begin to look better? I am now 3 months into my 2 years! It is a long haul, and I will be pleased to get to the 6 month mark as then I will expect to notice some change. Photos will be published as soon as I can see some movement to show!

Liz. Invisalign Trays No 6. Well I am actually half way through the 2 weeks of Trays no 6, and these have been the tightest yet, I have had a few short head aches but nothing lasting. After 7 days there still feel ill fitting and tight so I hope that these are starting to have some affect now. After a couple of sloppy days when I had them out for a few hours at lunchtime, I am trying to be more disciplined again….after all what is the point in spending a few thousand on these little bits of plastic if I am not going to wear them – stupid! I do now drink white wine with them in, so will have to see what the hygienist has to say when I see her in a couple of weeks. I still cannot see ANY visible change after 11 weeks of wearing these things, so can’t wait to get to Trays no 10 when I read that this is when it is likely that some progress should be seen. I envy those who have a quick fix but mine have a lot to do. I have compared Trays no 2 with Trays no 8 that I have been given already, and measure about a 1mm widening to the upper arch – a bit disappointing but must be patient.

Liz Invisalign…. OK well I have already lost count of the days now so that is positive….I think it is time to start measuring by tray progress. I am now on Trays No 5 – yeh!, and four days in. They definitely seem tighter than the previous 4 trays which is good, and I am more than happy to have a little tenderness when I take them out to eat. I am unable to see any change however which is somewhat disappointing but from what I have read it may not become apparent until Trays No 10….so patience. I confess that I have become more relaxed about having the odd slurp of tea with them still in, I do not drink coffee and my tea is like dish water so I do not think it will have much affect on staining the aligners. However what I MUST stop doing, is snacking and putting them back in without a proper brush. I do brush them 3 times a day, morning, noon and night but I tend to snack mid morning and mid afternoon. I have become a bit obsessed about researching others progress, as I do want to feel that I am progressing as I should. My invisalign have a lot of hard work to do, with rotating, pulling one lower molar up, and widening the arch, so I do wonder if it is all rather ambitious. I do enjoy freaking out colleagues with putting my “teeth” in a glass of water at my desk when eating lunch….but otherwise no one seems to notice them or they are too polite to say anything which I think is more likely as I do have a significant number of attachments. My dentist saw me last week and said that the aligners seem to be fitting well, but I am a little disappointed that after asking him to check all the attachments were in place, noticed the next day that one was actually missing. It is the second one I will have had to had re attached after only 8 weeks of wear. I assume I am swallowing them…gulp?!