Time to blossom - lilyflower's story

[lilyflower]

Why don't you just eat breakfast before you go to work? Then you'll be good until lunchtime

This would be the best but the problem is that I have a REALLY hard time getting up in the morning and as much as I'd like to work a more 9 to 5 type schedule, my job often requires that I be on calls at 7 or 8 am with Europe or China. I struggle to get into work at this time as it is there's really no time to "stop" at home without missing meetings that I have to be at. Also, I'm sometimes nauseous when I wake up so I need an hour or so for my stomach to settle sometimes before I can eat.

[lilyflower]

Day 19:

Weekends and work from home days are much easier for certain. I am not a morning person by any means so being able to start slowly, wake up, get some coffee in me and food and then do other things works best. My body thinks an appropriate wake up time is 9 am for the record, which conflicts with my job that requires me to often be in meetings at 7 or 8 am (and sometimes last until 11 or later)

Anyway, still feeling pressure with this set. Not any pain but a lot of back teeth being moved back to make room - both upper and lower. Since I'm still feeling pressure I'm trying to stick to the 22 hours as much as possible (and if I can go beyond even better). I'm no longer actually physically timing things but I find that larger meals work better, particularly as it's still more uncomfortable to have my aligners out instead of in. I can chew fine but I don't think my bite lines up perfectly with them out now like it did before. I'll take some without aligners pictures later to see where exactly stuff is lining up.

Since there's no pain and people have wondered what it feels like I guess I can describe the general feeling of aligners in the first week as a very very very snug mouthguard. I feel it's there, I feel pressure on certain teeth (which seems to vary day to day exactly WHERE) but nothing that would count as PAIN and nothing's sore.

The edges are not bothering me at all - I did take a really quick nail file to the tongue side edges just because I was exploring them with my tongue on this set and they felt a teeny bit sharp but haven't had any problems yet. Getting the lower lip side of the tray clipped was definitely a mandatory thing - and something I couldn't have accomplished myself. There was way too much extra material on it going past the gum line and I know that's what gave me the sore in the first place.

Otherwise, things are going along. I have definitely noticed that it's far easier to floss "the mess" aka the crowded front area now and that space I had in the back is starting to close up more.

I can get my aligners out fine but definitely have given up on having any kind of really nice nails - since it seems they're breaking on my index and forefinger as I try to get the edges up over the attachments (especially with the bottom tray with the crowding and 14 attachments.) Thankfully, I was never really into doing fancy manicures or anything like that so it's not a loss to me. I've yet to crack the aligner or dislodge any of the attachments though so this is a good sign.

I DO have to admit I miss my bad habit of biting off hangnails. Biting on nails or hangnails is impossible with these in. It's even impossible to crunch the end of a sugar free non-colored breath mint. It has to be sucked to nothing or swallowed.

On the upside I think the Invisalign diet is working as I have completely stopped snacking - it's just not worth the hassle. I lost 2 lbs so far so it's not been any dramatic weight loss (and I can spare it trust me) but we'll see what happens long term because if I start dropping too much weight too fast I'm going to ahve to figure out a way around that. Anyway, at least this is a REALLY good deterrent to keep me away from the Halloween candy!

[lilyflower]

I was right, even without the aligners in my bite has definitely changed. When I started this even with my deep bite, my molars all lined up perfectly. With aligners in 22+ hours a day my instinct taking them out is to bite like this:



Which is how I bite with them in and you can see that beyond my canines nothing really touches.

I can force myself to bite farther back but my molars don't exactly fit together anymore (plus it feels weird):


To eat it's like force back jaw, try not to bite cheek - put aligners back in ASAP due to the sheer discomfort or not knowing where to bite. The bite ramps support the bite I have with the aligners in but it's not entirely normal to bite there with them out, my bite is opening in the back and now my first molars have moved further back as well so I really can't bite there EITHER since there's space opening up.

Two updated pics with aligners:

[lilyflower]

Day 20:

At some point I'm going to stop doing daily updates, I'm sure but as this is still very NEW to me and I have some time to write (and generally like to write) I'm going to keep blogging here. Mainly because I'm too lazy to set up a blog somewhere else. Also, I love comments and questions and I know I lurked on this board for years to find info before taking the plunge so maybe something in my experiences will be helpful to someone.

Anyway, as I said yesterday, weekends are definitely easier regarding wear time, meals etc. I WILL figure out the breakfast thing and am likely going to try vanilla ensure shakes with a straw for emergencies (aka those long early meetings.) I think as long as I brush thoroughly after I should be okay in these cases. I might've slightly discolored this set of aligners with coffee but if I did it's really not noticeable so I solved my "needing morning caffeine" problem, iced coffee with a straw. Hot coffee definitely means taking out the aligners - although I default on water, I do have to admit I get a little excited about beverages at meal times because it seems there's SO MANY POSSIBILITIES - I could have red wine, coffee, anything and not worry about staining. I'm a coffee/water/wine type of girl - and my first choice in wine tends to be reds (give me my merlot). I've managed white with the aligners in and no issues but red would definitely mean having to remove them. I"m planning on going to a wine festival next weekend which should be interesting to say the least - my thought is just to take the aligners out until I'm sure I'm done drinking and eating then put back in. I've learned quickly how to pop them out in the car sans a mirror before entering a restaurant so this would be similar.

So let's see, what else have I discovered - well, one I have yet to encounter smelly aligners or really gross ones I do soak in retainer brite in a small ultrasonic unit at least once a day while I'm at home eating a meal and this seems to help - also brushing them obviously before they go back in my mouth otherwise. I also generally rinse them off with cold water when I take them out as they feel "slimy" to me from the saliva, Whitening toothpaste is not an issue - even on the aligners I haven't seen any ill effects. Whatever toothpaste and toothbrush I have on me at the time are fine for cleaning. I've yet to try dish soap or anything like that out of fear it could cause some kind of irritation to my mouth/throat or leave a really disgusting aftertaste, which considering I DO have a pretty strong gag reflex is not a good idea.

I've found for example that turning on my waterpik too high can trigger my gag reflex and I'm actually usually nauseous when I first wake up for some reason. (No, I am not pregnant before anyone asks). The aligners thankfully do NOT trigger my gag reflex and I somehow got through impressions just fine but there's certain things that I know I couldn't have handled - bite plates come to mind.

I've gotten very used to the "mouthful of plastic" feeling. Aside from some slight annoyances at the bite ramps it's really not bad. I figure the upside of this is that I'm already "retainer-trained" so there won't be any real adjustment for me at the end of active treatment.

Although I'm working out a few kinks still (like the breakfast thing) this has become a pretty standard part of my life now and really not a big deal. Sure, the brushing/flossing 3-5x a day is a new thing but not necessarily bad as I think my oral hygiene has actually improved. I'm just really concerned these days about trying not to bite my cheek. I know if it happens it happens but I'm trying to be careful as I remember how it took a good few days for that sore from my first lower aligner rubbing the inside of my lip to heal.

I keep looking at the calendar and my treatment plan to see where I'd be on key milestone dates - like how much less crowded the bottom would be by Christmas. What I'd look like when I go on a planned cruise in May, etc. I'm not wishing time to fly by but it's fun to think of the future and the differences to come. Especially as I'm going to be in these until sometime in 2017. Which seems so far away but I know really isn't.

[NeilH]

Hi, I just thought thought I would say that I'm enjoying your regular updates and although people are not always commenting, I'm sure you have lots of people following your progress closely. My ortho waved the Invisalign leaflet past my eyes and said it would not be suitable for me so that's as close as I got to Invisalign. I'm sure many of us are curious as to how effective it is and how well people adapt to the routine and by the sounds of it, you are doing great! I guess top and bottom Essix retainers will be a little bit like Invisalign although without the movement obviously. Good luck.

[Viconia]

I'd just like to second the above, I'm really quite fascinated by invisalign because I was told first off I wasn't a candidate for it either so it's really interesting reading all about it. Looking forward to seeing more updates.

Regarding the nausea when you wake up, you don't have acid reflux do you? This would be accompanied by a sore throat or a burning sensation down the back of your throat. Just a thought..

[lilyflower]

Hi, I just thought thought I would say that I'm enjoying your regular updates and although people are not always commenting, I'm sure you have lots of people following your progress closely. My ortho waved the Invisalign leaflet past my eyes and said it would not be suitable for me so that's as close as I got to Invisalign. I'm sure many of us are curious as to how effective it is and how well people adapt to the routine and by the sounds of it, you are doing great! I guess top and bottom Essix retainers will be a little bit like Invisalign although without the movement obviously. Good luck.

I was really surprised when it was the FIRST thing my ortho recommended. As I was told in the past I "wasn't a candidate". Aside from the deep bite and crowding I had good midlines and everything else so I guess that's what made it more feasible for me. My top as you can tell was pretty straight to start aside from a slightly rotated canine - the bottom was where the crowding was/is. (aka "the mess")

[lilyflower]

I'd just like to second the above, I'm really quite fascinated by invisalign because I was told first off I wasn't a candidate for it either so it's really interesting reading all about it. Looking forward to seeing more updates.

Regarding the nausea when you wake up, you don't have acid reflux do you? This would be accompanied by a sore throat or a burning sensation down the back of your throat. Just a thought..

Actually, I have a pretty severe anxiety disorder which sometimes does cause nausea so I think that's the problem. I've never had the symptoms of reflux. I also don't really sleep well (again anxiety) so it takes me a while to get going.

[lilyflower]

Day 22

Let me preface this post by stating that I am severely buzzed at this moment. This has absolutely NOTHING to do with my Invisalign but rather the fact that I fell down a flight of stairs today and severely sprained my left ankle. It was so sprained that the remark I got when when I went to the ER was "That looks broken!"

It is not broken, but I live in an apartment with a LOT of stairs so I may be a bit of a shutin for the next week.

Okay, here's an interesting tidbit, I mentioned above that I have an anxiety disorder (a severe one) that causes panic attacks. Sometimes during panic attacks I get nauseous. Last night, that happened, I thankfully had the sense to remove my aligners BEFORE I vomited - then rinsed with mouthwash, waited a half hour to make sure I wasn't going to throw up again, brushed and put aligners back in. I really highly recommend that if you feel like you MIGHT throw up to take the aligners out IMMEDIATELY as I can't imagine it would be fun to try to clean them after vomiting. Also, please avoid your waterpik if you're nauseous or have been nauseous (this goes for everyone who uses one). In my experience it can actually WORSEN nausea because of the pressure unless you put it super low.

This was actually one of my concerns with Invisalign - what if I get a stomach flu / need to vomit? (Not that I by any means enjoy vomiting but figure that at least once over approximately 18 months - 2 years of treatment this would happen). My recommendation - the minute you feel it coming on take out the aligners to be safe, leave them out until the nausea subsides. If you're dry heaving take them OUT. Trust me, I tried everything to avoid actually vomiting, even pepto - the pepto hit my mouth and that triggered it. Not fun. Sorry for the ick factor but this is kind of an important thing.

I'm not sure what the actual result would be with vomiting with them IN but it has to be nasty. Also, I made sure to give them a really good soak in retainer brite tonight and I've been fine all day so I think last night's episode was a side effect of my anxiety disorder (not the first time sadly, I've vomited during a panic attack.) if you end up with a true multi-day stomach thing which involves a lot of vomiting, do your body a favor - leave the aligners out but call your ortho to let him/her know that you haven't been wearing it and ask for advice. For me last night was maybe an hour max of non-wear time so I was still over the 20 hours but I can't imagine that it'd be good for the aligners OR your teeth to constantly vomit with these in. Sorry for the gross post but I figure this is something that will come up for others or they might wonder about.

I also had quite a bit of red wine when I got home from the ER today (aligners out of course!) because after falling down a flight of stairs, I really really wanted red wine. (I had a nice bottle I brought back from my last trip to France.) My ankle still hurts like hell (and it's elevated and iced but I find after the wine I really no longer care. Oh for those wondering and concerned the ER gave me NOTHING in terms of pain meds for my ankle even though I apparently did something to three ligaments so I felt it was okay to have the wine. Otherwise, no wine - and I really don't advise going to any kind of ortho appointment buzzed - although if you're in pain AFTER one a glass or two might not hurt.

So as mentioned I can pretty much yank out my aligners without a mirror and in a minute if need be. It may be because I'm on the second week of the second set but once you get the rhythm of putting them in and out down you really DON"T need a mirror. Since I'm right handed I always start at the back right - the top tray with less attachments comes off pretty easy. The bottom (which has 14 attachments), I need to manually unhook with my fingernail until I get to the middle then I can just grab it. I find it's easier to work from the front but YMMV (I know some people actually find it easier to work on the lingual side if they have a lot of attachments mine won't budge in the middle that way.) Having something of a nail helps definitely although mine are nowhere near long

In over 3 weeks I have never NOT been able to get an aligner out although I've found when I'm stuck that pushing the lower aligner BACK on and starting again seems to help. Don't ask me why. Beyond the first 24 hours of my first set I haven't pulled off any attachments and I've yet to crack an aligner - they're actually more flexible than you'd think, even a new really snug set.

I do have outie tools in my wish list at Amazon but have yet to need one. For those wearing Essix retainers, i think it's probably similar, but the attachments (especially if you have a LOT) keep these in place. I'm pretty certain I could fall from 20,000 feet and what's left of me would still have my aligners in place

I clearly have a high pain threshold (given the state of my ankle at the moment) so this MAY be why I've only needed some minimal anti-inflammatories which I only took as a precaution on the very first day, the second day (when things DID hurt), and before I change trays. Which brings me to the next point which is applicable to anyone in orthodontic treatment - when in doubt, pre-dose. Obviously check with your doctor about what you can take if you have other medical conditions but generally a dose of anything OTC will help - even if it only really gives you a placebo affect. (I work in science and there is a LOT to be said for the placebo effect)

This is likely far more rambling than normal but again, I'm injured and buzzed. Thanks for all who are reading this and I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has. My next change is due for Monday 11/9 (I am also off work until at least this date due to my ankle) so I'll post some more pics then - including pics of the trays with the virtual bite ramps.

[TheProfessor]

It sounds like you had a rough day! Ankle injuries are no fun-I hope it feels better soon!!!

[ItsFreyja]

So sorry to hear about your injury! Hope the ankle mends quickly.

[lilyflower]

Thanks to all those who expressed concern. My challenge right now is that I live alone in a second floor apartment with a lot of stairs so I'm pretty much homebound for the next week. (I do have some friends who'll stop by to bring me things)

Of course, when it rains it pours and remember how I said last night about not having problems with attachments coming off - well, today I popped one when taking out my lower aligner at lunch. It's on my right rear 2nd molar - so I called my ortho's office to see how soon this needs to be replaced and what to do (also explaining my current situation - like if it needs to be replaced in the next week I need to figure out how to GET there) I was told to proceed as normal and the attachment will be put back on at my next visit on the 21st. It' might've been more a loss from chewing since my bite has gotten funny on that side or by a little too vigorous tray removal (I was doing a flamingo stand when I took out the aligners to eat earlier so I wasn't screwing around.)

They're back in and I'm resting which I guess is as good as can be expected. Considering how swollen my ankle is and I do think I must have a higher pain thresh hold because while my ankle hurts it doesn't do so unless I'm trying to illegally limp on it.

Noticed this morning that a slight space is opening at the gumline between my two top front teeth, I'm guessing this is part of the straightening process but that was a new surprise - especially because when I first saw it I thought I had something stuck there!

[nitro]

At some point I'm going to stop doing daily updates

No way! I supposed with the sprained ankle we'll be in for the daily updates for the near future? I think it's certainly therapeutic and the whole process is still exciting. I don't think anyone on here will be upset with daily updates. Best of luck with your ankle!

[lilyflower]

At some point I'm going to stop doing daily updates

No way! I supposed with the sprained ankle we'll be in for the daily updates for the near future? I think it's certainly therapeutic and the whole process is still exciting. I don't think anyone on here will be upset with daily updates. Best of luck with your ankle!

Well, since I'm injured and stuck at home some daily updates will continue for at least a while. (At least while my ankle looks like a balloon).

[lilyflower]

Day 24:

As I am currently stuck home (with really no way to get out with my sprained ankle) the daily updates will continue for a few more days.

Today, I can definitely say that I'm aware of how loose my top aligner feels, which makes sense as I'm scheduled to change to the next set on Monday. I never really feel the looseness in the bottom (although there's a lack of pressure, but it's always more obvious for me in the top.) I think this is partially because I have less holding the aligner in on top (7 attachments - on the canines and pre-molars for anchorage mostly - one for rotation), so I feel it more there than on the bottom where I normally have 14 attachments (except for where one popped off yesterday). I wouldn't say the bottom is loose but there's definitely not any real pressure anywhere.

My pain/annoyance is more from my sprained ankle at the moment than the aligners although I find I keep falling asleep with my leg elevated and waking up with dry mouth a few hours later. The upside to being injured and sleepy is that I'm not eating much so I'm easily meeting 22+ hours a day of wear time. So I think I've made up for any reduced wear times in this set so far.

The virtual bite ramps are less annoying now that I have three instead of four. I expect I'm going to have to deal with these beyond the next set because of my deep bite, and until things start to line up more in the back and touch. (Probably six months minimum is my estimate.) However as they're different on each set and can be different sizes and depths hopefully they won't be the annoyance I ran into on the first set again. Right now, I have three - two on the left, on one the right and they're not sharp or anything. If I do find a sharp one, I'm going to treat it like a sharp edge on an aligner and take a nail file to it to smooth it a little.

I really have not gotten used to the attachments on the bottom with my aligners out. It just constantly feels like I have something stuck to my teeth. Particularly in the front - so it makes me want to go brush, floss, waterpik and stick the aligners back in ASAP after eating. Good for compliance, I guess but even when I know they're not trapping food they still feel foreign. Of course, I also have a history of getting food stuck in my lower front teeth anyway (aka the mess) when eating so this might be why I feel like this because attachments there kind of mimic food being stuck there for me.

I will say that flossing has gotten a LOT easier and that there's not a place that I can't get floss into which with the lower crowding was NOT the case before I started.

After breaking off an attachment yesterday, I've been reworking my strategy on the bottom tray for removal. I don't know if that attachment came off from the way I was removing the trays or that it was already weakened from chewing biting since it was on a molar.

I've gotten pretty used to what is essentially a mouthful of plastic. My lisp is pretty much gone now and the whole process of eating has become second nature. A little annoying - yes, but second nature. Considering what I would be facing had I gone traditional braces (Ie, a bite plate/molar buildups/bite turbos at a minimum in addition to brackets and wires), I think I really got off easy.

For those with Essix retainers, I imagine this has to be somewhat similar - aside from the attachments and I know the invisalign aligners are thinner and there is a certain degree of flexibility to them to get them in and out. Yes, they can be broken but I've stopped worrying so much about cracking the aligners when putting them in and out since they seem to stand up to normal forces. Also, I'm pretty certain they get more pliable with wear. '

I had a friend pick me up ginger ale and diet sprite yesterday so I can try some clear ocean experiments (for science ) I''ll try out some combos over the next few days and let people know what is a good combo for when you meet someone for drinks and DON'T want to remove aligners (all white wines are fine to drink with aligners in as would be champagne, just brush after.)

As always happy to answer questions, I think I might've lost some more weight too but I'm not getting on a scale until I can use both legs