Invisalign - Week 2

Tray 2 was fairly uneventful - and that's good news!   The trays were tight when I first put them in, especially on my snaggle tooth.  Toward the end of the week though I could feel more pain in my molars than before.  I guess that is a good sign that things are moving around the way they should be, right?

I tried to wear the rubber bands last week but they were cutting the inside of my cheek.  I do have an overbite or cross-bite so I know I should be wearing these things but I just couldn't bring myself to have the mouth sores all week.  Then on Thursday I got a terrible sinus infection and all bets were off.  I was already unable to breathe normally and had a very sore throat.  I didn't want to add to the mess!  So I didn't do the rubber bands this week.  Oops!  

Tonight I will change to tray three.  I need to give the bottom one a good filing before I put it in!  The last two I have had to use a nail file to shave down the front of the bottom tray so my bottom lip doesn't get cut.  There are two little cut outs for the rubber bands to attach to on the bottom and for some reason they stick way out.  Dr. Kadar said to use a nail file or Emory board so that is what I have been doing.  Although it's hard to get a nail file into these little cracks.  

I have found it is getting easier to talk and my mouth is not salivating quite as much as it had been.  My lisp is most noticeable right after I change the trays. No one in the office has mentioned it or asked if I have them in yet.  I am very cautious not to leave them out for too long and sometimes I even find I have them in for more than the required 22 hours a day.  Although let's be honest, most days I wear them between 21-22 hrs.  

All in all, I am pleased with the progress so far.  I'm excited to see the teeth start moving and to see the next few weeks of trays.  I understand that when I go back to Dr Kadar next week I will get the buttons installed on my teeth.  That is a little nerve wracking but I am confident it won't be a huge issue.  So far, so good!  

Invisalign - Week 1

I am wearing them now - can you tell?   I went to Dr Kadar's office last Wednesday to get my first set of trays and get started.   The visit went very quickly as the assistant showed me how to put them in and take them out.  She then applied two little silver "buttons" on two of my back teeth that will hold the rubber bands.  She explained that wearing the rubber bands is optional but it will help with my cross bite so I may want to consider it.  The "buttons" will come off when the treatment is done.

We then went through some general instructions on how to clean them, keep them safe (from dogs and cats mostly) and when to change the trays.  After the Dr came over to check that they were in properly we discussed the timing.  Because I am going to South Africa in March for two weeks I needed to ensure that I would have enough trays for my trip.  They were giving me trays 1-3 during this initial visit and I was supposed to wear each for 10 days (expedited by the Acceledent).  Well 30 days from the 12th of February would take me to the 14th or March and I would be thousands of miles away and certainly not able to come in for an appointment.  So Dr Kadar suggested wearing tray 1 for the least amount of time and to try to get 10 days with tray 2 and tray 3 before my appointment on March 7th.  He let me in on a little secret that tray 1 actually does the least work out of all of them so it's best to lose time there.  Fine by me!

We went over the whole plan and Dr Kadar let me know that I will need 21 trays.  He figures that aside from when I should be wearing the first three trays for 10 days each, I will only need to wear the others for a week each.  In my calculation, that puts my finish line approximately July 4th!   It cannot come soon enough!
With the timing straightened out (pun intended), I was moved into the room where they scanned my teeth for the impressions for the trays.  We tried a few "mouth guard" like trays that go into the Acceledent device and settled on a size large.  I personally think it's too big but we can go over that another time.  After that I was sent on my way with trays, Acceledent and some rubber bands.

My initial impression was "how in the hell am I going to get through the next five months with these in my mouth?"   The nurse told me to sing in the car to try to get used to them but it was difficult to hear myself with a lisp.  My greatest fear was true - I was going to have a speech impedement for five months!   I went back to work for the afternoon and barely spoke.  No one noticed or asked me about them if they did notice.  Luckily I had a snow storm and a few days off for a long weekend coming up so I was happy to leave that afternoon knowing I wouldn't have to come back for 5 days!

The first night was the worst!  My whole mouth hurt and my head ached from the soreness.  I took Advil in regular intervals to get through it.  At one point I thought to myself there is no way I will be able to sleep with these in but by the time I was ready for bed it wasn't as bad.  I did drool all over my pillow though and still continue to do so!

The weekend was pretty smooth.  It was a snow day/work from home day on Thursday.  Valentine's Day was Friday so that was interested.  We had plans in the city for dinner and drinks so I just kept them out while we ate and drank and put them in again when we were done.  Being intimate with them in was uncomfortable but not physically - just emotionally.  I didn't want my boyfriend to be conscience of plastic in my mouth!  He didn't mind a bit though.  I kept him distracted I think :)

The rest of the weekend was easy.  Lots of brushing in between and I felt like I was constantly taking them in and out, in and out, brushing again and in and out!  But other than that it was fine.  I used the Acceledent every day for 20 minutes and looked like a fool doing it!  Here's the proof:

Again, my boyfriend was very understanding and joked that it was the only time I've been quiet for 20 minutes straight.

Tonight I will change to tray 2 and start to wear the rubber bands - but only at night.  I have to keep focused on the end result and stay diligent to this treatment.  I don't want to waste the $6,250 and still have a snaggle tooth!

Invisalign Me.........Part 1

I have been toying with the idea of fixing my smile for years now.  I have what I lovingly refer to as a "snaggle tooth" as my left lateral incisor (the one next to the big front tooth).  It has been moving backwards and hiding behind my other teeth for a few years.  I remember once in college a good friend of mine asking me if I was missing a tooth because at times it creates enough of a shadow or gap that it appears I am missing a tooth there!  

It probably didn't help my case either that I broke my face while I was in college.  Yes, my face!  I fell down the stairs and broke my fall with the left side of my face.  I have to admit that copious amounts of alcohol were involved but I also blame the stupid chunky heel shoes I was wearing.  Ahh to be young and so, so stupid again!  At the time my jaw was very misaligned and the orthodontist agrees that the damage has not helped my bite or my alignment at all in the years since the fall.

I have been waiting to get a cap on my right lateral incisor for three or four years.  I had the root canal done and they wanted to wait until after any ortho to put the final cap on it.  Now it has a nice little stain right dead center in the tooth that also bothers me.  (see pictures below)

After some lengthy research and consideration about how Invisalign would affect my every day life, I have decided to move forward.  I met with Dr Kadar on January 8th to discuss the process.  His office is very technologically advanced and they promote themselves well on all social media formats.  I was very pleased when I first arrived, checked in with the touch screen computer monitor in the waiting area and was immediately whisked back to take a tour and meet everyone.  The environment in this office is much different from the office I remember when I was 13 and getting my braces!  

After the tour, they took some pictures of my teeth from all angles and did an X-ray for the file.  Once the pictures were previewed to make sure they were okay, I went down the hall to discuss the options, treatment plan time frames and of course, the cost!   I was presented with three options: traditional braces, clear braces and Invisalign.  I was already set on doing Invisalign and Invisalign only so that made the conversation much easier.  

My treatment plan is estimated at 16-18 months which at first sounded extremely daunting.  After all, I am constantly traveling and presenting to customers.  I am on the phone all day and did not want to have a speech impediment that long if I could avoid it.  The whole timeframe just seemed way too long, despite my desire to get this smile fixed!   Then she told me about a fairly new tool called Acceledent.  Acceledent is a soft pulse tool that speeds the process for braces or Invisalign by providing a gentle vibration to your gums to stimulate movement.  It is said to cut the treatment time in half!   I was sold!   It costs an additional $1000 for the unit but to me that is money well spent if I can be done with this much sooner!

We discussed the costs in detail and the three different payment plans they offer at Kadar.  With the Acceledent included, my overall plan is $6,275.  The first $995 in lab fees was due as soon as I decided I was certain I wanted to proceed.  I needed time to review everything after the meeting anyway but to save another visit to the office we went ahead and did my virtual tooth scan that day anyway.  It is basically a machine that takes a picture or digital image of each and every tooth.  This process replaces the old gooey trays you had to bite into and sit with in your mouth until they hardened.  Apparently it is much more precise!  That process took about 20 minutes and then I was out of there.  

About two weeks later I called to confirm that I was ready to go ahead with the treatment.  They put the order in that day and set my first fitting for February 12th.  Tomorrow!   I am both nervous and excited to get this process started.  I am mostly nervous that I will have a noticeable lisp.  I feel like I already do since this tooth is pushed back so far that air can easily seep through the gap that it has created!  

Here are the BEFORE pictures straight from Dr Kadar's office:

I am cringing just thinking of other people (you readers) seeing these horrible teeth!  Teeth in general just gross me out!  

You can see int the top picture that the left side of my bite (on the right in the picture) is very misaligned.  In the bottom picture you can see my snaggle tooth in all of it's glory!  Eww!  By the way - the white marks on my teeth are lovely remnants from my braces.  I'll write more on my braces in another post down the road. 

So tomorrow is the big day!  I assume I will be fitted and shown how to put them in and take them out.  I have to wear them 22 hours per day so that means they basically come out to eat and that's it!   I'm curious to see if my colleagues will recognize the difference when I get back from my appointment or if it will take awhile.  Wish me luck!