Tray 1? Check!

After spending centuries waiting (ok, 2 weeks), and months anticipating (ok, 2 weeks), and forever talking about it (ok, 2 weeks), it is finally time to switch to tray 2!!!!  Yay!

The first aligners were mostly a breeeeeeze.  I hit the first downside around day 14, when I somehow managed to create a rough spot on my tray.  It rubbed against a spot inside my mouth, and now I have a sore spot. :(  Oh, well, it has been such smooth sailing that I can't complain too much.  After all, it seems that my Invisalign trays are still 1,000,000,000,000,000 times better than traditional braces. Ok, fine, maybe that is a slight exaggeration.

I guess that is the only thing to report.  So excited about the second trays!  I will update again in 16 days after I finish those!

My First Week

So, I survived my first week of Invisalign!  Well, technically, I can't say that until around 5:30 pm, but most people are not as picky as I am.

Since I haven't mentioned it before, here are a few facts about Invisalign:

• You switch trays every 2 weeks.
• It is recommended that you wear them 22 hours a day.  Some say this is a minimum (what??) and some say it is the ideal amount, but you can go lower.  A lot of people say you should wear them 20-22 hours a week.  A few say 18 is fine.  A very select few wear them for less (not something I think I would do on purpose).
• You are only supposed to drink water with them in (Yay for dieters who can't mindlessly snack?)
• You are advised to brush and floss each time before re-inserting the aligners.
• Some people have attachments that help the trays snap on and help them move your teeth certain ways.  I have 12, and I hate them for 2 hours a day.  Apparently, they're made with the material that fillings are made of and they make my teeth feel disgusting when my trays are out (good motivation to meet the 22 hour requirement!!)

So... you have 2 hours to eat 3 meals, brush and floss three times, and clean your aligners.  If you eat all three meals and don't eat any snacks, that gives you 40 minutes per meal/cleaning time.  Oh, and btw, when you drink sodas or acidic food, it is recommended you wait 30 minutes before brushing your teeth to avoid wearing down your enamel.  Yeah.... I need to give up diet cokes.  They're not going down without a fight, though...

So, how was my first week, you ask?  It went very well!  I only felt discomfort once or twice when I snapped my trays off quickly.  It only lasted for about a minute.  Like I said, I hate the attachments, but with the trays on, I don't mind them.  And I don't care if the attachments make them more noticeable, because I tell everyone about them anyway (I'm still excited).

Two things I'm not crazy about, however:

• I'm obsessed.  And the fact that I am having some downtime at work is not helping!  I just want to sit here and read about Invisalign allll day long, even though it is starting to become annoying and insane.
• I'm more obssessed with Carmex.  I used to love it because I had that nasty habit of biting on my lips and so I used Carmex almost constantly to try and heal the damage I inflicted on myself.  Now, I use it both for that reason and because my lips are always dry and chapped.  So ready for my mouth to get used to having the trays in so that it will go back to normal.  And, speaking of normal, I am going to get a cup of water right now to assist with that.

Random picture of water to show how serious I am about drinking some of it now.  You can't post it on the internet if it's not true...

Tray #1

Started my first tray of Invisalign today.  It took about an hour, with waiting and everything included.  However, it felt like AGES.  When putting on the attachments, they used this awful piece of plastic to hold my mouth open, and it huuuuuurt!  A tray was used to put them on, and when the tray was taken off, it kinda felt like my teeth were going to pop out.  Then when they filed down the attachments, it felt like they were drilling into my teeth to fill cavities.  After they finished that, they used this sandpaper-type-thing to literally file down two of my teeth.........  After all of this, I had to practice taking off my first tray and I was awful at it.

Anyway, I'm tired from my dentist visit..... This was not a fun one.  Here is a picture with my trays.... wow, these glasses are crooked.... lol

My Starting Point!

Here is how my teeth look now...

However, that is not how I smile (obviously), so most people see this

Apparently, the tooth on the top row will be the hardest to move.

So..... now the exciting part!  Drumroll, please!!!!

Here is my ClinCheck!



It really is amazing how this

can do all of that!



ClinCheck

Yesterday (Friday, 9/28), I called the dentist's office to check my Invisalign status before leaving town.  I found out they had my ClinCheck ready for me to view!!  (This is a video showing how my teeth will move, and my dentist wanted me to approve it before my trays were actually made.)  The estimate for receiving my trays now is 7-10 days!!  I could receive them as early as next Friday.  I found out that my first plan consists of 22 trays, which means 44 weeks.  Obviously, it will be more, due to refinements and imperfect scheduling abilities when it comes to setting up appointments every four weeks.  But I at least have an idea of the starting plan now.

Yaaaaaaay!!!

Update-- I have appointments every six weeks, instead of four. :D

Impressions

On Friday (9/21/12), I had my first Invisalign appointment!  They made impressions of my teeth, and are shipping them off so that my treatment plan and my first couple of trays can be made!  They made 2 sets of impressions--one for the dentist office to keep, and one to send off for making the trays.  Doing the top teeth was pretty bad; the gooey stuff would get close to my throat and I kept expecting to swallow a huge mess of gooey,play-doh-type material.  Gross!  But after reading awful stories about it online, it actually wasn't as bad as I expected! :D  This is what the material/tray looked like.

So, according to the dentist office, I will receive a phone call in 7-10 days and I will review my ClinCheck, which is a video showing my specific treatment and how my teeth will move with the trays!

After I sign off on that, I have to wait another 7-10 days, and I will receive my Invisalign trays!  I will get the first two trays, and each tray will last two weeks.  (Apparently, Invisalign is made in Costa Rica, by the way...)

I'm excited, and counting down days until I can start wearing them!  Although I know it will probably take me only a week or two before I hate them! :D

For those who are curious, the total cost for Invisalign was $5,000.  This is how I'm paying for it (estimates).

1,950 Insurance
1,550 Employer Contributions to Health Savings Account
1,000 My Contributions to Health Savings Account
500 Invisalign Day (this is a discount my dentist offers annually)

So, the only thing I pay out of pocket is the 1,000-- $75 comes out of my paychecks (pre-tax) each month and goes toward my monthly payment plan that I set up with the dentist office.